Moo: A Novel

Moo shows how important companionship is—both as a source of comfort and as a catalyst for growth. Reena’s life is made immeasurably richer by the relationships she has with her brother, Mrs. Falala, Zora, and Zep. Luke grows through his relationships with Mrs. Falala and Zora and seeks security in his relationships with Reena and Zora. Mrs. Falala and Zora, in turn, are nurtured and changed by their relationships with Luke and Reena.

That relationships with others are a source of comfort is shown in several ways. It is first demonstrated through Reena and Luke’s close sibling bond. They are together throughout most of the novel: Reena is grateful to have her little brother with her as she explores the new town, and Luke frequently looks to Reena for comfort when he is nervous or upset. Reena finds a similar source of steady reassurance in Zep, who is slightly older and more experienced with both cows and rural Maine. Zep’s encouragement and words of praise mean a great deal to Reena. Once Reena and Luke get to know Zora well, both children are comforted by Zora’s warmth, softness, and familiar animal smells. Zora also seeks comfort from Reena, rubbing her head affectionately against Reena’s arm and seeking physical contact when she is lonely and when she is concerned about Mrs. Falala toward the novel’s end. Reena and Luke are an important source of companionship to the lonely Mrs. Falala, who writes down their phone number in no fewer than three places in her kitchen to be sure she does not lose contact. Just how much the two children come to matter to her is clear when the children discover Mrs. Falala’s drawings of them in the attic room.

These relationships are also a spur to the characters’ growth. Through their relationships with Reena and Luke, both Mrs. Falala and Zora become less stubborn and mean. Mrs. Falala is able to finally explore her interest in drawing, and she makes rapid progress under Luke’s tutelage. Relationships with Mrs. Falala and Zora expand Luke’s horizons, as well; he learns to feel safe and comfortable with animals and with an adult outside of his family that he once feared. Zep’s lessons allow Reena to also master a brand new activity that she is proud of. Most importantly, Reena grows through her relationships with Mrs. Falala and Zora, finding that she has the courage and determination to confront difficult temperaments and to keep trying even when resistance and setbacks create obstacles in her way.

When Reena first imagines life in rural Maine, she easily sees the value in its natural beauty. She looks forward to being near the ocean and imagines hopping from rock to rock along the shore. After the family actually makes the move, she discovers even more natural beauty than she previously imagined. In addition, she learns that the people, the animals, and the way of life in coastal Maine are deeply rewarding.

Moo is filled with lyrical images of Maine’s natural environment. The poems “Harbor Town,” “Misty Morning,” “Rocks,” “Back to Twitch Street,” “Color,” and “Fog,” are particularly notable for their descriptions of the beauty of Reena’s new home. Reena notices features of the landscape like flowers, boats bobbing in the harbor, cobblestone walls, mist and fog, the craggy shoreline, and mountains rising in the distance. Sometimes, she feels overwhelmed with wonder at her new environment: in “Fog,” she says, “I never saw anything like/ everything I was seeing” (153) and comments that she sometimes has to “close [her] eyes/ to rest them from/ all the new everythings/ pouring in” (154).

The rewards of her new environment are more than visual, however. In “Welcome to Maine,” Reena shares her first encounters with rural Maine’s people and their way of life. The people are friendly and encouraging, going out of their way to make sure Reena’s family feels welcome in their new home. This pattern holds true later in the story, when Zep and Beat also go out of their way to help Reena adjust to rural life. Reena sees her new neighbors out walking with their dogs and children—a motif that will be repeated in several other chapters later in the book—and is drawn to the slower pace and family-oriented atmosphere. In many chapters, Reena mentions both the families out walking together and the foods that they are eating. It is clear that she comes to enjoy the food culture of the area, particularly the ice cream stands that dot the shore and the fresh lobster so readily available. In “Harbor Town,” she expresses gratitude for having safe, quiet places to ride her bike and contrasts this with the constant noise and danger of the city.

Although Reena’s first encounters with the people of Maine are positive, she feels differently about its animals. At first, the animals of Maine are alienating to her—at Birchmere, she stresses the frightening size and noise of the cows and the unpleasant sights and smells of manure and cow slobber, and at Mrs. Falala’s she points out the unpredictable chaos of the menagerie Mrs. Falala keeps. She gradually grows to love the animals of her new rural home, however. By the novel’s end, she has learned how to train and care for even the largest animals, and she no longer objects to the sights and smells that are a part of their physical natures. In fact, she finds being near the animals—especially Zora, the cow—to be deeply comforting and rewarding.