Catch The Moon Analysis

Clink! Clink! Clink! This is the dreaded sound of the tireless work Luis must do, shining hubcap after hubcap after hubcap. This troubled character has many difficulties in his life, including his mother’s death, which led him to start up a fairly benign gang, created to help him escape his pain. The author effectively uses many literary techniques including hyperbole and understatement, diction, and symbols to enhance this short story written by Judith Cofer, Catch the Moon, as well as to reveal aspects pertaining to character and theme.

One of the overt literary techniques in Catch the Moon is the use of hyperboles and understatements, which has the effect of revealing Luis’ character. Right away, an understatement is used in which Luis

One contextual symbol in Catch the Moon is the dishes and cutlery. Luis, describing how his father treated these items commented, “They had been picked out by his wife, though, so they were like relics… They were just kept in the cabinets that his father had turned into a museum for her.” To Jorge, Luis’ father, the dishes and silverware represented his dead wife. The cutlery stood as one of the last objects in his possession that brings back memories regarding her. It reveals a theme concerning the impact of a death on people and what they do to try to avoid that foregone conclusion. Striving to skirt around the pain that his wife died, Jorge therefore enshrined the dishes so that would seem like she was still alive. Another effective symbol in this story was a tree planted in front of the Ramirez funeral home. Luis remembers, “In the front yard was a huge oak tree that Luis remembered having climbed during the funeral to draw away from people. The tree looked different now, not like a skeleton, as it had then,but green with leaves.” The leaves on the tree represent the happiness Luis could be feeling. Although it would be nearly impossible for him to joyful during the funeral, now he can be full again, just like the tree was bare then, but now filled with leaves. This points to a slightly different theme than before; one regarding releasing one’s past pain and the benefit of moving on.

As a result, Luis’ character shoots into the open through understatement, diction reveals Luis’ pain, and the symbols affirm themes hinted at throughout the story. Utilizing these powerful techniques, Cofer was able to efficiently and effectively communicate this fictional