Jacob Skepner

ENGL-123
Final Paper
5/21/2019

A Flawed Line of Thinking

Al Capone Does My Homework​ is a novel for young adults written by Gennifer

Choldenko. The novel takes place on the infamous Alcatraz Island which in the late 30’s when

this story takes place, was still operating as the country’s most secure prison. Those who worked

on the island as guards or wardens actually lived there with their families. The story is about one

family in particular, the Flanagan’s, who get into some trouble while living on the island at the

expense of their daughter, Natalie, who is autistic. However, autism was not recognized as a

unique diagnosis until the 1980’s so when the story is taking place, the people who interact with

Natalie are ignorant as to her condition. Choldenko uses the characters in this novel as symbols

to represent the negative sociocultural attitude towards people like Natalie, and mental handicaps

in general, at the time of the story. Choldenko presents an interesting theme in this story in order

to teach the reader something about people with mental disabilities. The theme of this story is

that people with mental disabilities should not have to learn conform to society because they are

different, but in fact society should accept those people for who they are and learn ways to better

understand people with this affliction.

Wikipedia defines young adult fiction as “a category of fiction written for readers from

12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is targeted to teenagers, approximately half of YA readers

are adults” (Wikipedia). This article goes on to say that many works of this genre, known as

“coming-of-age novels” specifically focus on the challenges faced by young people as

fiction is known as New Historicism. According to Shmoop, this criticism is “all about paying

close attention to the historical context of literary works” (Shmoop) because a work is only

useful within the context of the place and time it references. The final definition is the element of

fiction that is most useful to think about when analyzing this story which is symbolism. The

article entitled “Elements of Fiction” defines a symbol as “a person, object, image, word, or

event that evokes a range of additional meanings beyond and usually more abstract than its literal

significance” meaning that symbolism is basically using an aspect of a work to show the

audience something about the larger world around them.

In the very first chapter I already see the distinctly different way Natalie is treated. This

was a time when etiquette and good manners were frequently more important than they are now.

Mrs. Kelly is at apartment #2E trying to help Natalie make more eye contact when she speaks to

people. “We have to work twice as hard now, Moose. Natalie’s the warden’s daughter. She can’t

call attention to herself. She has to blend in” (Choldenko 9) comments Moose’s mother.

Although her parents still love her very much and want her to be okay, the attitude is clearly one

of being talked down to. Here I can see the first instance of Choldenko using characters to

comment on the nature of the culture at this time in history. Here, Mrs. Kelly and even Helen, are

quick to think there is something wrong with Natalie that needs to be fixed. The author uses

symbolism to make these two represent the ignorance of the disease of autism at the time. In

doing this, the reader can see the theme of this novel begin to come forth. Choldenko wants the

reader to see that it is wrong to try and teach Natalie to be something she is not and her family
should learn ways of understanding some of her quirks. Things quickly go wrong for the

Flanagan family from here and Natalie is at the center of it all.

A few nights later Cam and Helen, Moose and Natalie’s parents, go out for an evening

with the warden and his wife to celebrate Cam’s new promotion to associate warden. Meanwhile,

Moose is left in charge of watching Natalie. He falls asleep and when he awakes the apartment is

engulfed in flames and he and Natalie must evacuate. After the tragedy everyone on the island is

left wondering how it started. One of the guards, Darby Trixle, and his wife, Bea, immediately

jump the conclusion that it must be Natalie’s fault because she is different. “It was ​her,​ wasn’t

it… She was counting matches or some fool thing” (Choldenko 28). This is just another vivid

example of what the author is trying to portray. Here the adults in the story are stuck in the naive

way of thinking that everyone who is different like Natalie is stupid or as they might say then

“retarded”. This is where the theme of the story takes hold. Choldenko wants the reader to see

that the adults here have failed to accept Natalie for who she is and learn ways of understanding

her because she is different which is why they are so quick to blame her for the fire. But it

becomes apparent that Moose is one of the few characters in the story that understands that

although Natalie has trouble at times, she is smart and would not do this when he immediately

comes to her defense. Darby and Bea Trixle are symbols that represent the vocal part of the

culture at the time who felt that people like Natalie with mental conditions should be separated

and treated differently for the safety of the public.

Later on in the story Choldenko fights back against the sociocultural ideas of the time.

During this period in history when mental health conditions were little recognized and people

were under-informed, they assumed that people like Natalie’s character were stupid and would
do things like start fires. However, in chapter 16, “One Thing You Shouldn’t Do” the author

portrays just the opposite. Moose writes an equation on a card and puts it on his forehead, “Hey

Nat, what’s this?” She, without hesitation, replies, “Two million, four hundred and twenty-eight

thousand, five hundred and fifty-four.”(Choldenko 118) Moose then proceeds to comment that

he does not even have to check if she is right because she always is. Here the reader can see the

true value of understanding. Moose knows ways to bring the best out of Natalie and is the only

character thus far to be able to do so. This is such a clear example of how Choldenko is trying to

show the reader the opposite of what public opinion was about autistic people at the time and it

plays into the overarching theme of the story. The author is showing us here, as clear as day, that

the world must find ways to bring out the best in people with this disability as Moose has done in

this passage. She then goes on, later in the novel, to show us that although not all people at the

time were as harsh in their judgment of autistic people as the Trixels, many could not help but be

skeptical and even slightly judgmental. I see this clearly in chapter 18 entitled “Flickering

Lights”. Mr. Bomini really wants to think that Natalie didn’t start the fire but in the back of his

mind he can’t deny the theory has merit. Here, the adults in the Bomini and Mattaman families

are symbols used by Choldenko to represent another way of thinking about people like Natalie at

the time in that they don’t want to think the worst but they can’t help it although they may put on

a nice face when addressing her or her family. When I think about the theme of this story in this

context I think that the reason they can’t help but think the worst at times is that they have

always tried to make Natalie like everyone else whereas they should have found ways to

understand her and help her show the world how smart she is.
 I can see that Choldenko is trying to fight back against these stereotypes even further in

chapter twenty six entitled “Nat’s Turn”, the climax of the novel in this context. Throughout the

entirety of the novel up to this point the author has shown me how many at the time strongly

believed that people with Natalie’s condition could not be trusted alone to do things a teenager

can usually do solo. However in this chapter she uses Moose as a symbol to represent her own

beliefs. Moose has the courage to believe that Natalie can handle going into the hospital and

navigate to her father’s room on her own. “I have to let her do this. I have to let her try. This is

her fight, not mine.” (Choldenko 189) he comments. Here it can be clearly seen that Moose

believes just the opposite of most people at the time. I also see that Mrs. Mattaman believes Nat

can do this because she does not try and stop her from going to the hospital when she asks for a

hairbrush. This is the author showing her reader that if Natalie is given the opportunity to try and

do things, she may surprise all the people who think she can’t be trusted alone. Here, the theme

of the story comes to its climax. Moose is the only one throughout the entire story that has been

able to find ways to bring out Natalie’s brilliance and is the only one who has stopped trying to

make her conform to the rest of society. Here he knows that although she is different she can

handle this new challenge.

Throughout the rest of the story the author continues to reinforce in the mind of the

reader the way of thinking about people with autism at this point in time until the end of the

novel where, when analyzing it looking for this dynamic, the story takes an interesting turn. In

the penultimate chapter we learn that it was not Natalie but Donny Caconi who started the fire

because he was paid to by Bea and Darby Trixle in an attempt to get Natalie and her whole

family kicked off the island so Darby would then be promoted to associate warden. “He figured
Natalie would be charged and we’d be asked to leave?” Moose’s father replies, “Maybe he

believed he was doing the world a favor. He’s never thought Natalie belonged on the island.”

(Choldenko 199) What is so interesting about this revelation in the story is that all along the

Trixles, the symbols of the closed minded and naive way of thinking at the time, were trying to

convince the world that Natalie was dangerous and they almost pulled it off. But in the end

Choldenko uses the revelation that she did not start the fire as representation of the way that

thinking was flawed. Just as everyone thought Natalie was guilty because she was mentally

handicapped everyone at the time thought that Autistic people were bad or dangerous because of

a misguided assumption that they are less than they are. Here I see the theme of the story yet

again. The Trixles can’t accept people with this disability but they are proven wrong in a big way

which is the lesson the author is trying to teach through this theme.

Throughout her novel, ​Al Capone Does My Homework,​ Gennifer Choldenko uses the

characters as symbols to represent the way of thinking about people with autism and other

mental disabilities in the late 1930’s. In the opening chapters these symbols show the reader how

parents would hire special teachers for their children with this disorder. The author then showed

me what can happen when an autistic child is even a little involved with a tragedy when

everyone on the island accuses Natalie of starting the fire. But in the end she taught me, by

proving Natalie’s innocence, that even though this was a very common way of thinking at this

time in history, it was very flawed. The message she is trying to convey through her theme in this

novel and the symbolism is that children with autism are not as feeble-minded as many thought

in this time. She is trying to show her young adult readers not to treat people with autism

differently because they can do all the things kids without this disorder can do. Moose treats
Natalie as an equal and she shows him that she deserves that trust as well as that respect just like

anyone else. This message is such an important one for young people of today to learn and

Choldenko portrays this message in a way that is clear and easy to understand for young readers.

Although I have always tried to treat people with this disorder in a normal manner, before

reading this, I never considered that maybe instead of trying to treat them as I would someone

without autism, I should be learning how to best appreciate and respect the brilliance that may be

hidden by the disability. This is the lesson the theme of this story taught me and I think it is the

lesson Choldenko wanted to teach all her readers in this novel.

Choldenko, Gennifer. ​Al Capone Does My Homework.​ Dial Books for Young Readers, 2013.

Shmoop Editorial Team. “New Historicism.” ​Shmoop​, Shmoop University, 11 Nov. 2008,

www.shmoop.com/new-historicism/.

“Young Adult Fiction.” ​Wikipedia,​ Wikimedia Foundation, 15 May 2019,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_adult_fiction.