Moo: A Novel

Zora is a cow, not a human character, and she is not anthropomorphized in any way. Still, she can be considered a “character” in that she has a personality of her own and makes choices that help drive the plot. Since she is not a human being, Zora functions as a flat character—the text does not depict her the way it might a human person. But Zora is not static, either—she changes throughout the story. At first, Zora is characterized as very stubborn and mischievous, functioning as a kind of nonhuman antagonist to Reena. When Reena first meets her, Reena is intimidated by both Zora’s size and temperament. Reena’s tentative steps toward getting to know Zora require a hefty dose of respect for these characteristics: Reena learns to speak softly and gently to Zora and to treat her as a thinking and choosing animal, as when she visits Zora without making any demands of her in order to demonstrate friendship. The relationship between Reena and Zora helps convey the novel’s theme of The Importance of Respect. Reena eventually deduces that a big part of Zora’s attitude comes from loneliness, which also demonstrates The Value of Companionship.

Once Reena has made friends with Zora and ensured that Zora has the companionship of Zep’s cow, Yolanda, Zora begins to change. Zora is more trainable and more affectionate, and her stubbornness and mischievousness decrease. This is gratifying to Reena and bolsters the text’s argument about The Rewards of Rural Life. Reena’s eventual success showing Zora at the fair and her dedication to the responsibility of caring for Zora after Mrs. Falala’s death are markers of the way Reena is Growing Into a New Life. Zora’s gradual acceptance of Reena and the lessons she teaches Reena help move the plot along, generate much of Reena’s character growth, and reinforce the novel’s themes.

Luke is Reena’s seven-year-old brother. Reena sees him as a “complexity” who sometimes behaves like a much younger child and sometimes like a more mature child than he really is (6). He can be full of energy and ideas, but other times, he is withdrawn and lethargic. Luke prefers not to be touched. He can be a very literal thinker, as when his mother refers to the trajectory of their lives as a flight path, and Luke reminds her that they are in a car, not a plane. He spends most of his time drawing fantasy worlds full of things like heroes, villains, and dragons, and he processes his experiences through his art, supporting the novel’s symbolic use of drawing. Luke is Reena’s constant companion, and he depends on her to shield him from the parts of the world he finds uncomfortable or frightening. Their relationship is an important part of the novel’s thematic ideas about The Value of Companionship.

Luke also demonstrates how a new environment can contribute to Growing Into a New Life. When he first arrives in Maine, he is every bit as frightened of cows and disgusted by barnyard smells as his sister is. In fact, he is a person who does not much care for animals in general. He is also terrified of Mrs. Falala and does not want to spend any time with the elderly woman. Luke changes, however, as he watches his sister’s relationship with Zora develop and as he develops his own relationship with Mrs. Falala. He demonstrates growing empathy for animals when he gives Reena helpful advice about how to best approach Zora and when he gently encourages Zora at the fair. Eventually, he is every bit as comforted by and engaged with the animals at Mrs. Falala’s as his sister is. As he teaches Mrs. Falala to draw, he grows more comfortable with her, as well, and he learns to understand her better. By the novel’s end, he proudly shows off the pictures his elderly pupil drew and helps Reena gain insight into Mrs. Falala’s character by sharing what he learned about the woman during their lessons and conversations.

Reena and Luke’s mother begins as an unemployed reporter in New York City. She is characterized as a determined, take-charge person. While she and her husband are searching for new jobs in New York, she has the epiphany that they really no longer enjoy their lives in the city and is the one to suggest that they make a change. She is the one who first reaches out to Mrs. Falala and who insists on sending multiple rounds of books over to the elderly woman, trying to find the right books to help Mrs. Falala with her interest in drawing.

Reena’s mother is generally a caring parent, willing to listen to her children’s ideas and support their goals. Sometimes, however, she lets her eagerness to help others override her respect for her children’s individual personalities. She is the one that Reena feels is always committing Reena to help others, without regard for Reena’s wishes. Reena complains that her mother has, in the past, volunteered her as a babysitter, a substitute paper deliverer, and more. But it is Reena’s mother’s decision to send Reena and Luke to help Mrs. Falala that sets in motion the events that will most shape Reena’s adjustment to rural Maine, making this personality quirk integral to Reena’s Growing Into a New Life.

Reena and Luke’s father, like their mother, begins the story as a former New York City reporter. He is less decisive than their mother, perhaps because he is more sensitive to both his own and others’ emotions and sees nuance in situations that she sees as more black-and-white. Reena’s father does not find work as soon as they get to Maine, unlike her mother. He feels a need to really change his life in this new environment, and he casts around looking for just the right fit; ultimately, it is not Reena’s father, but Reena herself, who finds the perfect new job for him.

Reena’s father shows more uncertainty about forcing the children to interact with Mrs. Falala. He is more affected by their discomfort, as he is more astute about people’s emotions in general. He is the one, for instance, who explains to Reena’s mother that her friends’ withdrawal after the move is announced is likely because of their own hurt feelings and that she should not take it personally. That Reena’s father cares greatly about how other people feel is shown in his repeated instructions to his children about The Importance of Respect.

Mrs. Falala is the elderly woman that Reena and Luke are sent by their parents to help. She is a stereotypical cranky old woman with a hidden softer side, and she grows more likable as the novel progressively reveals more of that softer side. The paradox of her character is revealed as soon as the children meet her: Her presence inside the crooked house is announced by sweet, gentle flute music coming from the attic window, but the children have already heard rumors that she makes “weird things/ happen” (33). This characterization, which hints at witch-like powers, is enhanced by the description of her face peering through the window as “a pale/ thin/ old/ wrinkled/ face” and by a similar description of her arm when Mrs. Falala reaches out and pulls the unsuspecting Luke into her house (36). Of course, these rumors turn out to be baseless. Mrs. Falala is simply a stubborn, moody, and impatient woman with a sarcastic and slightly mean sense of humor that she uses like armor to hide her more sentimental side.

Mrs. Falala has a voice that is “unexpected,/ full of honey” (38). This metaphor both reinforces the idea of her hidden “golden” sweetness and aligns her with nature. She is identified with the natural environment of Maine in other ways, as well: Seagulls line her roof like guards, and when she leaves a mark on Luke’s arm it is “in the shape of a leaf” (41). When Luke later draws her, he draws her with claws, surrounded by animals. Mrs. Falala’s character in many ways parallels Zora’s. This similarity is emphasized by the descriptions of her braid swinging back and forth down her back using language that mimics the language used to describe Zora’s tail swinging back and forth. Like Zora, Mrs. Falala functions as an antagonist to Reena for much of the novel. and like Zora, Mrs. Falala’s nasty temperament is likely at least partially the result of boredom and loneliness. When Reena develops empathy for Zora, she is able to understand the cow’s feelings and take steps to alleviate them; as she develops empathy for Mrs. Falala, she no longer resents being volunteered as company for the elderly woman and even begins spending extra time at Mrs. Falala’s. Mrs. Falala clearly comes to value this relationship: She draws several portraits of Reena and her brother and entrusts them with her beloved animals when she dies.