Natalie Flanagan

Character Analysis

Okay, so Natalie is autistic. Because of this, in order to understand her character, first we need to understand a bit about the time period she's living in—the 1930s. Key to understanding Natalie's role in the story is recognizing that in the 1930s, autism wasn't the widely acknowledged and accepted condition it is today. Nor was medicine in general particularly on point when it came to mental differences. Because of this, Natalie isn't simply a sister with autism—she's a social liability for her family, a problem they desperately try to remedy. In short, it's a tough break for this kid.

Natalie's family's biggest struggle is with navigating the ways in which she's not like other teens her age. The way that everyone words it is that "Natalie lives in her own world" (3.79). She doesn't relate to the world around her the way others, and as Theresa puts it, "'Sometimes it's a good world and sometimes it's a bad world. And sometimes she can get out and sometimes she can't'" (3.79). Natalie's very vulnerable, and sometimes the smallest thing can cause her to throw a tantrum or wrap herself into a ball to protect herself from interacting with her surroundings.

Another component of Natalie's autism is a desire to do the same thing over and over—in particular, playing with her button collection. But this isn't just something Natalie does for fun; it clearly provides her with some stability and calm because when her playing is interrupted, she majorly falls apart. When Moose accidently kicks a can into her rock collection, we're told " Natalie has gone away somewhere deep inside. Only her body is left, rolled up tight and completely still" (20.17). Just like that, Natalie's sense of stability is crumbled.

Dealing with Natalie is a challenge, for sure (not to detract from what a challenge it must be for her to be treated like a problem and shuffled around to doctors), and importantly, Moose shines at interacting with his sister. While everyone and their mother seems to have advice for Mr. and Mrs. Flanagan, it's Moose who sees Natalie for who she is: a complex person with strengths and weaknesses, who needs a little help making her way through the world. One moment where this is crystal clear is when Natalie needs to get on the boat to go to school, but really doesn't want to. Check Moose out:

"Australian Quill, page 200," I say.

Now she makes a noise deep in her throat and bolts up. "No, Moose! American Leaf-Nosed Bat, page 48. American Quail, 232!" she says. (4.56-57)

Moose understands that the only way to get Natalie where she needs to go is to help her exit the freak-out she's stuck inside of. So how does he do this? By misreading an index to her that she knows and loves (Natalie loves herself some numbers). She just can't resist correcting him, and as she does, she switches gears and—unwittingly—follows him onto the boat. It's a bit of a trick, yes, and Moose doesn't feel great about this, but it also shows that out of everyone in Natalie's life, Moose is someone who really sees her.

Moose is really attached to his sister. Living with her isn't easy, and he does his share of grumbling, but this never stops him from taking responsibility and cultivating his relationship with her—no matter how many baseball games he has to miss.

Is it easy being Natalie? Not often. But she just keeps on keeping on. Moose even says that he thinks "sometimes Natalie is saner than" (23.47) than he is. While he gets really carried away by day-to-day events, Natalie continues on her course, totally unaffected. Moose comments: "in some ways she is very predictable, more like a clock than a human being" (25.28). To hack it in a society that doesn't know what to make of her, being so steady seems like a bit of a blessing. And, since Natalie's the older sibling, it gives Moose something to look up to.