Comment on major theme of narrative.

Family Separation and Devotion

This novel begins with Moon Shadow living in the Middle Kingdom with his mother without knowledge of the man who is his biological father. Moon Shadow knows stories his mother has told about his father, but he has never met him because the financial nature of their country has forced many of the men to move to America to make the money they need to support their families in the Middle Kingdom. It is a difficult situation made harder for Moon Shadow's mother when her husband arranges for the child to join him in America. Moon Shadow's mother is left the only person strong enough to work the farm, leaving her to struggle without the support of a man or a son around.