The Moon In Maurice Sendak's Where The Wild Things Are

In Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, the moon is an object that is depicted in many images that might often be overlooked. The readers of this story will often pay attention to the main action taking place in this story without noticing the significance that moon may represent about Max’s behavior, or rather, misbehavior and his encounter with the Wild Things. In common folklore, the presence of a full moon is known for being the cause of a man becoming a werewolf, or in other words, bringing out the beast in people. What many readers may not realize is that this seemingly simple children’s book may actually be a soft story of lycanthropy. Even John Cech’s analysis of this story in his book, Angels and Wild Things, points out Max’s

This can be seen in the story right after the wild rumpus as it now day time once more in Max’s imaginary world. Because the moon is no longer floating in the sky he no longer feels the need to act out his animal instincts with the wild things. Not only does he start to act more human again, but he also begins to feel human emotion again as he becomes homesick and yearns for his mother’s love (Sendak). As he sails back home, the full moon can be seen again from the image of him on his boat in the ocean and outside of his bedroom window once he returns. However, this time around, the moon is noticeably less bright than when his journey initially began. The reason for the moon to be shown again in the ocean in a time when it does not seem as vital is that it is supposed to show Max’s transition back to reality. The point of this is that when Max returns to his bedroom, he comes back from his imagination within the same night, most likely only a brief moment after he initially left. This also further supports the theory of Max actually becoming a werewolf until the full moon, as his entire imagination, no matter how long he thought he perceived the time in it, only happens momentarily in reality, which hints that this was his dream state while being transformed. The fact the moon seems to start to dim helps to enforce his return, as he is also seen taking

What this implies is that the story only depicts what is probably one of many of Max’s submission to his wild behavior. In other words, Max most likely has his werewolf episode on every night of a full moon. In fact, Max may even welcome his werewolf side as Cech states that “Sendak is giving the child control of the darkness” (Cech). In some cases, a man shapeshifting into a werewolf may sometimes even be voluntary (Wilson). This idea is hinted in the beginning of the story in the scene where he is seen chasing his dog down the stairs where on the wall, there is a picture of a wild thing. The presence of this picture further shows that Max’s journey to the land of the wild things depicted in the story is not his first time visiting as stated by Cech that Max is “thoroughly in control and has already imagined what we are about to see” (Cech). As such, his so-called shapeshifting phases definitely happen on a regular basis, occurring concurrently in the presence of a full moon. In other words, the entirety of the story is Max’s way of dealing with the fact that he is a werewolf, because it is “his fantasy, his way of coping, his own myth”