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

obvious transformation from a little boy to a “perfect little monster” (Cech).
The importance of the moon in this story is how Max’s rebellious acts corresponds with its current phase and shape. He is depicted to be acting out “driven on by his own instincts” to the point where he even becomes more rowdy than his dog as he becomes “even more animal than an animal” (Cech) and that his mother calls him a “Wild Thing” (Sendak). His animalistic behavior is strongly reinforced by the fact that he wears a wolf costume throughout the entire story. The tail on his costume is also noticeably very plump and detailed for being only a part of a child’s costume. According to John Cech, a preliminary scene missing from the book shows Max causing more of a disturbance while he’s on all fours from on top of the kitchen table. It is in this scene that the domesticated animals of his home are even terrified of Max’s wildness. Shortly after causing a ruckus in the house, he is scolded by his mother and sent off to his room. In the image of Max in his bedroom, a full moon can be seen outside of the window. Although the moon is full, it still retains the crescent shape displayed by a different shade of the same color of moon. The importance of all of the details previously mentioned is how Max almost conforms to the idea of the werewolf mythology. In the legend of the werewolf, a person is forcefully shapeshifted in a wolf during the presence of a full moon (Wilson). In many instances, that person will often say that they felt like they were in a dream state while their body was in the form of the wolf. In this story, Max’s imaginary journey to the land of the Wild Things is his form of dream state, which supports the idea that Max in actuality, a child version of a werewolf. Cech refers to Max’s transformation as “the wild child that has been seen as the missing link between the animal and human worlds” (Cech). As the forest grows denser from image to image, the moon becomes progressively brighter as it begins to lose its crescent shape. At the same time, the reader will no longer see Max’s face as he begins to turn towards the moon, almost as if he is howling to it. This depiction could easily represent Max truly diving deeper into the animalistic instincts of his imaginary world. The fact that Max’s face is not seen means the only thing left that was human about him is now gone, and the reader should see a being that is now completely an animal.
As the story continues, the moon briefly disappears as Max sails the ocean through the day time. Although the moon is instrumental to his transformation, it most likely disappears briefly as Max’s mind is already consumed by his imagination that he is now in his own world. Furthermore, because Max is only sailing, there is at that point no need for him to act his wild side. The moon is then shown again when Max encounters the Wild Things, although it is once again in the shape of a crescent. This phase of the moon represents the beginning of a cycle as well as an ascension of the events to come. During this time, Max reverses their scare tactic and instead successfully frightens them back in return. When Max claims his place as the “king of all wild things”, the crescent moon appears brighter and seems to slightly become more round (Sendak). The fact he is made the leader fits well with the idea that he is now the alpha of the wolf pack. In the next few scenes, Max and the Wild Things can be seen acting out their “wild rumpus.” In one particular scene, the moon is now full and protrudes very brightly in the night sky. The image shows the group dancing under the moonlight as they face the moon almost as if they were worshipping it. This instance is very similar to a pack of wolves howling at the moon. The importance that this scene brings further supports the concept that Max’s journey into the land of the Wild Things coincides with the werewolf myth (Wilson). In the beginning of this story, Max succumbs to the effects of the full moon and becomes the animal that by nature, will normally seek out its own kind and join them. The fact that Max becomes the leader of this wolf pack emphasizes that even out of all the beasts, he is the only one who is the most human.
At some point, the full moon will subside, causing its effect on a person inflicted with lycanthropy to dwindle as well.

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

off the hood of his costume. However, it should be noted that he is never seen completely without the costume which may imply that although he is done acting as a beast, the beast will always be present within him. John Cech talks about this concept by explaining that “the notion of a wild man must respond and be due to a persistent psychological urge” (Cech). What this statement also supports is that this beastly urge of Max’s will come out when the full moon is present, regardless if he chooses to give in or not. With that being said, this aligns with the mythology that a werewolf will never be able to escape the effects of the full moon; this process can sometimes be an involuntary transformation (Wilson).
One of the most important details to note about the lunar phases is that the moon shifts in a cycle.

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”

(Cech).
When Maurice Sendak first wrote this unintentionally child-friendly children’s book, many people may have been only quick to notice that this is a tale of the act of a child lashing out against his family. However, readers may not have noticed that this entire story is about the tale of a child who is actually a werewolf. Most of these details that support this theory are subtly hidden in the images of the story as Max progresses from reality to his imaginary world and then eventually returns. Although John Cech does not directly state Max is truly a werewolf, his analysis of Where the Wild Things Are in his book implicitly relates Max’s experiences with that of a wild-man. Understanding the werewolf mythology known in common folklore will also help the reader understand why Max’s misbehavior is taking place.