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Violence
Put up your dukes, Shmoopers, because "The Moths" packs quite a punch. The narrator herself is quite the fighter, fashioning homemade weapons to use on her sisters when they tease her, meeting their verbal jabs with physical ones of her own. Their father is like a volcano constantly on the verge of erupting, and the narrator references beatings, whippings, and bruisings as part of everyday life for this happy little family. Violence is so commonplace, in fact, so it's never singled out and narrated; instead it's a given in the narrator's household, kind of like breathing.
By keeping violence as an undercurrent instead of a main event, "The Moths" demonstrates the insidiousness of family abuse.
"The Moths" demonstrates the connection between verbal and physical violence, showing just how damaging both can be.
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