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Apollo
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Symbols & Motifs
Apollo 11 Mission
The Apollo 11 mission, which took place on July 20, 1969, is the driving symbol of Alexander’s “Apollo.” As a historical event, the mission marks the first steps of humans on another planetary body. Taking place at the tail end of the 1960s and as a conclusion to the “Space Race” (a race between the two Cold War adversaries, the Soviet Union and the United States, to land on the moon), the spacewalk provides Alexander’s “Apollo” with rich symbolic elements. Most importantly, the Apollo 11 mission marks a moment of unity within America. By serving as an important facet of the Cold War era, the landing on the moon established the United States as a superior power over the Soviet Union. Furthermore, the United States addressed change during the 1950s and 1960s with regard to the Civil Rights Movement. Many important civil rights bills were passed in the 1960s, namely the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Therefore, the Apollo 11 mission allowed the country a brief moment of unification as people of all races watched in unison as the nation landed on the moon.
Alexander’s “Apollo” underscores unity through mimicry. The “we” in the poem watching the men walk on the moon become the men in Stanza 2 (“We did / the same thing” [Lines 5-6]), mimicking them. In the final stanzas of the poem, regardless of their race, the Black family is not treated differently (or as “strange[ly]”) because the food shack people and the Black family are briefly united in watching the men walk on the moon. The Apollo 11 aeronautical achievement is more than a mission of exploration; it is a mission to unify a country regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or any other type of discrimination.
Moon
The moon as a symbol in “Apollo” stands for a strange, unknown place that ends up being a place of possibility, positivity, and peace. Just as the family arrives at the unknown road shack on the edge of the road somewhere in Massachusetts, the men on TV arrive on the moon, a place no man has been before. The moon, therefore, acts as a symbol for the Black family in 1969 landing somewhere they have never been before and where they do not know how it will go.
The speaker, likely a child, is disappointed and surprised that the moon isn’t the way they expected it to be. The moon isn’t “green” (Line 16) and it’s not “cheese” (Line 16) or “a shiny dime floating / in cold blue” (Lines 17-18). Similarly, the road shack also surprises the speaker. Believing the road shack people to treat them a certain way because of the color of their skin, they are surprised when they aren’t treated any differently than the other customers (because the astronauts are bouncing around on the moon and are “stranger” [Line 28] than the speaker and their family). As a symbol, the moon represents a place where biases or preconceived notions don’t make sense. The men can unexplainably walk on the moon. The speaker, despite being a person of color, is treated like a human. The moon as a symbol in “Apollo” stands for possibility and reaching what was previously thought unreachable.
TV
The TV as a symbol in “Apollo” establishes the concept of observation or watching. The family at the road shack stops its travels specifically “to watch men walk / on the moon” (Lines 4-5). Alexander never uses the word television or TV in the poem. And yet, it’s implied. The family is at a roadside restaurant in the late 1960s, and the moon walk is being televised. It’s a huge, iconic event; something important enough to pull off the road to watch. This is a time before TV could be recorded, a time before the Internet. If one wanted to watch something happen on TV, one had to watch it in real time at the moment it was occurring (being broadcast).
As a symbol, the TV serves as an eye for the speaker, their family, and everyone at the road shack to watch an unimaginable event. It was the first time humans were on the moon and the first time humans were seeing the moon up close (via TV). Likewise, the TV also serves as a symbol of togetherness or union. Everyone watched the moon walk together on shared screens, in public. Without the TV, the Apollo 11 mission would not have been “experienced” by the public. Historically, the TV was essential for broadcasting the event and creating a sense of nationalistic camaraderie. Without the TV, this poem wouldn’t have been possible, nor would the conclusion of it have been possible—the enlightening moment of the speaker’s surprise when they realize the men on the moon are stranger than they (and their family) are.
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By Elizabeth Alexander
