The title of the novel serves as both a symbol and a motif. When Rose sees Monty for the first time, she describes him as “like [her] […] as dark as midnight without a moon” (103). This imagery impresses upon the reader a sense of what Rose looks like. When Rose describes herself, it is disparagingly, as she laments the deepness of her skin tone and how skinny and gangly she is. She has always been told that she is ugly because of her darker complexion, but Monty becomes the catalyst through which Rose begins to see this feature as an asset and an aspect of her individuality. After Rose and Hallelujah explore the concept of stars shining brightest when the night is darkest, Rose’s attitude begins to shift and she concludes that her darkness will allow her to shine brighter, a central motivation in her decision to remain in Mississippi.

Jet serves as a motif in Midnight Without a Moon. Characteristic of novels with a first-person narrator, information provided to the reader is limited by the scope of Rose’s experience and exposure. Jet is Rose and Hallelujah’s window into the world of Black American culture on a national scale, a source for information and perspectives not available to them in their insular, rural, and restrictive Mississippi community.