Walk Two Moons
by Sharon Creech
Summary
Salamanca Hiddle is forced to move from Bybanks, Kentucky to Euclid, Ohio. She goes on a road trip with her grandparents and tells them the story of Phoebe Winterbottom. Sal learns many things about herself while telling the story and she realizes the similarities on the journey to see her mother.
Thesis sentence; Foreshadowing
Throughout the novel, the author foreshadows and gives numerous clues to the unexpected ending of the three characters.
Mike Bickle is Mrs. Winterbottom's son
The author uses small clues in the story that shows Mike is Mrs. Winterbottom's son. Phoebe and Sal get a knock on the door from a strange man that Phoebe predicts to be a murderer. " The young man looked up and down the street. His hair was curly and mussed, and there were bright pink circles on his cheeks. He wouldn't look us straight in the eye, but instead kept glancing to left and right." pg#43 & 44. Mike was very nervous and was desperately trying to talk to Mrs. Winterbottom this predicts that he had something really important to tell her. Phoebe and Sal were in Mrs. Cadaver's house to find clues to Phoebe's mothers disappearance when they were surprised by Mrs. Partridge. " Oh, Phoebe, I think I met your brother today." pg#193. Mrs. Partridge is very good at feeling peoples faces to know who they are, so when she told Phoebe she met her brother it predicts that Mrs. Winterbottom is hiding something about her past.
Sal's mom died in a bus accident
Sharon Creech uses several clues in the story that foreshadows that Sal's mother is dead. Salamanca is told that she is going on a trip with her grandparents to see her mother. "Gram and Gramps wanted to see Momma, who was resting peacefully in Lewiston, Idaho." pg#5. The grandparents wanted to see Sal's mother resting peacefully in Idaho which means that she is dead. Sal is driving in Gramp's car to see her mother. "Every time i saw a bus, I watched it sway. I watched It's tires spin dangerously close to the gravel at the roads edge. I watched it plunge on, eating up the road, defying those curves." pg#227. Sal is terrified of buses so this foreshadows that something tragic must have happened to someone in a bus.
Gram's death
There are a lot of small clues that hint at Gram's ending. Gram, Gramps, and Sal are in the car when Grams becomes confused. "Where did we leave off with Peeby? What was happening?"pg#114. Gram is starting to loose her memory which foreshadows that something might be wrong. Sal, Gram, and Gramps are in the car when Gram falls asleep. "She looks a little gray, doesn't she?" This foreshadows that Gram is feeling worse than she says and that she is really sick.
Conclusion
Throughout the novel there is foreshadowing about three topics, Mike Bickle's identity, Sal's mother's death in a bus accident, and Gram's death. Foreshadowing gives clues to what will happen to the characters in the end. Foreshadowing helps make readers predictions shift and change to keep the story interesting.