Symbolism in Walk Two Moons
By: Toby Afdahl
Summary
Sharon Creech's novel, Walk Two Moons, is about a 13-year-old girl named Sal. She's on a trip across the country with her grandparents to see her mom's grave in Lewiston, Idaho. During the trip Sal tells the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, her disappearing mother, and the lunatic.
Thesis Statement
Throughout the novel, Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech uses symbolism to give the reader a deeper understanding of Sal's emotions.
Tulips
One of the symbols Sharon Creech uses is tulips. One of the most significant times it is used is when Sal's baby sister is born a miscarriage. "My father said,'Your mother will like that. We'll bury the baby in the little cemetery near the aspen grove--where the tulips come up every spring.'" (Creech 149). Tulips are also used when gram dies. " Gram is buried in the aspen grove where she and grams were married."(Creech 274). Tulips are mentioned whenever one of Sal's family members dies. Both Gram and the baby are buried in the aspen grove where the tulips come up every spring. Tulips are used by Sharon Creech to the loss of one of Sal's family members, and it gives a better understanding of Sal's emotions
Blackberries
Blackberries are another symbol used by Sharon Creech that pops up multiple times during the novel. When blackberries are mentioned, Sal is often reminded of her past and of her mother. An example of this is when Mrs. Winterbottom offers Sal some blackberry pie. "The truth is, I do not have allergies, but I could not admit that blackberries reminded me of my mother"(Creech 22). When Sal is writing in her mini-journal, she thinks about the past, then blackberries appear "...she plucked a few blackberries from a stray bush and popped them in her mouth. She looked all around her--back at the house, across the fields, and up into the canopy of branches overhead. She took several quick steps up to the trunk of the maple, threw her arms around it, and kissed that tree soundly."(Creech 122). Just to be clear, the person doing all that was Sal's mom. In both of these times blackberries are mentioned, Sal is thinking about the past and her mom. Sharon Creech uses this symbol to increase the reader's understanding of Sal's emotions