Walk Two Moons
By Sharon Creech
Summary
Salamanca Tree Hiddle goes on a road trip with her grandparents to find her mother. On the way to Lewiston Idaho, Sal tells her grandparents about her friend Phoebe WInterbootm. As she tells Phoebe's story, Sal is able to learn something about herself.
Thesis Sentence
Characters in the novel misjudge three characters because they fail to "walk two moons in their moccasins;" these misjudgments are later proven wrong.
Mrs. Cadaver - Support #1
Page 86, "Maybe there's something hidden under that bush. Like Mr. Cadaver as i told you before." Phoebe and Sal see Mrs. Cadaver and Mr. Birkway gardening and the girls watch them dig up this big plant. Phoebe and Sal suspect that Mrs. Cadaver killed her husband and buried him in the backyard. On page 219 the truth is discovered when Mr. Birkway stops by Phoebe's house. He tells her that Mrs. Cadaver's husband was killed in a car accident, and was not buried in Mrs. Cadaver's backyard. " Your mother is not coming back. It looked like I was merely jealous of Mrs. Cadaver." On page 115, Sal thinks that her father is forgetting her mother, and is replacing her with Mrs. Cadaver. The truth is told on page 271 when Sal's talks to her dad about what Mrs. Cadaver had told her. She finds out that her mom and Mrs. Cadaver were sitting together on the bus for six hours and had gotten to know each other. When the bus crashed, Mrs. Cadaver was with Sal's mom in her last moments, that's why Sal'd dad likes to spend time with Mrs. Cadaver.
Mike Bickle - Support #2
Sal and Phoebe suspects that Mike Bickle is a lunatic. Page 43, "Sal, do your detect any signs of lunacy?" Mike Bickle comes to Phoebe's house asking for Mrs. Winterbottom, and is asking a lot of questions Phoebe thinks that he is a lunatic and might pull a knife out of his shoe, or a gun. He eventually leaves Phoebe's house with Sal and Phoebe wondering who he is. On page 42, he gets pink in the face when he hears that Mrs. WInterbottom is home, he starts twirling his hair and Sal finds out he is just nervous. On page 52, Phoebe is suspicious that Mike Bickle is leaving mysterious notes on her door step, "She was awfully worried about it, and thought is came from the lunatic." On page 249, Phoebe and Sal find out that Mrs. Partridge is leaving the notes and it isn't Mike. "I saw Mrs. Partridge through the window, standing on Phoebe's front walk. They find out that Mrs. Partridge was trying to be nice, and thought that Phoebe would like the notes she was leaving.
Mrs. Winterbottom - Support #3
When Sal goes to Phoebe's house to have dinner one night, she gets the impression that Mrs. Winterbottom is a supreme house wife. On page 30, "I had a funny feeling that Mrs. Winterbottom did not actually like all this baking and cleaning laundry and shopping, and I'm not quite sure why i had that feeling because if you just listened to the words she said, it sounded as if she was Mrs. Supreme Housewife." The truth is told on page 31, "Even though she had a pleasant, round face and long, curly yellow hair, the main impression I got was that she was used to being plain, and ordinary, that she was not supposed to do anything to shocking." It shows that Mrs. Winterbottom is a housewife, and never really shocks people, she is just quiet and does what she is told. When Phoebe finds her mom kissing Mike, she assumes that her mom is in love with Mike. Page 235, "On the bench was Phoebe's mother, and she was kissing the lunatic." Phoebe is angry with what she has just seen, and is very surprised at the truth. Page 248, "Mike is my son." Phoebe finds out the truth and is astonished at the news.
Conclusion
These three characters were judged the most throughout the book. Their actions influence characters to make assumptions. Some characters are surprised by the truth that is told about their crazy beliefs, but in the end it all makes sense in some way. Different characters don't try to put themselves in another person's situations, but instead, they do what they want and don't think of others.