Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Walk Two Moons, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Judgment, Perspective, and Storytelling
Parents, Children, and Growing Up
Grief
Nature
Summary
Analysis
Gramps exclaims that Phoebe’s family was very sad, while Gram says that Sal seems to have really liked Phoebe. Sal does like Phoebe. Phoebe is magnetic, and underneath her odd behavior, Sal believes she was frightened. And Phoebe sometimes acted how Sal felt.
The implication here is that Sal likes Phoebe because although Phoebe might take things further than Sal ever would, Sal also sees herself in her friend.
Themes
Back in the story, Sal is pretty sure that Phoebe didn’t actually plan on breaking into Mrs. Cadaver’s house. But one evening, Phoebe sees Mrs. Cadaver leave for work, waits until Mr. Winterbottom falls asleep, and then calls Sal and tells her to come over. Sal goes and finds Phoebe in front of Mrs. Cadaver’s house. She leads Sal up the walk, knocks, and then opens the door. It’s unlocked. Phoebe goes inside and then into the room on the right. Someone calls to Sal—but it’s just Mrs. Partridge. Mrs. Partridge asks if Phoebe is here too, and she tells Sal she can turn on a light.
Sal recognizes that Phoebe wants to feel like she’s doing something to hunt for Mrs. Winterbottom, especially after her disappointing visit to the police. But Phoebe is thwarted, since Mrs. Partridge is home and interrupts her snooping. Again, although Phoebe has grand plans to find her mother, the adults in her life don’t always understand what she’s trying to do.
Themes
Sal finally finds a light. Mrs. Partridge shows the girls her book, Murder at Midnight, which is in braille. Sal notices once again how creepy the room is, with dark rugs, a bear skin, and “grim” African masks. Phoebe examines a spot on the floor, and Mrs. Partridge asks if she dropped something. Then, as Phoebe inspects a sword, Mrs. Partridge warns her to not cut herself. Sal finds it unsettling that Mrs. Partridge knows what Phoebe is doing, even though she can’t see her. Sal tells Mrs. Partridge they need to leave; they just stopped by to check on her. Then, Mrs. Partridge says she recently met Phoebe’s brother. Phoebe snaps that she doesn’t have a brother.
The objects in Margaret’s house are unfamiliar to Sal, and so she begins to feel like Phoebe might have a point that Margaret is dangerous. But just because these items seem foreign to Sal doesn’t necessarily mean they’re creepy or evil. African masks, for instance, are often ceremonial—just like the peace pipe Gramps bought Sal in Pipestone. In this way, Sal is judging her surroundings in a negative way just because she doesn’t understand the significance of the objects. Then, Mrs. Partridge’s insistence that she met Phoebe’s brother is interesting, given that Phoebe only has a sister. This is especially mysterious since Mrs. Partridge has been characterized as an unusually perceptive person, so it’s possible that she knows something Phoebe doesn’t. But Phoebe isn’t interested in hearing what Mrs. Partridge has to say, so this remains a mystery.
Themes
Once they’re back on the street, Phoebe starts to put together the list of things in the house that the police should investigate. Sal says that even though Phoebe doesn’t believe Mrs. Winterbottom would leave without an explanation, that might be what happened. Phoebe disagrees, but Sal says that it might have been too painful for Mrs. Winterbottom to explain why she left. She also says that Mrs. Winterbottom might not come back, but Phoebe tells Sal to “shut up.”
Although Sal felt unsettled in Mrs. Cadaver’s house, she still logically knows that Mrs. Cadaver probably has nothing to do with Mrs. Winterbottom’s disappearance. As Sal discovered with Momma, sometimes people leave for their own private reasons. Still, though, Phoebe is unwilling to hear other people’s points of view on the matter.
Themes
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Sal heads home and remembers the day Phoebe showed her items that remind her of Mrs. Winterbottom. Sal knows exactly what Phoebe is doing, because she did the exact same thing. Dad was right—Momma haunted the house in Bybanks. When Sal got to Euclid, she unpacked the gifts from Momma first thing. Sometimes, Sal studies these items and remembers exactly what happened when Momma gave them to her. These are all she has left of Momma.
Again, Sal understands why Phoebe is acting the way she is because Sal herself reacted the same way after Momma left. It’s normal, Sal suggests, to try to hang onto mementos like this, because when a person disappears, mementos and memories are all that are left. This also shows that Sal can connect with Momma through avenues other than the farm in Bybanks; she can connect with Momma in Euclid, too.
Themes
Before Momma left, she once said that if a person visualizes something happening—like winning a race—they can make it happen. Sal didn’t quite get it (what if everyone visualizes themselves winning?), but she visualized Momma calling after Momma left. She visualized Momma getting on a bus back to Bybanks and coming inside. Neither of things happened.
It's still a mystery why Momma never called or returned to Bybanks, but Sal still learns through this failed visualization exercise that Momma wasn’t always right. Although Sal idolized her mother, Momma was a complex, flawed person who made mistakes and held beliefs that didn’t always help. Nevertheless, the fact that Sal thinks about Momma’s advice now suggests that some problems can be solved through positivity and perseverance—perhaps even the problem of Mrs. Winterbottom’s disappearance.
Themes
Now, Sal also thinks about Ben—she wants to ask him where his mother is. Sal lies in bed thinking about the poem about the traveler. Is death actually normal and terrible? She lies awake the entire night, thinking about Mr. Winterbottom crying. He’s normally so stiff that this is the only clue Sal has that he cares about his wife. At daybreak, Sal calls Phoebe and says they have to find Mrs. Winterbottom.
As Sal watches Phoebe process Mrs. Winterbottom’s absence, she also becomes more curious about other people. She’s moving beyond thinking only about herself and her own perception of the world, and now it’s becoming clear to her that other people are struggling just as much as she is.
Themes
