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Chapter 8
Themes
and Colors
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
As Phoebe leads Sal to Mary Lou’s house, Phoebe explains that Mary Lou’s family isn’t as “civilized” as hers. Ben is living there too, but he’s Mary Lou’s cousin, not her brother. The Finneys’ house is loud: Mary Lou has an older sister, three younger brothers, and Ben. There are balls everywhere, and the boys are running around and interrupting everyone. Mr. Finney is reading, fully clothed, in the empty bathtub, while Mrs. Finney is lying on the garage roof. Eventually, Mr. Finney gets out of the tub and throws balls in the backyard with Dennis and Dougie.
Phoebe’s insinuation that the Finneys are uncivilized shows that she has strict expectations about what families should look like and how people should behave. The Finneys’ bustling household and quirky habits are inappropriate rather than interesting in Phoebe’s eyes. Sal, by contrast, doesn’t make any observations about the Finneys like she did about the Winterbottoms. This is perhaps because they remind Sal of her own wild family—and in her eyes, acting “civilized” isn’t necessarily better or more conducive to happiness.
Active
Themes
Last weekend, when there was a sports day at school, Mary Lou and Phoebe’s parents were both there (Dad was not). Phoebe’s parents watched the events, while Mr. and Mrs. Finney participated. Phoebe told Sal she thought Mary Lou was probably embarrassed, but secretly, Sal thought the way the Finneys acted was nice. She wonders if Phoebe secretly wanted her parents to act more like the Finneys.
Sal seems to value closeness and involvement in families, perhaps because she wishes that her own parents were more present. It’s possible that Phoebe feels the same way, and that she’s speaking ill of the Finneys not because she actually disapproves, but because she’s jealous.
Active
Themes
Now, Phoebe and Sal are sitting with Mary Lou in her bedroom. Phoebe is talking about the lunatic while Mary Lou’s brothers run in and out of the room, and Ben is on Mary Lou’s bed. He’s staring at Sal, and out of the blue, he asks if she can sit on her hair. Sal says she can, so Ben draws a cartoon of a lizard with long hair that turns into a chair. He captions it “Salamander sitting on her hair.” Phoebe and Mary Lou, unimpressed, leave the room. But as Sal turns to give Ben the drawing back, Ben leans forward and kisses her collarbone. He grabs the drawing and runs away. Sal is confused—was Ben trying to kiss her lips? Or was it an accident?
Active
Themes
As Phoebe and Sal walk home from Mary Lou’s, Phoebe says it was very loud at the Finneys’. Sal says she didn’t mind, and then she remembers Dad once telling Momma that they’d fill their home up with children. But they hadn’t; Sal was their only child, and then Momma left.
Active
Themes
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At Phoebe’s house, the girls find Mrs. Winterbottom crying on the couch. Mrs. Winterbottom insists she’s fine, so Phoebe tells her about the “potential lunatic.” This seems to upset Mrs. Winterbottom, and she suggests they don’t tell Mr. Winterbottom about the lunatic. Later, Phoebe tells Sal that this is odd: her mother never keeps secrets from her father. The girls walk onto the porch and find an unmarked envelope on it. There’s a message inside that reads, “Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked two moons in his moccasins.” Phoebe shows Mrs. Winterbottom, who seems anxious. Mr. Winterbottom gets home just then, and he isn’t at all concerned.
Active
Themes
