Walk Two Moons

Walk Two Moons

by

Sharon Creech

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Walk Two Moons makes teaching easy.

The Lunatic/Mike Bickle Character Analysis

“The lunatic” is a young man of about 18 who appears on Phoebe’s doorstep one day asking for Mrs. Winterbottom. Phoebe starts to call him “the lunatic” because with her wild imagination, it’s inconceivable that a strange man would show up on her porch, ask for her mother, and act nervous and suspicious about it. Sal and Phoebe see the lunatic several times over the next few weeks—and after Mrs. Winterbottom disappears, Phoebe becomes convinced that the lunatic kidnapped and murdered her mother. But Sal discovers that the lunatic’s name is Mike, and he’s actually Sergeant Bickle’s son. Ultimately, Mrs. Winterbottom reveals that Mike is her son whom she gave up for adoption before she met Mr. Winterbottom. A few weeks before she left her home, Mike contacted her. Once Mrs. Winterbottom shares this with her husband, Mr. Winterbottom accepts Mike as a member of the family.

The Lunatic/Mike Bickle Quotes in Walk Two Moons

The Walk Two Moons quotes below are all either spoken by The Lunatic/Mike Bickle or refer to The Lunatic/Mike Bickle. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Judgment, Perspective, and Storytelling Theme Icon
).
Chapter 27 Quotes

I knew Phoebe was convinced that her mother was kidnapped because it was impossible for Phoebe to imagine that her mother could leave for any other reason. I wanted to call Phoebe and say that maybe her mother had gone looking for something, maybe her mother was unhappy, maybe there was nothing Phoebe could do about it.

When I told this part to Gram and Gramps, Gramps said, “You mean it had nothing to do with Peeby?” They looked at each other. They didn’t say anything, but there was something in that look that suggested I had just said something important. For the first time, it occurred to me that maybe my mother’s leaving had nothing whatsoever to do with me. It was separate and apart. We couldn’t own our mothers.

Related Characters: Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle (speaker), Gramps (speaker), Momma/Chanhassen “Sugar” Hiddle, Gram, Phoebe Winterbottom, Mrs. Margaret Cadaver, Mrs. Winterbottom, The Lunatic/Mike Bickle
Page Number: 164
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 30 Quotes

Instead, I lay there thinking of the poem about the traveler, and I could see the tide rising and falling, and those horrid white hands snatching the traveler. How could it be normal, that traveler dying? And how could such a thing be normal and terrible both at the same time?

Related Characters: Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle (speaker), Momma/Chanhassen “Sugar” Hiddle, The Lunatic/Mike Bickle, Mr. Birkway
Page Number: 184
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 38 Quotes

“They sat there on the bench having a gay old time. If I could toss rocks like you can toss rocks, I’d have plonked them both in the back of the head. Did you notice her hair? She’s cut it. It’s short. And do you know what else she did? In the middle of talking, she leaned over and spit on the grass. Spit! It was disgusting. And the lunatic, do you know what he did when she spit? He laughed. Then he leaned over and he spit.”

Related Characters: Phoebe Winterbottom (speaker), Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle, Mrs. Winterbottom, The Lunatic/Mike Bickle
Related Symbols: Hair
Page Number: 227
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Walk Two Moons LitChart as a printable PDF.
Walk Two Moons PDF

The Lunatic/Mike Bickle Quotes in Walk Two Moons

The Walk Two Moons quotes below are all either spoken by The Lunatic/Mike Bickle or refer to The Lunatic/Mike Bickle. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Judgment, Perspective, and Storytelling Theme Icon
).
Chapter 27 Quotes

I knew Phoebe was convinced that her mother was kidnapped because it was impossible for Phoebe to imagine that her mother could leave for any other reason. I wanted to call Phoebe and say that maybe her mother had gone looking for something, maybe her mother was unhappy, maybe there was nothing Phoebe could do about it.

When I told this part to Gram and Gramps, Gramps said, “You mean it had nothing to do with Peeby?” They looked at each other. They didn’t say anything, but there was something in that look that suggested I had just said something important. For the first time, it occurred to me that maybe my mother’s leaving had nothing whatsoever to do with me. It was separate and apart. We couldn’t own our mothers.

Related Characters: Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle (speaker), Gramps (speaker), Momma/Chanhassen “Sugar” Hiddle, Gram, Phoebe Winterbottom, Mrs. Margaret Cadaver, Mrs. Winterbottom, The Lunatic/Mike Bickle
Page Number: 164
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 30 Quotes

Instead, I lay there thinking of the poem about the traveler, and I could see the tide rising and falling, and those horrid white hands snatching the traveler. How could it be normal, that traveler dying? And how could such a thing be normal and terrible both at the same time?

Related Characters: Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle (speaker), Momma/Chanhassen “Sugar” Hiddle, The Lunatic/Mike Bickle, Mr. Birkway
Page Number: 184
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 38 Quotes

“They sat there on the bench having a gay old time. If I could toss rocks like you can toss rocks, I’d have plonked them both in the back of the head. Did you notice her hair? She’s cut it. It’s short. And do you know what else she did? In the middle of talking, she leaned over and spit on the grass. Spit! It was disgusting. And the lunatic, do you know what he did when she spit? He laughed. Then he leaned over and he spit.”

Related Characters: Phoebe Winterbottom (speaker), Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle, Mrs. Winterbottom, The Lunatic/Mike Bickle
Related Symbols: Hair
Page Number: 227
Explanation and Analysis: