Walk Two Moons Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

The plaster wall in Sal's living room in Bybanks is very important. Yes, that's right: very important symbol alert! It is such a delicious symbol that we don't want to unpack it too completely for...

The word "tree" is Sal's middle name. We're not joking. Trees are part of her and she is part tree. Not only that, but we hear a lot about trees in her story. She loves them. She is in awe of them,...

We get to see a lot of America through Sal's eyes. We dip our toes in Lake Michigan, we stay at a Howard Johnson motel, we get lost trying to drive across Chicago, we eat delicious things in Madiso...

Do you think the moment when the water moccasin bites Gram Hiddle's leg could be seen as symbolic in any way? We know that might sound like a stretch, but hear us out. Nature is very, very importan...

Did you notice all the messages in this story? Shmoop certainly did. Here are the ones that popped out to us:The secret messages left on the Winterbottom doorstepThe postcards that Sal's mom sends...

Ben Finney is always drawing. Pictures of Sal as a Salamander sitting on her own hair, pictures of himself, cartoons of other characters. Even Sal at one point draws a rather disturbing picture of...

Storytelling is the key to unlocking Walk Two Moons. You may think, well, duh, Shmoop! Of course storytelling is important in a book – it's a story! But in Walk Two Moons, the act of storytelling...

Did you chuckle as much as we did whenever Gramps Hiddle said, "'this ain't our marriage bed, but it will do'"? Did you cry as much as we did when Gramps Hiddle slept in the hospital bed with Gram...

Raise your hand if you want to someday try a blackberry kiss! Yep, so do we. Sal's description of her mother popping some blackberries in her mouth and then kissing a tree is so vivid. And because...

First of all, Sal is terrified of cars, planes, buses – anything that moves, really. Over time, we realize that her fear might stem from the fact that her mother was killed in a bus accident. But...

Let's take a moment to think about all the teachers in this novel. First, there's obviously Mr. Birkway, who teaches Sal how to tell her own stories and share her memories in her journal. But Gram...

This book is chock full of some very strange names. First, there's our Sal's full name, Salamanca Tree Hiddle, which is downright normal compared to the name her mother wanted to give her – Salam...

What's a road trip? Well, it's a trip that people take in a car (on roads), where they usually stop at different places along the way and do some sightseeing. Sometimes it involves delicious snacks...

We get two delightful interpretations of the myth of Pandora's Box in this story. The first time we hear about Pandora is when Ben Finney gives a presentation in Mr. Birkway's class about Prometheu...