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Chapter 7
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
Once Gramps is on the right road, Gram asks Sal to continue her story about Phoebe and the lunatic. She only wants to hear about the lunatic as long the story isn’t bloody, and she remarks that “Peeby” is just like Gloria. Gramps wants to know if Gloria really had a crush on him, but Gram tells him to pay attention to the road.
Again, Sal’s story about Phoebe reminds Gram and Gramps of their own story about Gloria. This implies that stories are often interconnected in mysterious ways, and that hearing or telling one story can shed new light on a different one.
Themes
In the story, Sal is at Phoebe’s on a Saturday morning when Mary Lou Finney invites the girls to her house. Phoebe’s parents are out, so Phoebe checks all the doors and windows before she and Sal leave, “just in case.” Sal is confused, especially since Mrs. Winterbottom checked everything before she left. Just then, the doorbell rings. There’s a nervous-looking young man on the porch who seems to be about 17 or 18. Phoebe grouses that Mrs. Winterbottom hates strangers at the door, as she’s certain that a stranger will have a gun and be “an escaped lunatic.” Sal offers to open the door, but Phoebe says they can do it together.
Phoebe mimics her mother’s habit of checking all the doors and windows before she leaves the house, which suggests that Mrs. Winterbottom is the one who has inadvertently taught her to be so suspicious of other people. This becomes especially clear when Phoebe notes that Mrs. Winterbottom is afraid of “escaped lunatics” with guns coming to her door—a serious threat, but one that’s statistically unlikely to happen. Sal doesn’t know how to relate to the Winterbottoms in this regard, as she doesn’t look at every person she encounters as a possible attacker.
Themes
The young man on the doorstep asks if this is the Winterbottoms’ house. Phoebe says it is, closes the door on him, and asks Sal if she “detect[s] any signs of lunacy.” Sal doesn’t, so Phoebe opens the door again. The man asks for Mrs. Winterbottom, and Phoebe lies that her mother is home. As the man looks down, seemingly ready to cry, Phoebe pretends to look for Mrs. Winterbottom. Then, she returns to the door and says her mother went out. She introduces herself and asks if he’d like to leave a message, but he declines and leaves. Phoebe is convinced the man is going to murder her and Sal.
Phoebe is presumably afraid to admit that she and Sal are home alone—her parents have probably been coached to say that she’s not by herself, which could very well keep Phoebe safe from a potential intruder. But at the same time, being so defensive and hostile to outsiders means that Phoebe isn’t willing to consider that this distraught young man probably isn’t a threat and may have a valid reason for showing up at the Winterbottoms’ house.
Themes
