Gram Character Analysis in Walk Two Moons

Gram is Sal’s grandmother, Dad’s mother, and Gramps’s wife. Gramps affectionately refers to her as his “gooseberry.” Gram, like Gramps, is quirky and often gets into trouble—she and Gramps have been arrested for stealing tires and pulled over for driving on the shoulder of the road. But Sal describes her grandparents as extremely kind and giving, if mischievous. Gram has been a huge part of Sal’s life all her life; she and Gramps lived on the next farm over when Sal lived in Bybanks, and she often took care of Sal when Momma and Dad couldn’t. After Momma’s death, Sal, Gram, and Gramps take a road trip to the town where she died, and Sal learns about her grandparents’ relationship along the way. They met when Gram was a “wild” teenager, and she agreed to marry Gramps after hearing how well he treated his dog. They had four sons, including Dad, though Dad’s three brothers have since died. All Gram and Gramps’s children were born in their “marriage bed,” which is the bed that belonged to Gramps’s parents that Gram and Gramps then received on their wedding night. On the trip, Gram also encourages Sal to tell them a story to keep them entertained, and Gram enjoys hearing Sal talk about Phoebe (whom Gram refers to as “Peeby”). Trouble does find Gram along the trip: when they stop so they can skinny dip in the Missouri River, a poisonous water moccasin bites Gram’s leg, necessitating a night in the hospital. Following this, Gram’s health continues to decline. After seeing Old Faithful blow in Yellowstone—a sight that Gram desperately wanted to see—Gram develops a bad cough and is diagnosed as having had a stroke when they reach Coeur D’Alene. She dies in the hospital that night, while Sal drives on her own the rest of the way to Lewiston. Gramps arranges for Gram’s body to be flown back to Bybanks and buries her in the aspen grove where they got married.

Gram Quotes in Walk Two Moons

The Walk Two Moons quotes below are all either spoken by Gram or refer to Gram. 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

My long hair floated all around me. My mother’s hair had been long and black, like mine, but a week before she left, she cut it. My father said to me, “Don’t cut yours, Sal. Please don’t cut yours.”

My mother said, “I knew you wouldn’t like it if I cut mine.”

My father said, “I didn’t say anything about yours.”

“But I know what you’re thinking,” she said.

“I loved your hair, Sugar,” he said.

I saved her hair. I swept it up from the kitchen floor and wrapped it in a plastic bag and hid it beneath the floorboards of my room. It was still there, along with the postcards she sent.

Related Characters: Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle (speaker), Momma/Chanhassen “Sugar” Hiddle (speaker), Dad (speaker), Gram, Gramps

Related Symbols: Hair

Page Number and Citation: 85

Explanation and Analysis:

The morning after my father learned that my mother was not coming back, he left for Lewiston, Idaho. Gram and Gramps came to stay with me. I had pleaded to go along, but my father said he didn’t think I should have to go through that. That day I climbed up into the maple and watched the singing tree, waiting for it to sing. I stayed there all day and on into the early evening. It did not sing.

At dusk, Gramps placed three sleeping bags at the foot of the tree, and he, Gram, and I slept there all night. The tree did not sing.

Related Characters: Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle (speaker), Momma/Chanhassen “Sugar” Hiddle, Dad, Gram, Gramps

Related Symbols: The Singing Tree

Page Number and Citation: 93

Explanation and Analysis:

“So you didn’t leave Gramps just because of the cussing?”

“Salamanca, I don’t even remember why I did that. Sometimes you know in your heart you love someone, but you have to go away before your head can figure it out.”

Related Characters: Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle (speaker), Gram (speaker), Momma/Chanhassen “Sugar” Hiddle, Dad, Gramps

Page Number and Citation: 143

Explanation and Analysis:

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 and Citation: 164

Explanation and Analysis:

“It’s not terrible,” my mother said. “It’s normal. She’s weaning them from her.”

“Does she have to do that? Why can’t they stay with her?”

“It isn’t good for her or for them. They have to become independent. What if something happened to Moody Blue? They wouldn’t know how to survive without her.”

While I prayed for Gram outside the hospital, I wondered if my mother’s trip to Idaho was like Moody Blue’s behavior. Maybe part of it was for my mother and part of it was for me.

Related Characters: Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle (speaker), Momma/Chanhassen “Sugar” Hiddle (speaker), Gram

Page Number and Citation: 245

Explanation and Analysis:

Lately, I’ve been wondering if there might be something hidden behind the fireplace, because just as the fireplace was behind the plaster wall and my mother’s story was behind Phoebe’s, I think there was a third story behind Phoebe’s and my mother’s, and that was about Gram and Gramps.

Related Characters: Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle (speaker), Momma/Chanhassen “Sugar” Hiddle, Dad, Gram, Gramps, Phoebe Winterbottom, Mrs. Winterbottom

Related Symbols: The Fireplace

Page Number and Citation: 254

Explanation and Analysis:

Gram Character Timeline in Walk Two Moons

The timeline below shows where the character Gram appears in Walk Two Moons. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

After Sal and Phoebe’s adventure, Gram and Gramps decide to drive from Kentucky to Ohio to get Sal, and from there,... (full context)

Parents, Children, and Growing Up Theme Icon

Sal is going on the trip for three reasons. First, Gram and Gramps want to see Momma, who’s “resting peacefully” in Lewiston. Second, Gram and Gramps... (full context)

...try on Momma’s birthday. Sal doesn’t say this out loud, as she knows that Dad, Gramps, and Gram will tell her she’s silly. (full context)

...days away. She prays to the trees, since that feels easier than praying to God. Gram interrupts Sal’s prayers when they pull onto the Ohio Turnpike. She calls her Salamanca, which... (full context)

Back in the car on the Ohio Turnpike, Gram asks Sal to entertain her and Gramps, maybe with a story. Sal tries to think... (full context)

Back in the car, Gram interrupts Sal to say that Sal is brave because she’s a Hiddle. All Hiddles are... (full context)

Gram interrupts Sal’s story to say that she knew someone like “Peeby” once. Her name was... (full context)

...at a rest area seems safe in comparison to stealing tires in D.C. But then, Gramps notices a woman poking at her engine. Gallantly, Gramps goes to help the woman. He... (full context)

Gramps shouts as he passes the Illinois state line; he pronounces it “Ill-ah-no-way.” Gram wants to... (full context)

As Sal is remembering these things, Gram asks if Sal would like to call Dad. Sal refuses; she doesn’t want him to... (full context)

Once Gramps is on the right road, Gram asks Sal to continue her story about Phoebe and... (full context)

Back in the car with Gram and Gramps, Gramps suddenly pulls off the freeway to rest in Madison, Wisconsin. Gram says... (full context)

Gram keeps saying, “Huzza, huzza!” as she, Gramps, and Sal walk around Madison. They get sandwiches,... (full context)

Finally, Gramps says it’s time to get back on the road. But not long after they get... (full context)

When Sal opens her eyes, Gram is gone. Sal panics, thinking Gram and Gramps left her. She pushes through the crowd... (full context)

Gram, Gramps, and Sal leave Wisconsin the next morning and enter Minnesota. Gramps is thrilled to... (full context)

For the most part, Gram and Gramps sit quietly and listen to Sal’s story about Phoebe. But when Sal tells... (full context)

Later, when Sal talks about Ben asking after Momma, Gram and Gramps give each other a look. Gramps says that once, his father ran away... (full context)

Not long before they hit the South Dakota border, Gramps heads north toward the Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota. Gramps insists this is a once-in-a-lifetime... (full context)

Sal, Gram, and Gramps watch “American Indian persons” making pipes out of stone. Outside of a museum,... (full context)

Gramps gets them a room at Injun Joe’s Peace Palace Motel for the night. By now,... (full context)

The story of the marriage bed starts when Gramps is 17. He met Gram that summer. Gram was young and wild, and Gramps followed... (full context)

Three months later, Gram and Gramps got married. During those three months, Gramps, his father, and his brothers built... (full context)

Next, Sal tells Gram and Gramps about Mr. Birkway, her English teacher. Mr. Birkway is energetic and loves English.... (full context)

It’s extremely hot in South Dakota. Gram and Gramps start unbuttoning their clothes, and finally, Gramps stops at the Missouri River. Gram... (full context)

...boy appears on the bank. He has a big bowie knife in his belt, and Gramps tells Sal and Gram to get behind him. If Phoebe were here, she’d think the... (full context)

The veins in Gramps’s neck are standing out. He tells the boy to watch what Sal can do. Sal... (full context)

Gramps carries Gram out of the water, tells her to put the snake down, and takes... (full context)

A bit later, Sal goes in to see Gram. Gramps is on the bed with her, stroking her arm. A nurse comes in and... (full context)

The next morning, the doctors release Gram from the hospital. Gramps wants her to stay another day, but Gram is too “cantankerous.”... (full context)

As Gramps checks Gram out of the hospital, Sal suggests they call Dad, but Gramps refuses—he doesn’t... (full context)

Back in the present, Gram hears the birdsong and exclaims that it’s the singing tree. She says this is a... (full context)

Sal doesn’t mention Dad much as she tells Phoebe’s story to Gram and Gramps. Dad is one of four sons, but his three brothers have died. Dad... (full context)

So, as Sal tells Phoebe’s story to Gram and Gramps, she leaves out everything about Dad. They already know that Dad felt he... (full context)

Gram asks where they are in Phoebe’s story; she needs Sal to refresh her memory after... (full context)

Gramps is worried about Gram, but he’s not worried about her snake bite—rather, Gram’s breathing is... (full context)

...of South Dakota is flat, but the Badlands consist of jagged peaks, hills, and valleys. Gram is so raspy and out of breath that she can’t get out “Huzza, huzza.” Gramps... (full context)

As Sal tells her story, a pregnant woman stands nearby. Gramps invites the woman to sit on their blanket. Since Sal is afraid of pregnant women,... (full context)

...dark. Momma was calling for her. Eventually, Momma found Sal, carried her home, and called Gram and Gramps to take Sal to the hospital. (full context)

...light on and found the bed soaked in blood. An ambulance came for Momma, and Gram tried to scrub the blood off of Sal’s cast. When Dad came home, he insisted... (full context)

Back in the present, Sal looks at Gram, Gramps, and the pregnant woman. She imagines that the woman is Momma, and that everything... (full context)

Gramps swears at a driver who cuts him off as they leave the Badlands. Usually, when... (full context)

Gramps stops that night at a motel near Wall, South Dakota. The only room left has... (full context)

...yogurt, but the Finneys don’t have any. As Sal eats, she remembers that eating at Gram and Gramps’s house in Bybanks felt a lot like eating at the Finneys’. Maybe Momma... (full context)

As Sal gets to this point in the story, Gram and Gramps exchange a look. And it occurs to Sal that maybe Momma’s departure didn’t... (full context)

...to rush again. She only has two days to make it to Lewiston. She tells Gramps they need to hurry, and as he tells her there’s no deadline, Gram gives him... (full context)

...about the “white faces” in their hill. The carvers should’ve added some Native Americans, too. Gram and Gramps seem just as disappointed, so Gramps speeds ahead. They’re in Wyoming by late... (full context)

Gramps exclaims that Phoebe’s family was very sad, while Gram says that Sal seems to have... (full context)

Gramps drives quickly through Wyoming. The trees and the rivers whisper to Sal to hurry up.... (full context)

Gram is too excited to sleep, so she rambles. She asks Gramps if he remembers the... (full context)

Gram and Gramps still aren’t sleepy, so Sal agrees to tell one more part of the... (full context)

...“the worth of water before the well was dry.” Back in the present, Sal asks Gram if she’s sleepy yet. Gram isn’t, but she tells Sal to go to sleep and... (full context)

Sal believes this next day is the best and worst of Gram and Gramps’s lives. Momma’s birthday is tomorrow, and there’s a lot of driving left to... (full context)

A park ranger tells Gram to stay on the right side of the rope. Old Faithful is due to erupt... (full context)

Gram interrupts Sal to say that this is what she’s been waiting for—she loves stories with... (full context)

At this point in Sal’s story, Gramps shouts, “I-dee-hoo!” as they cross the state line into Idaho. Sal finally believes she’s going... (full context)

Back in the present, Gram asks if this is the end of Phoebe’s story. Sal says it is. That’s not... (full context)

In Coeur D’Alene, Gramps drives right to the hospital. According to the doctors, Gram had a stroke. Gramps insists... (full context)

As Sal sits on the grass with the beagle, she wonders if Gram’s stroke happened because of the snake bite. Does Gramps feel guilty for stopping at the... (full context)

The beagle is just like Moody Blue. As Sal prays for Gram, she remembers when Moody Blue had a litter of puppies. For the first week, Moody... (full context)

...when the beagle’s owner comes back for her. A nurse shows Sal in to see Gram after midnight. Gram is still gray, and according to a nurse, she can’t hear. Gramps... (full context)

Sal picks her way back to the car and discovers the sheriff parked behind Gramps’s car. The deputy scolds Sal for playing on the bus, but then the sheriff asks... (full context)

...won’t be able to do what she came here to do or get back to Gram. Instead of taking her to jail, though, the sheriff takes Sal to the cemetery, right... (full context)

The sheriff doesn’t take Sal to jail. Instead, he and the deputy drive Sal and Gramps’s truck to Coeur D’Alene, though he does lecture her about driving without a license. Then,... (full context)

...out of the hospital. The sheriff gives Sal an envelope. Inside is a note from Gramps explaining that Gram died early this morning. It lists his motel address. When Sal gets... (full context)

Once the sheriff is gone, Sal notices her grandparents’ open suitcase. She picks up Gram’s baby powder and notices a crumpled letter on the desk. Gramps explains that it’s a... (full context)

Now, Sal and Dad are back living in Bybanks. Gramps lives with them, and Gram is buried where she and Gramps were married. These days,... (full context)

The day after Gram’s funeral, Gloria came to visit Gramps. The two sat on the porch, and Gramps talked... (full context)

Gramps is still giving Sal driving lessons. They drive around with Gramps’s new beagle puppy, Huzza... (full context)

One afternoon, after Sal tells Gramps about Prometheus and Pandora, Gramps explains that myths emerge so that people can explain things... (full context)

...Sal reread the postcards when she and Dad came home, and she discovered that she, Gram, and Gramps saw every sight Momma did. These days, as Sal drives Gramps around, she... (full context)