Mr. Birkway Character Analysis in Walk Two Moons

Mr. Birkway is Sal and Phoebe’s English teacher. He’s a lively man who clearly loves his subject, and though Sal describes him as “peculiar,” he also has an endearing ability to make a person feel like he wants nothing more than to listen to whatever they have to say. He helps teach his students the value of difference and perspective, which he intends to teach by reading passages from his students’ summer journals aloud. To some degree, this works: he uses passages to make points about how people see things differently, and he suggests that what a person takes away from a particular literary work will always be unique to them. But Mr. Birkway decides that reading the journals aloud was a mistake when he reads Phoebe’s journal and discovers that Phoebe believes Mrs. Cadaver is a murderer who hacked up her own husband. After this, Mr. Birkway reveals to Phoebe and Sal that Mrs. Cadaver is his twin sister, and that Mr. Cadaver died in the car crash that blinded Margaret and Mr. Birkway’s mother, Mrs. Partridge.

Mr. Birkway Quotes in Walk Two Moons

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

In my mini journal, I confessed that I had since kissed all different kinds of trees, and each family of trees—oaks, maples, elms, birches—had a special flavor all its own. Mixed which each tree’s taste was the slight taste of blackberries, and why this was so, I could not explain.

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

Related Symbols: Blackberries

Page Number and Citation: 113-14

Explanation and Analysis:

“He probably never took English,” Phoebe said.

To me that Y looked like the newly born horse standing up on his thin legs.

The poem was about a newlY born horse who doesn’t know anything but feels everything. He lives in a “smoothbeautifully folded” world. I liked that. I was not sure what it was, but I liked it. Everything sounded soft and safe.

Related Characters: Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle (speaker), Phoebe Winterbottom (speaker), Mr. Birkway

Page Number and Citation: 114

Explanation and Analysis:

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 and Citation: 184

Explanation and Analysis:

If there had been a vase, would have squashed it, because our heads moved completely together and our lips landed in the right place, which was on the other person’s lips. It was a real kiss, and it did not taste like chicken.

And then our heads moved slowly backward and we stared out across the lawn, and I felt like the newlY born horse who knows nothing but feels everything.

Ben touched his lips. “Did it taste a little like blackberries to you?” He said.

Related Characters: Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle (speaker), Ben Finney (speaker), Momma/Chanhassen “Sugar” Hiddle, Mr. Birkway, Ben’s Mother

Related Symbols: Blackberries

Page Number and Citation: 225

Explanation and Analysis:

Mr. Birkway Character Timeline in Walk Two Moons

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

...brain!” or “Omnipotent.” A boy named Ben draws cartoons all day, and Sal’s English teacher, Mr. Birkway , is “peculiar.” (full context)

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

...off trees and then start poking a rhododendron bush. Just then, a car pulls up—and Mr. Birkway gets out of it. He hugs Mrs. Cadaver and then helps her dig up the... (full context)

Phoebe is convinced that Mrs. Cadaver buried something under the rhododendron, like Mr. Cadaver. Maybe Mr. Birkway helped. She suggests that Dad shouldn’t go over to Mrs. Cadaver’s house anymore. Sal isn’t... (full context)

Parents, Children, and Growing Up Theme Icon

...thing she remembers is that Phoebe wanted Sal to tell Dad that Mrs. Cadaver and Mr. Birkway cut up Mr. Cadaver. Sal picks her story up: Phoebe is very concerned about Margaret.... (full context)

...draws a noose and a tree to hang her doodle. The next day, Sal studies Mr. Birkway closely. He’s a lively murderer. Sal hopes he’s in love with Margaret so they can... (full context)

Mr. Birkway introduces Greek mythology in class. Meanwhile, Sal remembers how much Momma loved books and “Indian... (full context)

Sal tries to write her mini journal for Mr. Birkway that night. She lists all the things she likes first. They’re all things from Bybanks,... (full context)

The next day, Sal gives her mini journal to Mr. Birkway . During class, Mr. Birkway introduces a poem by e. e. cummings called “the little... (full context)

...maintains this all day, and she tells Sal to come spend the night tomorrow night. Mr. Birkway assigns the students an exercise: they must draw their souls in 15 seconds. The students... (full context)

When the time is up, Mr. Birkway collects everyone’s drawings and puts them on the bulletin board. Sal is shocked. Every person... (full context)

Phoebe goes to the police on the day that Mr. Birkway reads a poem in class that upsets both her and Sal. The poem is “The... (full context)

Mr. Birkway comes to class with everyone’s journals—which he’s going to share with the class. He explains... (full context)

Mr. Birkway pulls out another journal and reads that “Linda” is the writer’s best friend, but Linda... (full context)

...that she’s going somewhere, and Jimmy is coming to get her. A car pulls up—and Mr. Birkway gets out. He calls Mrs. Partridge “Mom,” and he and Mrs. Partridge explain their relation.... (full context)

...to talk about it. Sal doesn’t understand what’s going on, and the day is terrible. Mr. Birkway makes everything worse by reading people’s journals again. Sal studies Mr. Birkway and is very... (full context)

From the next journal, Mr. Birkway reads that “Jane” knows nothing about kissing—she believed it when the writer told her kisses... (full context)

The room goes quiet. Mr. Birkway briefly looks ready to strangle Beth Ann, but then he says he knows how she... (full context)

Then, Mr. Birkway pulls out another journal. Sal feels ready to die—it’s her journal, and Mr. Birkway reads... (full context)

...she goes to bed. In her story, Sal goes to Phoebe’s in the evening after Mr. Birkway reads the girls’ journals aloud. Sal marches up to Phoebe’s bedroom and says she has... (full context)

Then, Mr. Birkway explains that Mrs. Cadaver is his sister, and that her husband is dead. Phoebe looks... (full context)

Once Mr. Birkway is gone, Sal and Phoebe sit on the front porch. Phoebe doesn’t know what to... (full context)

Sal and Phoebe set their plan in motion the day after Mr. Birkway ’s visit. They plan to track down the lunatic and, hopefully, find Mrs. Winterbottom. Sal... (full context)

...both have the “same agenda.” They lean forward at the same time, and Sal remembers Mr. Birkway ’s vase picture. Sal and Ben kiss, and it doesn’t taste like chicken. Sal feels... (full context)

...Mrs. Cadaver, and Mrs. Partridge are all coming to visit Sal and Dad next month. Mr. Birkway might come too. Sal and Dad are excited to see them—Sal can’t wait to show... (full context)