The Worth of Loved Ones
Phoebe Winterbottom and Salamanca Hiddle were best friends. These were two, 13 year-old girls who struggled with their loved ones leaving. When both Sal and Phoebe’s mother leave, they both end up in a similar situation of regret, denial and shame to what they had done to their mothers before they left. In the novel Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech, a major theme that contributes to the character Phoebe and the plot about Sal finally visiting her mother is you never know the worth of water until the well is dry.
Earlier in the story, Phoebe shows that she finally knows the worth of her mother before when she disappeared because it said “I must have fallen asleep after that, because I awoke to the sound of Phoebe crying in her sleep. When I woke her, she denied it. ‘I was not crying. I most certainly was not. In the morning, Phoebe refused to get up. Her father rushed into the room with two ties slung around his neck and his shoes in his hand. ‘Phoebe you’re late.’ ‘I’m sick,’ she said. ‘I have a fever and a stomach-ache.’ Her father placed his hand on her forehead, looked deep into her eyes and said, ‘I’m afraid you have to go to school.’ ‘I’m sick. Honest,’ she said. ‘It might be cancer.’ ‘Phoebe, I know you're worried, but there's nothing we can do but wait. We have to go on with things. We can’t malinger.’ ‘We can't what?’ ‘Malinger. Here. Look it up.’ He tossed her the dictionary from her desk and tore down the hall. ‘My
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They both regretted the mistreatment of their mothers and wished for them to come back. Fortunately, Phoebe’s mother came back but, however, Sal’s mother did not. The author shares this valuable theme in the book, that you never know the worth of water until the well is dry and that you should never treat the ones that love you poorly because they do not last