投稿類別: 英文寫作
Ways to Self-Discovery:
An Analysis of Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons and
Chasing Redbird
Connie Lin (林康怡)
National Hsinchu Girls’ Senior High School
Class 215
指導老師: 陳佑伊老師
Ways to Self Discovery: An Analysis of Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird
I.
Introduction
One of the most difficult tasks in life people face is self-discovery. As Benjamin
Franklin once said, “There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to
know one’s self.” In every corner of the world, there are people of all ages who stare
into the mirror and ask, “Who am I?” Indeed, as children grow up and become
familiar with the outside world, their desire to explore the world within themselves
also grows rapidly. Some teenagers are successful at finding their identity while
others may never figure it out. In her novels Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird,
Sharon Creech explores how two teenage girls made their ways to self discovery and
maturity. These two books may appear different at first sight, but they share a number
of common themes. In this thesis, I will analyze how two common ways in Chasing
Redbird and Walk Two Moons lead to the characters’ self discovery.
II.
Thesis: Ways to Self Discovery
1. Embarking on a journey
Journeys are essential to self discovery since they take us away from familiar
surroundings and give us a chance to test unknown capabilities. As Alan Alda, a
famous American author and actor, puts it, “You have to leave the city of your
comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be
wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.” Journeys are often the stairways to and
metaphors of self discovery. This is evident in both Walk Two Moons and Chasing
Redbird.
1.1 Journey in Walk Two Moons—Road trip to Idaho
A. Reasons for the journey
In Walk Two Moons, the journey that led to a character’s self discovery is clearly
evident: Sal Hiddle’s road trip to Idaho. Sal Hiddle, a thirteen year old girl, lived with
her father in the vast green farms of Bybanks, Kentucky. However, she felt an urgent
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Ways to Self Discovery: An Analysis of Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird
need one summer to take a trip to Idaho. As she tells herself, “It was not a trip I was
eager to take. It was one I had to take” (4). Sal recounts to us some reasons for her
trip. The primary reason was because she wanted to see her mother. Sal’s mother had
left Bybanks one day and headed for Idaho. “She [Sal‟s mother] said she had to leave
to clear her head, and to clear her heart of all the bad things. She needed to learn
about what she was” (5). From this quote, it is obvious that Sal’s mother went to
Idaho in hopes of discovering herself and learning who she was. Sal’s mother never
returned though. Her mother’s absence planted a seed of strong determination in Sal’s
mind. She had to trace her mother’s footsteps. She had to bring her mother back.
B. Sal’s maturity through the search of her mother
During the trip, Sal passed by breathtaking landscapes and gorgeous sceneries:
Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills, and Old Faithful, etc. To Sal, these places weren’t
just beautiful though. They were immensely special, for her mother had been here too
before. Sal’s road trip to Idaho was a journey almost identical to the one her mother
took. It was also a journey that enabled her to understand her mother. Before the trip,
Sal missed her mother tremendously. How could her mother have left Sal? How could
she leave a daughter she loved? After the journey though, Sal began to see things in
new light. “It occurred to me that a person couldn‟t stay all locked up in the
house. . .a person had to go out and see things and do things. . .” (257) “I wondered if
my mother‟s trip to Idaho was like . . .maybe part of it was for my mother and part of
it was for me” (258). Sal’s trip to Idaho altered her views on journeys. She realized
that there are times when people need to leave familiar surroundings. That was why
her mother left without taking her. The trip also helped Sal to finally accept her
mother’s death. “It was only then. . .when I saw the stone and her name. . .I knew by
myself and for myself that she was not coming back” (268). By tracing her mother’s
footsteps, taking in sights her mother had seen, and visiting her mother’s final resting
place, Sal matures. She learned to forgive her mother and to accept the fact that life is
full of changes.
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Ways to Self Discovery: An Analysis of Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird
C. Self-Discovery: Bravery discovered on the journey
In addition to maturity, the journey also helped her to discover an important
quality hidden inside her: bravery. Before the journey, Sal introduced herself to the
readers. “I was not brave. I, Salamanca Tree Hiddle, was afraid of lots and lots of
things” (13). Sal possessed countless fears so she did not regard herself as a brave
person. After the journey, however, Sal understood better what true bravery meant. It
was “looking Pandora‟s box full in the eye as best as you can, then turning to the
other box. . . ” (277) True bravery is not the lack of fear. Instead, it is facing fears to
the best of one’s ability then turning one’s thoughts to fonder memories. Sal realized
that she possessed bravery. Her mother’s death had saddened her immensely, but she
was able to cope and found happiness again, one step at a time. Sal realized that while
evil and tragedies exist in the world, people have the courage to overcome them. Also,
she discovered that most people were like her: occasionally afraid but also extremely
brave. The journey led Sal to many destinations: it led her to understanding her
mother, to maturity, and most importantly, to discovering the bravery inside her.
1.2 Journey in Chasing Redbird
A. Zinny’s uncertainty about herself
Clearing the trail is an unmistakable symbol of Zinny Taylor’s journey to self
discovery. Since she lived with a bunch of siblings in a crowded house, Zinny
frequently felt uncertain about who she was. Everywhere she went, people asked her
“Which Taylor are you?” Even her parents had a tough time telling her apart from her
three sisters. “My parents were always saying „Bon-Gret-May-Zinny?‟” (19)This was
distressing for Zinny because she was thirteen, an age when all children start a stage
of transformation to young adulthood. During this stage, teenagers pay close attention
to the opinions of others. They also care about their image in the minds of others.
According to Zinny, her sisters described her as “strange and stingy” (23). She was
also informed several times by a sister that she was “so immature” (40). Meanwhile,
Zinny saw herself as “Zinny Taylor: agent of doom” because she brought upon the
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Ways to Self Discovery: An Analysis of Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird
deaths of cousin Rose and Aunt Jessie (9). Zinny was a toddler when she caught the
whooping cough. Her cousin Rose caught the disease from her too, and died, at only
age four. Aunt Jessie, on the other hand, died when Zinny was thirteen. It happened
when Zinny skipped home one day, held a snake and medallion, and presented them
to Aunt Jessie. To her dismay, Aunt Jessie reacted dramatically: she staggered into the
house, climbed into a drawer and died soon after. Due to disastrous family tragedies
and the opinions of her sisters, Zinny lacked self confidence. She doubted her own
value and yearned to find out who the real Zinny Taylor was inside.
B. Importance of the Trail to Zinny
Zinny came across a trail overgrown with weeds one day when she was hiking
along the creek bank. She cleared away the debris and uncovered a path that led up a
hill. Zinny was elated at her discovery. She loved the trail and instantly felt possessive
of it, refusing to let her siblings hike on it. “It‟s my trail. I cleared it” (27).The trail
intrigued her so much that she was motivated to clear it mile by mile for hours at a
time. Unfortunately, Zinny’s obsession over clearing the trail led to an argument with
her parents. Her father said “Don‟t you think this trail thing is getting out of hand?”
Zinny retorts, “Trail thing? It‟s not a trail thing. It‟s my trail” (120). In Zinny’s heart,
this trail was undoubtedly important. She was determined to finish clearing the trail,
even if that meant upsetting her parents. Disagreements with her parents, however,
actually opened the way to communication and understanding between them. Also,
the trail offered her a magnificent place to search for herself. She said to herself, “I
had the eerie feeling that I wasn‟t erasing Zinny; I was looking for her, as if I was
invisible, but Zinny was out there somewhere. Other times, I thought I was looking for
Rose, looking for Aunt Jessie, and they‟d be there on the trail, waiting for me” (166).
The trail was a place that exclusively belonged to Zinny for she had taken the time
and effort to explore it. It was also the location where she felt most at ease and could
try and seek herself.
C. Self-Discovery on the Trail
Zinny met many challenges during her time clearing the trail. She cut through
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Ways to Self Discovery: An Analysis of Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird
barbed wire, camped in the wilderness of the trail, slept in the vicinity of a bear, and
fell off a tree once. Despite the hardships and obstacles she encountered though,
Zinny never gave up. The need to clear the trail was so strong that it became an
obsession to Zinny. She uttered to herself again and again “Let me finish. Let me finish
something good” (221). Finally, the day came when she cleared the last inch of the
trail. The ecstasy she felt then was beyond the description of words. She expresses,
“Every spot on that trail was part of me. For several glorious minutes there, I was
about the happiest person on the face of this planet. The trail was beautiful and it was
good. . .” (250) Zinny put great effort into clearing the trail so she perceived the trail
as part of her. The trail was like Zinny’s work of art and she was proud of it the way
an artist would be of a masterpiece. The trail also helped her to see herself in new
light. “On the trail I can think, and on the trail I am me, and on the trail I can touch
the ground and climb to the sky” (258). Instead of feeling uncertain, Zinny now knew
who she was. She knew her abilities and was assured now that she could accomplish
tasks she had the perseverance to attempt.
2. Unveiling true self through counterparts
There is an English proverb that goes, “Self discovery comes from knowing
others.” This means that interaction with others helps people to better understand
themselves. Counterparts also serve as a magnificent mirror for people to see their
reflection of true self. In both Chasing Redbird and Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech
explores the universal truth that by knowing others, we also comprehend ourselves.
2.1 Characters leading to Sal’s Self Discovery in Walk Two Moons
A. Phoebe
While Sal was on her way to Idaho, she tells her grandparents the story of her
friend Phoebe Winterbottom. Phoebe was a girl with an amazing imagination and
came up with eccentric opinions about people. When Phoebe and Sal went home one
day, they found that Phoebe’s mother had left three notes behind for each of her
family member and stated that she had to go away. Phoebe became convinced that her
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Ways to Self Discovery: An Analysis of Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird
mother was kidnapped. After lots of drama, they find out that Phoebe’s mother had a
secret she was afraid to share with her husband. She needed to go away to sort things
out. In a way, Phoebe’s story resembled that of Sal’s. Both mothers had to leave their
dear daughters behind in spite of the fact that they needed their mothers. More
importantly, Sal saw herself through Phoebe since Phoebe reflected Sal’s own
behavior sometimes. “I did like Phoebe . . . there was something about Phoebe that
was like a magnet. I was drawn to her . . . in a strange way, she was like another
version of me—she acted out the way I sometimes felt” (189). Phoebe’s experiences
reminded Sal of her own experiences when her mother passed away. Phoebe’s
behavior and reactions to unfortunate events also resembled those of Sal’s. In this way,
Phoebe gave Sal a chance to see what she had been like before. She also granted Sal
an opportunity to discover what others might have felt about her behavior. Sal says
“Phoebe and her family helped me, I think. They helped me think about and
understand my own mother” (277). Phoebe was Sal’s friend. Better yet, she was Sal’s
mirror; she reflected who Sal truly was.
B. Margaret Cadaver
Mrs. Cadaver was a kind friend of Sal’s father. He met with her frequently and
tried to explain to Sal how he met her. Sal rejected listening though. She missed her
mother and detested Mrs. Cadaver for befriending her father. Sal convinced herself
that Mrs. Cadaver murdered her own husband. One day however, Sal found out that
Mrs. Cadaver’s husband had died in a car crash. Coincidentally, she was the nurse on
duty when her husband was brought in to the hospital. This news astonished Sal. She
felt for Mrs. Cadaver deeply. “I could feel her heart thumping like mad as she realized
it was her own husband…lying there. I saw everyone else going on with their agendas
while Mrs. Cadaver was frantically trying to keep her husband alive…Did she regret
anything? Did she know the worth of water before the well was dry?” (220) Sal could
relate to Mrs. Cadaver’s experiences since both of them had lost a loved one to an
unexpected car accident. Mrs. Cadaver lost her husband while Sal lost her mother.
Mrs. Cadaver helped Sal realize that there were other people like her who were
suffering from the loss of a family member. Mrs. Cadaver also showed Sal what
forgiveness and tolerance were. Even though Sal’s behavior to her was always rude,
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Ways to Self Discovery: An Analysis of Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird
she never stopped expressing her concern towards Sal because Mrs. Cadaver knew
clearly that Sal shared similar tragic experiences with her. From Mrs. Cadaver, Sal
discovered that while her experiences may be sad, she was not alone. Also, she
realized that she still had the potential and responsibility to lighten up the lives of
others.
2.2 Characters leading to Zinny’s Self Discovery in Chasing Redbird
A. Jake
Jake was a 16-year old teenager who moved back to Bybanks a month after
Zinny’s aunt had died. Jake harbored a crush for Zinny and attempted to please her in
any way he could: presenting her gifts, taking her on rides, and offering to accompany
her on the trail. Zinny paid him no attention though, for she thought he, like many
other boys before him, was only flattering her because he liked her sister May. Zinny
lacked self confidence; she did not believe that anyone would prefer her rather than
May. Even after Jake gave a puppy to her, she still maintained her initial firm attitude
towards Jake. “You might think that I would‟ve been convinced by this puppy, that I‟d
believe that Jake really did like me and not May. But I wasn‟t convinced” (72).
As the story progresses, Jake began stealing things, not for himself but for Zinny.
He stole his mother’s ring and gave it to Zinny and took away a beautiful car to give
Zinny a ride. His actions of stealing confused Zinny. “Maybe he couldn‟t help
himself. . .Maybe he loved me so much that he had lost his senses. . .And then I was
really mixed up. I was impressed that someone would go to all these lengths just for
me. And then I felt guilty. . .” (190). Zinny went through a period of great uneasiness
at first. Eventually however, through all the events, she and Jake both matured. Jake
helped Zinny realize that there were people out in the world who loved her for who
she was. There were people who did not care that she was plain and collected bottle
caps and seldom talked. They were people who did not consider her “immature.” Jake
loved her the way she was. He, like the trail, gave Sal self-confidence, let her see her
worth, and boosted her self-esteem. Through him, Sal made an enormous discovery of
herself— her self-value.
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Ways to Self Discovery: An Analysis of Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird
.
B. Uncle Nate
Uncle Nate was Zinny’s restless uncle, a person always full of energy and
enthusiasm. He and Aunt Jessie played the role of Zinny’s second parents. They cared
for her and nursed her whenever she was sick. When Aunt Jessie died, both Uncle
Nate and Zinny were grief-stricken. Uncle Nate took to wandering around and
claiming to have seen Aunt Jessie, his “Redbird.” Aunt Jessie’s nickname was Redbird
since her hair was red. Once, Uncle Nate even informed Zinny’s family that late Aunt
Jessie took a picture of him. Zinny was troubled about Uncle Nate’s irrational
behavior. She says, “ I hated his being sick, trapped like that. . .mixed in with this hate
was huge, overpowering love for Uncle Nate, my Uncle Nate who so desperately
missed Aunt Jessie, who so desperately wanted to be with her” (197).
When Zinny began working on her trail, she made an astonishing discovery. She
discovered that, like Uncle Nate, she too could spot “Redbird”. When Zinny was on
the trail, Redbird protected her against bears and intruders. Redbird also came to her
aid when she needed it. When she confided her sightings of Redbird to her family,
they teased her that she was going out of her mind, to be seeing dead people. “You‟re
getting just like Uncle Nate! Hah!” (252) Zinny, however, learned from Uncle Nate’s
behavior and knew better. She understood why she could see Aunt Jessie. It was
precisely the same reason why Uncle Nate could see her. They were the closest to
Aunt Jessie. They were the ones who missed and needed her most. Zinny expressed
that she approved the idea of “being like Uncle Nate. . .dashing around, chasing
someone [he] loves” (252). Zinny understood herself more by observing Uncle Nate’s
behavior. He exemplified Zinny’s own reaction to grief. Through him, Zinny
discovered that it was not insanity that enabled her to see Aunt Jessie, but enormous
love that prevails even after death.
III.
Conclusion
Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird are two novels that explore a similar
theme: the theme of self-discovery. In both books, two essential ways to
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Ways to Self Discovery: An Analysis of Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird
self-discovery are illustrated. The first way is embarking on a journey. In Walk Two
Moons, Sal’s journey to Idaho was initially a search for her mother. Through the
process of understanding her mother though, Sal also understood herself more.
Chasing Redbird, on the other hand, describes Zinny’s obsession about clearing the
trail. Eventually, the trail led her to true knowledge of herself. While both novels
include a journey, slight differences between them exist. In Walk Two Moons, Sal’s
journey was an obvious trip that contained a clear destination. In Chasing Redbird
however, Zinny’s journey is more of a process than a trip. By contrasting the two
journeys, it is evident that while characteristics of the journeys may differ, both
journeys had the ability to lead to self-discovery.
The second crucial way to self-discovery is unveiling yourself through
counterparts. In Walk Two Moons, Sal shared similar tragic experiences with Phoebe
and Mrs. Cadaver. By understanding them, she gained knowledge about herself. Also,
she learns an important lesson: “Do not judge a person until you have walked two
moons in his moccasins” (51). This means that we should never judge others without
thoroughly understanding them. Instead, people should put themselves in the shoes of
others. We should pay more attention to the people around us and understand that the
hardships they might be facing might be similar to ours. This message illustrates
beautifully how by understanding others, we unveil ourselves. It is also the essential
idea Walk Two Moons presents. Similarly, Zinny came to deeper knowledge of
herself through her interactions with Jake and Uncle Nate. Zinny found her self-value
through Jake’s persevering attempts to accompany her. Zinny also understood, from
Uncle Nate, that the dead we love will never truly leave us. In Chasing Redbird,
the “chase” symbolizes a number of things: Uncle Nate’s chase for his loved one,
Jake’s chase for Zinny’s trust, and most importantly: Zinny’s chase of finding and
understanding her true self.
Chasing Redbird and Walk Two Moons have two utterly different storylines. Yet,
the theme of self-discovery brings the two books together. In an age when people
frequently feel pressured by the values of society, it is ever more important for people
to recognize the importance of discovering oneself. As Matthew Arnold, a notable
British poet, once said, “Resolve to be thyself; and know that he who finds himself,
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Ways to Self Discovery: An Analysis of Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird
loses his misery.” All in all, Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird provide us with a
new perspective on how to achieve self-discovery.
IV.
References
1. Creech, S. (1994). Walk Two Moons. New York: HarperCollins Children Books.
2. Creech, S. (1997). Chasing Redbird. New York: HarperCollins Children Books.
3. Welcome to the Quote Garden.
Retrieved March 10, 2011, from
http://www.quotegarden.com/self-discovery.html
4. Achieving life Abundance.com.
Retrieved March 10, 2011, from
http://www.achieving-life-abundance.com/self-discovery-quotes.html
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