Ms. King
Salamanca Tree Hiddle- “Sal “for short- needed to find out why her
mother had not returned from a trip she went on to “find herself” in
Lewiston, Idaho. Therefore, she and her grandparents set off on an
adventuresome road trip to follow her mother’s footsteps. Sal was
convinced she had to do this by her mother’s birthday. Sal and her
father had recently moved from Bybanks, Kentucky to Euclid, Ohio
because Sal’s dad needed to clear his mind and get a change of
scenery from the memories that were haunting him. In Euclid, Sal met a
girl-much like herself-Phoebe Winterbottom-who became her close
friend and confidant. Their stories would take this intriguing plot on a
rollercoaster ride full of twists and turns as Grams and Gramps drove
with their “chickabiddy” and listened with fascination to mysterious
messages from the potential lunatic.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Salamanca Tree Hiddle-Sal-protagonist
Mr. Hiddle-Sal’s dad
Gram and Gramps-Sal’s grandparents
Phoebe-Sal’s best friend
Ben-Sal’s friend
Mary Lou Finney-Sal’s friend
Mrs. Cadaver-Mr. Hiddle’s friend
Mrs. Partridge- Mrs. Cadaver’s mother
• The problem is that Sal needed to find her mother, and this took
her to Euclid, Ohio from Bybanks, Kentucky and across the
United States to Lewiston, Idaho and back to Euclid.
•
“Once it was settled the the three of us would go, the
journey took on an alarming, expanding need to hurry that was
a walloping, great thundercloud assembling around me. During
the week before we left, the sound of the wind was “hurry,
hurry, hurry,” and at night even the silent darkness whispered,
“rush, rush, rush.”
• The story took place in the middle to late 1900s.
• There are a myriad of themes in this novel. Because
Sharon Creech skillfully weaves messages about life
throughout her story; she reveals to the readers that
everyone has his or her own “agenda”-or story- that
is important in each person’s life. Sometimes, when a
person is following his/her agenda, he/she doesn’t
see another person’s pain or problems. The day
before Sal’s mother left, she didn’t realize that her
mother desperately wanted to take a walk and be
together.
• “You can’t keep the birds of sadness from flying over
your head, but you can keep them from making a nest
in your hair.”
• This is one of the messages left by the “lunatic.” It fits
perfectly with the theme that you must move on after a
disturbing or traumatic event in your life occurs. You
just can’t let it pull you down into the depths of
depression.
• Creech’s tone is hopeful, positive, and inspiring.
• Sharon Creech moves the plot quickly with Sal’s
adventures during the road trip with Grams and
Gramps -and with the adventures of Phoebe and her
family. There’s humor, sadness, and suspense built in
with figurative language and imagery woven
throughout the story.
• “Gramps barreled through Wyoming like a house afire. We snaked through
winding roads where the trees leaned close, rustling rush, rush, rush…The
road curved alongside rivers that rolled and gabbled hurry, hurry, hurry.”
• All readers would enjoy this story filled with life messages and
what it’s like growing up and facing an adversity. It’s especially
appropriate for middle school students.
• Sharon Creech uses “messages” from the lunatic to
reveal a cornucopia of themes that can apply to
anyone’s life. For example:
• You never know the wealth of the well until the water
runs dry.
• In a course of a lifetime, what does it matter?
• Everyone has his own agenda.
• Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked two moons in his
moccasins.
• All of these messages have meaning in the scheme of life and
give the readers much to think about. It makes one realize that
we are all really the same and go through situations that can
be very similar, just like Sal and Phoebe.
• “All of these messages had invaded my brain and affected the
way I looked at things.” (Sal)
There are many symbols in this story, and they are even
mentioned in Mr. Birkway’s English class. The symbol that is most
important in my opinion is the tree because they are seen and
talked about everywhere in the story; they are ubiquitous. It is
even Sal’s middle name. The tree represents life, nature, and love.