Bybanks, Kentucky
In the first passages of the novel, Sal describes her beloved hometown of Bybanks as "not much more than a caboodle of houses roosting in a green spot alongside the Ohio River." She describes some of the features of their farm—"the chestnut tree, the willow, the maple, the hayloft...the swimming hole..."—in order to paint a picture for the reader of the idyllic environment they left behind to move to Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland (1). The language and imagery in these opening passages set a precedent for the informal language and unique, quirky neologisms that appear throughout the book from characters like Sal, Gram and Gramps, and Mrs. Partridge. Describing the houses in Bybanks as "roosting" also emphasizes the rurality of Bybanks in contrast to a place like Euclid.
Euclid, Ohio
A stark contrast to Bybanks, Sal then describes her first impression of Euclid upon arrival: "The houses were all jammed together like a row of birdhouses. In front of each house was a tiny square of grass, and in front of that was a thin gray sidewalk running alongside a gray road" (2). Birds are important symbols in Walk Two Moons and, in the text, are often associated with sadness, i.e., "the birds of sadness" (154), and also their propensity to be caged (141). By comparing the houses to birdhouses, Sal is doing a lot of things at once: she's obviously commenting on the size of the houses—they're small; she's emphasizing Euclid's binary relationship to Bybanks—in Bybanks, birds live in trees, and in Euclid, there are man-made birdhouses; and, finally, by calling the houses birdhouses, she's suggesting that the houses lack character and uniqueness and look rather cookie-cutter, like a typical birdhouse. The "tiny square of grass" is a clear contrast to the rolling green hills and farmlands of Bybanks, and her emphasis on the grayness of the sidewalks and roads casts a sense of gloom over the Euclid.
The Hospital Lawn
Sal drops in on Ben while he's visiting his mother, who lives in an in-patient psychiatric ward in Cleveland. She describes the lawn where they walk with his mother: "Behind the hospital was a wide, sloping lawn, bordered by flower gardens. Scattered across the lawn were benches and chairs, most of them occupied with patients and their visitors. It was a scene much like the one I had just left at the university, except here no one was studying, and some of the people wore dressing gowns" (237). Sal describes the lawn as a peaceful place, quiet, with an expanse of green. Creech normalizes and attempts to demystify the space of in-patient psychiatric care by comparing it, in an understated way, to the university quad.
The Lewiston Cemetery
Sal describes the Lewiston cemetery as "a pleasant place." She recalls, "The Snake River curved behind this section, and tall, full-leaved trees grew here and there across the lawn. The sheriff parked the car and led me up a path toward the river, and there, on a little hill overlooking the river and the valley, was my mother's grave" (267). She goes on to describe "the sound of the river gurgling by" and "a true, sweet birdsong...[that] came from the top of the willow" (268). Sal describes the cemetery, much like Bybanks, in idyllic, green, nature-oriented terms. The inclusion of birdsong, and the willow tree, and the gurgling river all harken back to the conditions of Bybanks, the place Sal and her mother loved so much. Her description of the cemetery suggests that it's a place where Chanhassen would've been at peace.
