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Character analysis

Gramps (Grandpa Hiddle)

in Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

Gramps (Grandpa Hiddle) is Sal's paternal grandfather and one of the two narrators framing the road trip in Walk Two Moons. He’s a warm, folksy, and loving man who drives Sal from Euclid, Ohio, to Lewiston, Idaho, following the route her mother, Chanhassen, once took. This journey is all about getting Sal to her mother’s grave by her birthday. Throughout the trip, Gramps acts as Sal's emotional anchor, gently coaxing her to share her stories with humor and curiosity. His repeated request to "spin us a yarn" encourages Sal to tell Phoebe Winterbottom's story, creating the novel's nested structure. Gramps's most defining trait is his unguarded, almost childlike joy and affection: he holds Gram's hand constantly, sings silly songs, and greets every roadside marvel with genuine delight. When Gram suffers a stroke in South Dakota after being bitten by a water moccasin, Gramps's grief is quiet yet profound; he stays by her hospital bed and continues the journey, knowing that finishing it is what both Gram and Sal need. By the end of the novel, after Gram's passing and Sal facing her mother’s death, Gramps remains a steady presence who shares in grief rather than trying to rescue Sal. He shows her (and the reader) how love can endure loss without diminishing it. He embodies the novel’s central theme: that walking in another's moccasins requires both courage and compassion.

About this character

Form
Novel
Author
Sharon Creech
First published
1994

The person01–03

01·Who they are

Who is Gramps (Grandpa Hiddle)?

Gramps (Grandpa Hiddle) is Sal's paternal grandfather, a warm, boisterous, and deeply tender man from Bybanks, Kentucky. His folksy exuberance barely conceals a profound emotional intelligence. He drives Sal cross-country from Euclid, Ohio, to Lewiston, Idaho, retracing the final journey of Sal's mother, Chanhassen. Creech draws him with a specific physical vocabulary: he is almost always reaching for Gram's hand, singing some nonsensical song, or gaping at a roadside landmark as though the world surprises him. That childlike wonder is not naivety; it is a cultivated posture toward life, one the novel holds up as a form of wisdom. Gramps is also the structural engine of the novel's nested frame: his repeated invitation to Sal to "spin us a yarn" draws Phoebe Winterbottom's story out of her, creating the book's layered narrative architecture.

02·Arc & motivation

What is Gramps (Grandpa Hiddle)'s arc and motivation?

Gramps begins the novel purposeful — the trip is his idea and his gift to Sal. His motivation is layered: he wants to get Sal to her mother's grave by Chanhassen's birthday, honour a daughter-in-law he clearly loved, and give his granddaughter the space to grieve without forcing the process. He asks for stories rather than confessions, a considered choice. His arc is quieter than Sal's but no less real. When Gram is bitten by a water moccasin and suffers a stroke in South Dakota, Gramps is fractured. He sits at her hospital bedside — a man defined by his wife's presence now confronted with her absence — and the reader sees the cost of his cheerfulness: it was always partly an act of love for others. After Gram dies, Gramps does not collapse. He continues to Lewiston because he understands, on some instinctive level, that completing the journey is the only way forward for both himself and Sal. His arc ends not in recovery but in endurance, which the novel presents as a more honest form of survival.

03·Key moments

What are Gramps (Grandpa Hiddle)'s key moments?

  • The "spin us a yarn" scenes (recurring throughout the road trip chapters): Each time Gramps makes this request, he engages in therapeutic work without naming it. His curiosity normalises Sal's need to tell and retell.
  • The snake-bite scene at the Missouri River: Gram ignores warnings and wades in; she is bitten and collapses. Gramps's alarm here — frantic, stripped of his usual comic warmth — is one of the few times we see him unguarded in distress rather than unguarded in joy.
  • Gramps at Gram's hospital bedside in South Dakota: He holds her hand in the same way he always has, but now the gesture is no longer mutual. The tenderness remains; the dynamic is devastatingly different.
  • The final push to Lewiston after Gram's death: Gramps chooses to finish the drive. This decision encapsulates his character: love expressed as commitment to someone else's need even amidst personal grief.

The cast04–05

04·Relationships

What are Gramps (Grandpa Hiddle)'s most important relationships?

Gramps and Gram form the novel's most complete portrait of romantic partnership. Their constant hand-holding and affectionate banter are evidence of their bond. When that bond is severed, Gramps's quiet devastation — so different from his usual expressiveness — signals how central Gram is to his identity. Their relationship serves as a model for Sal, who is trying to understand what love can withstand.

Gramps and Sal operate as a therapeutic dyad structured around storytelling. He never asks Sal directly about her grief, and that restraint is deliberate. By requesting Phoebe's story instead, he gives Sal a safe narrative distance from her own pain — which the novel implies is exactly what she needs. His patience and consistency provide the emotional safety net within which the entire road trip unfolds.

Gramps and Chanhassen are connected through respect and affection rather than direct scenes. The trip itself is his tribute to her, and his willingness to retrace her painful final journey westward reveals a generosity of spirit toward a woman who left his son and granddaughter behind — a nuanced refusal to judge.

05·Connected characters

How is Gramps (Grandpa Hiddle) connected to the other characters?

Gram (Grandma Hiddle)

Gram is Gramps's beloved wife and constant companion. Their tender, tactile bond—he never stops reaching for her hand—models the kind of enduring romantic love Sal quietly absorbs. When Gram is hospitalized after the snake bite and later dies, Gramps's quiet devastation reveals the depth of their partnership and becomes one of the novel's most affecting emotional beats.

Salamanca Tree Hiddle

Gramps is Sal's grandfather and the architect of the cross-country trip that frames the entire novel. He treats Sal with patient warmth, drawing out her grief through storytelling rather than direct confrontation. His steady presence gives Sal the safe space she needs to process her mother's death, and his own grief over Gram mirrors and validates hers.

Chanhassen (Sugar) Hiddle

Chanhassen (Sugar) is Gramps's daughter-in-law, and the road trip is explicitly a tribute to her memory. Gramps's decision to retrace her final journey westward shows his deep respect and affection for her, as well as his understanding that Sal needs to reach her mother's resting place to begin healing.

John Hiddle (Sal's Father)

John is Gramps's son. Though John does not travel with them, Gramps's willingness to undertake the trip on John's behalf—and Sal's—demonstrates the quiet, supportive role he plays within the Hiddle family during its period of grief and reconstruction.

Phoebe Winterbottom

Phoebe is the subject of the story Gramps repeatedly encourages Sal to tell during the drive. His curious, non-judgmental listening shapes how Sal recounts Phoebe's tale, and his gentle prompts keep the narrative moving, making him an indirect but structurally essential audience for Phoebe's arc.

Study06–07

06·Questions

Questions readers ask about Gramps (Grandpa Hiddle)

Why does Gramps take Sal on the cross-country road trip in Walk Two Moons?

Gramps organizes the trip to bring Sal to her mother Chanhassen's grave in Lewiston, Idaho, by Chanhassen's birthday. He aims to honor a daughter-in-law he clearly loved, provide Sal with space to grieve at her own pace, and help her find closure. This trip serves as a gift to Sal, representing love expressed through his commitment to her needs.

What does Gramps mean when he asks Sal to "spin us a yarn"?

Gramps's repeated request to "spin us a yarn" encourages Sal to share Phoebe Winterbottom's story during the drive. Instead of directly addressing Sal's grief, he invites her to narrate someone else's tale, which creates a safe distance from her own pain. This gentle approach offers informal grief counseling and drives the novel's nested storytelling.

What is Gramps's relationship with Gram like in Walk Two Moons?

Gramps and Gram portray the most complete romantic partnership in the novel, marked by constant hand-holding, affectionate banter, and deep tenderness. His frequent physical gestures accumulate significant meaning throughout the trip. When Gram is hospitalized after a snake bite and later dies, Gramps's quiet devastation contrasts sharply with his typical expressiveness, revealing her central role in his identity.

How does Gramps react when Gram is bitten by a snake in Walk Two Moons?

Gramps reacts with frantic alarm, shedding his usual comic warmth—one of the few moments he shows unguarded distress rather than joy. After Gram ignores warnings and wades into the Missouri River, where she is bitten by a water moccasin and collapses, the scene marks a turning point for Gramps, exposing his vulnerability and the painful cost of his optimistic nature.

Does Gramps finish the drive to Lewiston after Gram dies in Walk Two Moons?

Yes, Gramps decides to continue the journey to Lewiston despite Gram's death. He instinctively realizes that completing the trip is essential for both him and Sal. This choice embodies his character: love expressed as commitment even amid personal grief. His journey concludes not with recovery but with endurance, portrayed by the novel as a more honest form of survival.

How does Gramps show his respect for Sal's mother Chanhassen in Walk Two Moons?

Gramps honors Chanhassen by organizing and driving the entire trip that retraces her last journey westward. He does this without judgment; although Chanhassen left his son and granddaughter behind, his willingness to follow her painful path reflects a generosity of spirit. The road trip itself represents his profound respect and affection for a woman he clearly considered family.

Is Gramps a flat, comic-relief character in Walk Two Moons, or is he more complex?

Gramps is more complex than merely a comic-relief figure. His folksy exuberance and childlike wonder—expressed through silly songs, delight at roadside attractions, and constant hand-holding—represent a cultivated approach to life that reveals genuine wisdom. Underneath that warmth is profound emotional intelligence: he guides Sal's grief process through storytelling instead of confrontation, and following Gram's death, he exemplifies endurance rather than seeking quick recovery, showing that love endures through devastating loss.

What role does Gramps play in the structure of Walk Two Moons?

Gramps serves as the structural architect of the novel's nested narrative. Without his repeated prompts for Sal to "spin us a yarn" during the trip, she would not share Phoebe Winterbottom's story, which is crucial to the book's layered design—a story within a story within a journey. He acts both as a character and as the audience, whose curious, non-judgmental listening shapes how Sal recounts and ultimately comprehends both Phoebe's tale and her own grief.

07·Essay angles

Use this in your essay

Tool · Essay angles

  • Gramps as surrogate therapist

    Analyse how his storytelling prompts function as indirect grief counselling and what Creech suggests about the relationship between narrative and healing.

  • The hand-holding motif

    Trace every instance of Gramps reaching for Gram's hand and argue what this physical gesture accumulates to mean by the time it appears at her hospital bedside.

  • Endurance vs. recovery

    Build a thesis around how Gramps models a version of grief that does not resolve — and why Creech might prefer that model over a redemptive arc.

  • Structural function

    Argue that Gramps is as much a narrative device as a character — that without his "spin us a yarn" prompts, the novel's nested structure cannot exist, and explore what that framing implies about the role of audience in storytelling.

  • Moccasin theme and Gramps

    Examine how walking in another's moccasins, the novel's central motif, applies specifically to Gramps — particularly in his decision to honour Chanhassen's journey despite the grief it carries.

Walk Two Moons

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