Ruby Holler

“Later, as Florida lay in bed listening to the wail of the freight train passing through Boxton, she thought about the old lunatics and about going down a river in a boat. She wanted to be in that boat on that river, but she wanted to be there with Dallas, not with the old man. She hated the thought of being separated from Dallas. She felt that the only reason they’d survived this long without turning into cowardly wimps or juvenile delinquents was because they’d had each other.”

This quote speaks to a key theme, The Fear of Separation. Not only do they share a special bond because they are twins, but both Florida and Dallas have also suffered the same abuse and mistreatment. They feel they can only truly trust each other. Like Tiller and Sairy, however, the twins find as the novel progresses that they are able to spend time apart from one another in a manner that does not weaken their bond.

“That night, Dallas fell asleep quickly and was dreaming about his favorite place: a sandy patch of earth beneath a leafy tree, with a curtain of branches dipping down all around him. It was not a place he’d ever seen, except in his dreams.

‘Dallas,’ Florida called, waking him. ‘Don’t you get too comfy. Tomorrow is probably when we find out the yuck part of this.’”

The twins—having been endlessly disappointed by foster families in the past—are skeptical that Ruby Holler will be an enjoyable place. Though it seems so on the surface, Florida, especially, is driven by her pessimistic nature, certain such goodness cannot last. By the end of the novel, it will become clear that Ruby Holler is indeed the wonderful place Dallas dreamed of in this quote, showing the significance of signs and dreams.

“Even when he was as old as ten or twelve, sometimes his mother would pull Tiller onto her lap and rock him, saying, ‘You’re never too old to be rocked.’

Tiller wondered what it would be like not to have trees and creeks and barns, and what it would be like never to have been rocked.”

Tiller’s life has been filled with love—he has received love from his parents, his children, and Sairy, and he returns that love. Though he is initially pessimistic about the twins’ joining them, he softens as he considers how difficult their lives have been. The twins become an outlet into which Tiller can pour the love he has to give.

“Then he thought about what Sairy had said about the holler seeming empty after their kids left, and that seemed like another secret they’d kept from each other. He wondered why they hadn’t talked about it, why they’d both pretended that it hadn’t bothered them that their kids were gone.”

Both Tiller and Sairy keep their sadness and grief about their children’s absence to themselves. Each knows that the other shares this feeling, reflecting how strong their bond is. With time, Dallas and Florida will come to fill the emptiness created by the absence of the Morey children.

“Dallas and Florida were quiet, facing the windows, waiting for the owl. They were each feeling jittery and mournful, and neither of them could figure out why that was so, since they’d been waiting for this night for a long, long time.”

Dallas and Florida have consistently planned to run away by train. Their commitment to this has motivated them to persevere through difficult situations. When the opportunity finally arises, however, the twins are hesitant to seize it and are unsure why. It seems they have not yet realized that they have already obtained—by arriving at Ruby Holler—the freedom they have always desired.

“Now, as he lay in the bed in the cabin, thinking of his trip to the mighty Rutabago River, he again asked his mind to dream. This time, he hoped the dream would tell him whether he should take the trip or not. He was feeling anxious about leaving Sairy, and nervous about being responsible for Florida. Would he have enough patience?”

Tiller trusts his intuition and, like the twins, pays attention to signs as to whether or not he should take a certain action. In this way, he is cautious and wise, desiring to avoid making mistakes that could prove detrimental. Florida will prove her reliability to Tiller in an unexpected way when she saves him from drowning.

“The Burgerton boys threw rocks through the garage window and told their parents that Dallas had done it. They set fire to the neighbor’s playhouse and blamed Florida. The boys told Dallas and Florida that if they tattled, their tongues would be chopped up into tiny bits.

One afternoon, Dallas and Florida gathered up dozens of ants, seven spiders, two garter snakes and a frog, and that evening they deposited these treasures in the beds of the Burgerton boys.

‘If we’re going to get blamed for everything,’ Florida had told Dallas, ‘we might as well actually do something to get blamed for.’”

This quote demonstrates that, to a large degree, the twins have earned the label of “trouble” unfairly. In many instances, others are the ones who are causing trouble. The twins quickly learn of the world’s unfairness and, rather than fight the “trouble” moniker, embrace it. Their placing of bugs and other crawly items foreshadow the prank they will play on Mr. Trepid with the help of Z and Sairy.

“‘You two are about the smartest kids I ever met, she said. ‘Coming up with such a good idea, to try out our equipment before we set off on or trips.’”

Sairy and Tiller understand that the twins were not merely trying out the equipment, but intending to run away. However, they do not reveal this to Dallas and Florida. The twins, most likely, expect to be reprimanded for their escape and are surprised when they are praised instead. Here, Sairy’s approach has a sort of reverse psychology effect on the twins; she convinces them to stay at Ruby Holler without asking them to do so directly.

“Even as infants, Florida was the squirmy one, and Dallas the quiet and dreamier one. Mrs. Trepid was intrigued by the way they clung to each other, and the way they responded to each other’s gurgles, and the way they reached for each other when they were separated. Two babies who came into the world at the same time. Sometimes Mrs. Trepid felt a little jealous of them. They’ll always have each other. They’ll always have one person who understands them completely.”

The bond that Florida and Dallas share is evident from their infancy. This passage suggests there is something innate and natural about their connection that transcends understanding. Mrs. Trepid marvels at it, and her jealousy suggests that she herself does not share the closeness the twins possess with anyone in her own life. Though Mr. Trepid calls her by terms of endearment, the two do not truly share a meaningful connection.

“‘—then when we got back, we could still catch that night train,’ Dallas said.

‘That’s right,’ Florida said. ‘That’s what I’ve been thinking. Is that what you’ve been thinking, too?’

‘Pretty much,’ Dallas said.

‘Even though we promised never, never, ever to split up.’

‘This would be an exception,’ Florida said.”

Both Dallas and Florida change their mind about running away from Ruby Holler. Neither one, however, is fully able to admit to giving up on their dream, which has provided them with consistent hope in their lives. The decision to stay and take the separate trips—escaping only when the right time comes—is one the twins make together. They are determined to remain together, but willing to make an important exception to this promise.

“It was all Florida could do not to chase after Dallas and flee. Everything inside her head told her not to trust anybody but him. She had a sudden, cold fear that this was all a trick, a plot to separate her from Dallas. She was mad at herself for letting Tiller and Sairy soften them up with their good food and gentle ways.”

Initially, Florida is upset about being separated from Dallas during their respective “trial runs” of their trips. She is constantly on guard that adults intend to cause her harm and reluctant to believe that she and Dallas can be temporarily apart from one another without anything bad coming to either of them. Florida will learn a lot about self-reliance in her time apart from Dallas.

“Sairy stared off across the hills. ‘Dallas, did you ever wonder what you were like without Florida?’

‘How do you mean?’

Sairy took off her hat and rumpled her hair. ‘I mean, you two have always been together, your whole lives, but did you ever wonder if you’d be different if you weren’t with her, if you were by yourself?’

Dallas kicked at the dirt with his boot. He felt as if he was going to throw up. He didn’t like being without Florida. He didn’t like Sairy’s question either. ‘I’d still be who I am, wouldn’t I?’”

Though Sairy poses this question of Dallas, it is apparent that she is speaking of herself and Tiller. She is concerned that spending time apart from Tiller will cause irreparable damage to their relationship. It seems Sairy also wants to make certain that she has a unique identity apart from Tiller. Achieving this balance is an important goal—albeit an indirect one—in their respective trips.

“‘You’re not like Dallas,’ Florida said.

‘Is that good or bad?’

‘Neither one.’

‘Well, how am I different?’ Tiller asked.

Florida kicked at the dirt. ‘Well, Dallas is always thinking everything will be okay and stuff, but you complain a lot—’”

Florida recognizes the similarities that she and Tiller share; namely, both tend to be pessimists and rely on Dallas and Sairy’s optimism to balance them. Florida is unaccustomed to spending time with someone who is like herself, but comes to see the validity in both a hopeful attitude and a realistic one.

“Maybe it was good that Dallas was dreamy, Florida thought, because whenever she felt as if everything was dark and scary and putrid, Dallas would paint word pictures that would fly into her mind and scatter the dark and scary things.”

Though they are always together, key differences distinguish the twins. Each twin benefits from the other’s strengths—for example, Florida is reassured by Dallas’s optimistic view of the future. She comes to realize this when she is away from Dallas. This quote uses polysyndeton, where words are separated by the same conjunction, in this case “and”: “[S]he felt as if everything was dark and scary and putrid.” (Bold added for emphasis.)

“Dallas had cried after Joey died, but no one saw him cry except Florida. And sometimes at night at the Home he cried, and if Florida heard him she would sneak into the closet and lift the cardboard flap and say, ‘Don’t think about it, Dallas. It will go away.’”

Joey’s death has a profound impact on Dallas, though Dallas appears to keep this to himself, only allowing Florida to witness his vulnerability. This is a rare instance in which Dallas’s optimism does not triumph and it is Florida who must comfort him, instead of the reverse. The twins display differing coping strategies: Dallas tries to remain positive, imagining a pleasant future, and Florida tends to try to ignore the problem, in hopes that it will resolve itself.

“‘Sairy, did you ever wonder if Tiller might get used to being on his own?’

Sairy flashed him a worried look. ‘I was thinking about that a little earlier,’ Sairy said. ‘You can read my mind. I was thinking about how maybe we’d get used to this hiking, and maybe I’d stop thinking about the holler or Tiller, and then I felt bad, like what if Tiller forgot to think about me?’”

This quote suggests a parallel between the twins’ and the Moreys’ relationships. Neither the twins nor the Moreys desire to be separated from their other half, the thought of which causes anxiety. However, each new pair (Dallas and Sairy; Florida and Tiller) helps the other learn to cope with being apart from his or her companion. In this way, all four characters experience growth.

“Dallas was torn. His old self would have leaped at the chance to dump his heavy backpack and go get food, but what he was hearing in his head was Florida saying, Don’t trust ’em!”

Each twin experiences change. Here Dallas is aware that he has taken on some of Florida’s traits; he has become more outspoken and outgoing, but also less trustworthy (and, thus, more pessimistic in certain circumstances). Though he and Sairy are alike, they come to balance one another out in a manner similar to how Dallas and Florida do.

“Sairy halted, smacking her hand against her forehead. ‘I am such a dunce sometimes.’

‘No, you’re not,’ Dallas said. ‘You just think everybody’s good, and that everybody tells the truth.’”

Dallas encourages Sairy in the same way he encourages Florida. As an optimist, he is able to put a positive spin on negative occurrences, much in the same way Sairy is able to re-frame the twins’ mistakes as beneficial. The love and support that develops between the twins and the Moreys is evident here.

“‘We better find a town pretty soon,’ Dallas said. He didn’t want to tell Sairy that the awful feeling he’d had about Florida being in trouble was getting stronger. He was certain of it now. She was in trouble, and she was in the river.”

The bond between Dallas and Florida is a strong one, and Dallas knows to trust his intuition when he senses that something is wrong with his sister. Dallas’s gut feeling is unexplainable, but much like the dreams that the characters frequently experience, contain an insight beyond human understanding. The twins’ certainty that something bad could occur if they are separated seems to have come to fruition.

“The last thought he had was about how he and Sairy had had to keep one little secret from each other all those years, that understone fund secret, that silly secret. He felt he understood that now. Maybe keeping that secret would be protection, in case something happened to the other person. Then the person remaining would have one thing left to grip onto. Or maybe it was because there might be times, like now, when, if you knew everything about someone else, your heart would be too full and might overflow.”

The bond between Tiller and Sairy is a uniquely strong one. Here, as Tiller struggles in the river, he fears he may not survive and thus might leave Sairy alone. His thoughts unintentionally play on the word “heart,” echoing his heart attack in the river. Symbolically, the notion of being separated from Sairy also harms his heart.

“She pinched Tiller’s nose and thought of Dallas trying to breathe air into Joey. As she was about to breathe into Tiller’s mouth, his eyes opened.”

Joey’s death continues to haunt both Dallas and Florida, and reminders of it resurface at unpredictable moments. Though Florida has no training in resuscitation, in this moment she is willing to do whatever she can to help Tiller. In an unexpected way, Florida has grown to care for him in a way that she once only cared for Dallas.

“Dallas inched closer to Florida. ‘It’ll be okay, I know it. Don’t be worrying, Florida. Nothing can happen to Tiller.’

Florida’s chin dipped lower into the blanket. She hadn’t known she could worry so much about someone other than Dallas.”

Dallas recognizes how important Tiller has become to Florida. In keeping with his optimistic tendency, he reassures her that things will work out for the best, just as he has done in the past. Again, the support between Dallas and Florida is an indication of their unique and powerful bond.

“Florida heard the screen door close and then turned to Dallas. ‘We’re just in the way,’ she said. ‘I thought Tiller and Sairy were different from all the rest of those trouble grownups, but they’re not.’

‘Stop it,’ Dallas said. ‘They are different. Don’t you go talking bad about them.’”

Florida’s pessimism emerges as she hears the Moreys’ children discussing her and Dallas. The children worry that the twins are too much for their parents to care for, and Florida fears that she and Dallas will be sent back to Boxton Creek Home. Dallas, however, knows that the Moreys will not toss them aside so easily. His optimism triumphs and he is able to convince Florida not to escape by train.