The Cartographers

The Agloe and Haberson maps are the most important maps for Wally—he dedicates his life and career to them, and so they come to symbolize his obsessions (Agloe) and his desire for control (Haberson). Wally is a very rigid character in the novel. He is the most resistant to change, but at the same time, once he is invested in an idea, he becomes extremely dedicated to it. This is most obvious his mental associations between Agloe and Tam. In his mind, Agloe is meant to stay between him and Tam, because they found the map together in the antique shop and realized the truth about the phantom settlement together. Wally doesn’t like sharing Tam with their other friends, and he resists each addition to the Cartographers. In the same way, he resents Tam sharing the secret of Agloe with their friends even though he also never tells her about his desire for secrecy until it is too late. Instead, Wally’s obsession over Tam evolves into his obsession with the 1930 General Drafting map of Agloe. By collecting/acquiring all the copies of the map, Wally believes he can control the knowledge of the town, but really, he wants to control Tam.