Quote 1: "I didn’t have the answers to those questions, but what I did know was that I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt in fire. It was the sort of knowledge that kept you on your toes” (Walls 34). In this part of the book Jeannette was thinking about how the hotel she was staying in had just caught on fire. She wondered if all fires were related and didn’t know the answer however saying that she knew she lived in a world that could catch fire at any second was probably foreshadowing the wild events to come later in her story. It also showed how unstable the Walls family was and uncertain of their future. Quote 2: "'Oh Yeah?' I said. 'How about Hitler? What was his redeeming quality?' 'Hitler loved dogs,' Mom said without hesitation” (Walls 144). Jeannette …show more content…
Her Mom was ashamed of her for acting like this but Jeannette really wanted her Mom to change her ways and stop being homeless. She really loved her mother and wanted her to have a good life. Quote 8: "Situations like these, I realized, were what turned people into hypocrites” (Walls 144). Jeannette was angry at her grandmother for not accepting her having a black friend. She wanted her parents support to justify that all people are the same however her parents really needed a place to stay and would rather not back up their daughter than challenge Erma in fear of being kicked out. Jeannette realized how people become hypocrites and having to be forced to go against their own beliefs. Quote 9: “‘Things usually work out in the end.’ ‘What if they don’t?’ ‘That just means yo haven’t come to the end yet’” (Walls 259). This is an example of Jeannette’s parents trying to keep their children as optimistic as possible.They knew that their life would be rough and tough based on what they had gone through however if they always kept the positive mindset it would make things a lot easier for
Jeannette and her siblings were all forced into completing tasks and taking on roles for themselves and their other siblings that are heartbreaking to read about and uncommon for most children to experience and tackle themselves. Much of this had to do with the lack of responsibility on their parents’ part and the ways they decided to live. As I have read the book, I have been amazed over and over again at the ways Jeannette handled the parental roles—both mother and father. She was very tough and never gave up, but you could tell there were other times she was just plain discouraged. One example we can see her using the roles to benefit her siblings was when her mom left to Charleston to “renew her teaching certificate” for 8 weeks and put Jeannette in charge of the money. She budgeted out $25 a week to provide the groceries and pay all of the bills that would need to be taken care of. Even though Jeannette gave her father (Rex) money when he asked, she
This quote from the text provides readers with the sense that Jeannette’s “glass” is always half full. Instead of Jeannette feeling sorry for herself, she tries to make the situation better.
Jeannette is a hero because both are represented as being forgiving, caring, and believing in people. By having theses qualities, Jeannette is able to persevere through her life. Jeannette is forgiving because she is able to rise above her bully, Dinitia, and befriends her (Walls 142). She is able to accept Dinitia’s “apology” and move on. Jeannette is also caring. She is caring because she also helps Dinitia with schoolwork (Walls 142). She does not invited Dinitia over because “Erma had made it clear how she felt about black people” (Walls 142). By keeping Dinitia from Erma, Jeannette is protecting her from Erma’s racism. By protecting her former bully, Jeannette shows just how caring she really is. Jeannette also believes in people and chooses to see the good in them. When Brian accuses their father of spending all of his money on booze, Jeannette defends him (Walls 78). Her father says “I swear, honey, there are times when I think you're the only one around who still has faith in me” (Walls 78). Jeannette then tells herself that she will never lose faith in him (Walls 78). Because she is able to keep faith in her alcoholic dad, she believes in him and that one day he will move on. By being forgiving, caring, and seeing the good in others, Jeannette is a the character archetype of a hero and uses her qualities to help her persevere in
The families living conditions were horrible. They lived in a very small apartment which at times had more than ten people living in it. Since LaJoe was a very friendly and considerate person, she brought many kids and adults "under her wing" and took care of them when in need. Some kids in the neighborhood even called her "mom." LaJoe did not have the heart to turn her back on anyone that appeared at her door.
The children of the Wall’s family met many dilemmas with fire that could have been easily prevented if they had the security of their parents. The author begins the story with a flashback to when Jeannette was a three year old toddler. The scene starts off with little Jeannette standing on a chair cooking a hot dog on the burner for herself without any parental guidance. She then leans too far over the stove and her clothes combust into flames that cause her severe burns that ne...
While Jeannette’s father acknowledges that he is harming his family and tries to better himself, her mother never once tries to improve. She ignores all of her and her family’s problems, often times contributing more to the problem to benefit herself, worsening the situation for her children. The mother copes in selfish ways, disregarding her family in order to make her life more enjoyable. A perfect example is when the family is sitting in the living room without any food, trying to keep their minds off of hunger, when Brian, Jeannette’s brother, sees that the mother is discretely eating a chocolate bar. The mother tries to defend herself, saying that she’s a “sugar addict, just like [their] father is an alcoholic.” (Walls 174) The mother has never showed any signs of an addiction to sugar, and she’s clearly trying to get the kids sympathy for being selfish. She has behavior that is completely destructive for her family, and she needs to learn and practice better coping
...e on her part. Throughout the story, the Mother is portrayed as the dominant figure, which resembled the amount of say that the father and children had on matters. Together, the Father, James, and David strived to maintain equality by helping with the chickens and taking care of Scott; however, despite the effort that they had put in, the Mother refused to be persuaded that Scott was of any value and therefore she felt that selling him would be most beneficial. The Mother’s persona is unsympathetic as she lacks respect and a heart towards her family members. Since the Mother never showed equality, her character had unraveled into the creation of a negative atmosphere in which her family is now cemented in. For the Father, David and James, it is only now the memories of Scott that will hold their bond together.
I am hear to write about Jeannette Walls, and why she would be a great fit for this University. Jeannette is a very honest, skilled, and down to Earth human being of whom I very much enjoy. Her never give up mentality is what brings the best of her abilities. Even threw failures, Jeannette perseverance is what inspires many of her peers to strive to succeed.
Ultimately, Jeanette made the decision of ending her marriage and divorce her husband, thus seeking a place to live by herself. All she ever desired was an impartial life and some justice who would recompense her horrifying childhood lived with her paternities. She became a tremendously famous writer, Jeanette finally discovered what peace was, by basically enforcing self-justice.
Her family stayed three years at the camp. Jeanne did not enjoy living in these camps. The memories of the past still haunted her as she grew older. “Writing it has been a way of coming to terms with the impact these years have had on my entire life” (pg
One of her earliest memories came from when she was three years old. Jeannette had to go to the hospital because she burned herself cooking hot dogs. Her parents didn’t like hospitals, so for that reason after a few weeks they came and took her away. Jeannette and her family were constantly moving from place to place, sometimes staying no more than one night somewhere. Her father always lied to them saying that they had to keep moving because he was wanted by the FBI. Jeannette’s mother never took much interest in Jeannette or her siblings, because the mother didn’t want them and thought that they were bothersome and in the way.
Ever since she was a young girl. Jeannette had set high goals for herself. Since she was so advanced in school and genuinely enjoyed learning, it made sense that she would want to do big things with her life. Whether it was being a veterinarian or a geologist, her dreams extended far beyond her homes in little desert towns or Welch, West Virginia. However, because of her poverty-stricken home life, many people believed it didn’t seem likely that she would be so successful. One day, while living in Welch, Jeannette goes to the bar to drag her drunk father back home. A neighborhood man offers them a ride back to their house, and on the ride up he and Jeannette start a conversation about school. When Jeannette tells the man that she works so hard in school because of her dream careers, the man laughs saying, “for the daughter of the town drunk, you sure got big plans” (Walls 183). Immediately, Jeannette tells the man to stop the car and gets out, taking her father with her. This seems to be a defining moment in which Jeannette is first exposed to the idea that she is inferior to others. Although this man said what he did not mean to offend her, Jeannette is clearly very hurt by his comment. To the reader, it seems as if she had never thought that her family’s situation made her subordinate to those
The mother is a selfish and stubborn woman. Raised a certain way and never falters from it. She neglects help, oppresses education and persuades people to be what she wants or she will cut them out of her life completely. Her own morals out-weight every other family member’s wants and choices. Her influence and discipline brought every member of the family’s future to serious-danger to care to her wants. She is everything a good mother isn’t and is blind with her own morals. Her stubbornness towards change and education caused the families state of desperation. The realization shown through the story is the family would be better off without a mother to anchor them down.
There are several different social issues presented in Jeannette Wall’s memoir “The Glass Castle.” These issues included neglect – medical and education,
Her mother, Annette, does not show much motherly affection to her either. Antoinette needs and wants her mother's love, but Annette is indifferent to her. Once, Antoinette sees her mother frown, and tries to smooth the frown out with her hand,