The Glass Castle is a better Place To Stand

1164 Words3 Pages

When most people hear about rapes, murders, and drugs they think about the news and movies. They never would have thought a book could express these controversial topics correctly. I was one of those people before I read “The Glass Castle” and “A Place to Stand. ““The Glass Castle” is about a girl that grows up with parent that shouldn’t have kids. She struggles with growing up poor and not getting the support she needs when awful things happened. “A Place to Stand” is about a boy who grows up without his parents around and eventually ends up in a maximum security prison for selling drugs. Most of the book is focused on him learning how to read and write in prison and all the awful things that happen there. These books were marvelous representations of the authors, Jeannette Walls and Jimmy Santiago Baca, lives. They had many negative things happen to them through out there life but they were able to persist and become the well-respected people they are today. They made their life relevant to us with their memoirs. I liked both of these books very much but there was one that I enjoyed a lot more than the other. “The Glass Castle” was a more superior book than “A Place to Stand.” I enjoyed the short story aspect of “The Glass Castle” compared the long narrative of “A Place to Stand.” It was a lot easier to put down Jeanette’s book without becoming confused the next time you read it. Also I love the whimsy Jeannette puts on topics that aren’t typically whimsical. Jimmy’s novel is completely serious throughout the whole book. Finally, every character in “The Glass Castle” seems to develop and grow throughout the book. Other than Jimmy most of the characters either die or are never seen again by the end of the books. These are bot...

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...have a long narrative in which you have to remember a lot of details to continue reading it effectively, other than the main character it lacked character development, and everything was serious all the time. I really enjoyed both of these books, but “The Glass Castle” was the better of the two. They have taught me things I never would have thought I would learn in a memoir. I rarely read a book I am assigned for a class and actually like it, but both of these assigned books were great. Without reading these books I would have never seen that the human spirit can overcome any obstacles. Also, I would have never looked back on my life and see that others have it a lot worse than me and I should be happy that I have a loving family who supports me. I now know that life is different for everyone, but as long as you grow and learn it is worth all the trouble it brings.

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