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I enjoyed reading this book and the first person narrative view of Jeanette Walls. Her true personal story about her family and childhood is shocking and opens the readers eyes to what other people have experienced in their lives in the United States. I found it inspiring to learn that Jeanette was able to overcome such enormous obstacles. Over vacation I watched the movie of this book and felt it did not do this memoir justice. The movie left out key events that I thought were important to the plot. The movie wanted the audience to sympathize Jeanette's father, while in the book it was totally opposite. In my opinion, Jeanette's mother and father were the antagonists of this book, causing irreparable harm to their children.

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"Mom and dad survived the winter, but every time I saw them, they looked a little worse for wear: dirtier, more bruised, their hair more matted"(260)

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"Mom and dad survived the winter, but every time I saw them, they looked a little worse for wear: dirtier, more bruised, their hair more matted"(260)

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Wanting to be closer to all of their kids, Jeanette's parents moved to New York, where they rented an apartment for some time. Eventually, they were kicked out for failing to pay rent. All of their stuff was thrown into the streets and they had no money to live off of, so they lived on the streets. Jeanette was surprised that her parents were able to survive the frigid NY weather. The longer they were homeless, the more she could tell that they did not care about their hygiene

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Mom's threat didn't worry me. The way I saw it, Dad owed me. I'd looked after his kids all summer, I'd kept him in beer and cigarette money, and I'd helped him fleece that miner Robbie. I figured I had Dad in my back pocket."(219

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Mom's threat didn't worry me. The way I saw it, Dad owed me. I'd looked after his kids all summer, I'd kept him in beer and cigarette money, and I'd helped him fleece that miner Robbie. I figured I had Dad in my back pocket."(219

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One summer, Jeanette's mother went away to take some college classes and her older sister attended an academic camp she could not refuse. The absence left Jeanette as the oldest child and in charge of everyone else in the household. Her two younger sister and brother as well as her father. Her dad was always all over the place, drunk and incompetent of taking care of anyone, including himself.

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"Everything in the house was damp. A fine green mold spread over the books and papers and paintings that were stacked so high and piled so deep you could hardly cross the room. Tiny mushrooms sprouted up in corners. The moisture ate away at the wooden stairs leading up to the house, and climbing them became a daily hazard."(185)

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"Everything in the house was damp. A fine green mold spread over the books and papers and paintings that were stacked so high and piled so deep you could hardly cross the room. Tiny mushrooms sprouted up in corners. The moisture ate away at the wooden stairs leading up to the house, and climbing them became a daily hazard."(185)

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Growing up, Jeanette's family houses were always in poor condition and never well kept. Her parents could not of cared less if the house was infested with animals or covered in mold. All of their houses were dangerous to live in, yet the parents continued. At one point the mother fell through the rotted stairs and acted like it never happened.Jeanette and her siblings were constantly getting injured from their surroundings and reckless parents. For example, Maureen, her baby sister, rolled out of the back of a moving car and Jeanette caught on fire at a young age from cooking on a gas stove. She was hospitalized and her father took her out before she was fully healed to avoid paying the bill. The list of injuries due to negligence and abuse is long.

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"We kids all slept in the middle room. At first we shared one big bed that had been left by the previous owner... We were also too big to sleep in cardboard boxes, and there wasn't enough room on the floor for them, anyway, so we helped Dad build two sets of bunk beds. We made the frames with two by­fours; then we drilled holes in the sides and threaded ropes through. For mattresses, we laid cardboard over the ropes."(152)

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"We kids all slept in the middle room. At first we shared one big bed that had been left by the previous owner... We were also too big to sleep in cardboard boxes, and there wasn't enough room on the floor for them, anyway, so we helped Dad build two sets of bunk beds. We made the frames with two by­fours; then we drilled holes in the sides and threaded ropes through. For mattresses, we laid cardboard over the ropes."(152)

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Throughout her childhood, Jeanette did not have a stable family and home. The family constantly moved so her father could find a new job that he would eventually lose. In the scene of the quote, the children did not have actual beds. They made do with sleeping in boxes or sharing a previously used bed. The father threw together unconventional new beds for them by tying together ropes covered with card board. Her father convinced them that it was the coolest thing. Due to the poverty and the fact that the parents had too much pride to ask for money, they lacked necessities like beds and food  Jeanette recalled a time when the fridge had only one thing in it, butter. One of the kids was so hungry that she mixed a stick of butter with sugar to make something that tasted like frosting. The kids learned to make do with very little.

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"Dad yanked out the silverware drawer and hurled the forks and spoons and knives across the room, then picked up one of the chairs and smashed it on Grandma's table. "Rose Mary, where the goddamn hell are you, you stinking bitch? 'he yelled. "Where is that whore hiding?'"(122)

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"Dad yanked out the silverware drawer and hurled the forks and spoons and knives across the room, then picked up one of the chairs and smashed it on Grandma's table. "Rose Mary, where the goddamn hell are you, you stinking bitch? 'he yelled. "Where is that whore hiding?'"(122)

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Since her father was usually drunk throughout Jeanette's childhood, he would always come home looking for a fight. In this scene, he was clearly upset with her mother and not willing to back down until he got what he wanted. Prior to this quote, the father was throwing the grandma's furniture and china on the ground with no remorse to the damage he had caused. He also has no filter in front of his young children and displayed his volatile personality. Every time the father came home wasted, he tried to fight with the mother often chocking her and putting knives in her face. One thing Jeanette had noted earlier in the book was that she thought her parents were going to kill each other. They only stop fighting when they become too tired or pass out. After the fights, they would fall in love with each other all over again. I think the father is the reason why Jeanette and her siblings had such a nomadic and poor childhood, barely getting fed. The father convinced his wife to walk away from her own mother and never ask for money, even when they really needed it. He was also manipulated his children into thinking they had the best lives and were lucky to be move around a lot. The father liked to portray himself as a hero.

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"I could hear people around us whispering about the crazy drunk man and his dirty little urchin children, but who cared what they thought? None of them had ever had their hand licked by a cheetah."(109)

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"I could hear people around us whispering about the crazy drunk man and his dirty little urchin children, but who cared what they thought? None of them had ever had their hand licked by a cheetah."(109)

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Jeanette reminisces about her family's visit to the zoo. Her father was an alcoholic and was fearless and crazy when under the influence. In this scene, he encouraged his children to join him when he hopped over the chained fence to get closer to the cheetah. He reached his hand out to pet the cheetah, as if it was a dog. Jeanette extended her hands out to please her father and to mimic what he was doing. Her father was unable to understand he possible consequences of his actions. This quote clearly shows the reader how the father influenced his children, teaching them to break rules, and take unnecessary risks. Throughout this book, I find myself sympathizing with Jeanette and her siblings. Growing up, she did not have good role models in her unstable parents.

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"Once the fire was out and the sodden, burned tree lay smoldering on the floor, we all just stood there."(115)

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"Once the fire was out and the sodden, burned tree lay smoldering on the floor, we all just stood there."(115)

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Word: Sodden
Part of Speech: Adjective
Definition: Saturated with liquids, mostly by water
Original Sentence:  My shoes were sodden after walking through the melting snow.

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"But I was happy in Battle Mountain. We'd been there for nearly a year, and I considered it home—the first real home I could remember... I thought our days of packing up and driving off in the middle of the night were over." (81)

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"But I was happy in Battle Mountain. We'd been there for nearly a year, and I considered it home—the first real home I could remember... I thought our days of packing up and driving off in the middle of the night were over." (81)

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Throughout Jeannette's childhood she and her family frequently moved because her father lost jobs. The family finally landed in a town and a house  that all of the children considered home. Her parents would always decide to move the day of and gave them no warning. Every time they left their current "home", they were only allowed to bring one thing with them, whether it was a book, or a rock they found in the yard. In one case the children only had one hour to find the one item to bring along.

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"Those shining stars, he liked to point out, were one of the special treats for people like us who lived out in the wilderness.  Rich  city folks, he'd say, lived in fancy apartments, but their air was so polluted they couldn't even see the stars. We'd  have to be out of our minds to want to trade places with any of them." (39)

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"Those shining stars, he liked to point out, were one of the special treats for people like us who lived out in the wilderness.  Rich  city folks, he'd say, lived in fancy apartments, but their air was so polluted they couldn't even see the stars. We'd  have to be out of our minds to want to trade places with any of them." (39)

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Growing up, Jeannette and her siblings were told that the living and financial situations they were in perfect and worked out fine. Her parents were content with their economic class and never wanted anything more than what they had already. Despite the fact that her grandmother was wealthy and was willing to let them live her, the family continued living far below the poverty line because they had too much pride. Jeanette's mother occasionally contradicted her feelings about her mom and asked for money.

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Week #1: 1-90
Week #2: 91-181
Week #3: 182-288
DUE DATES:
Week #1: 12/15
Week #2: 12/21
Week #3: 1/5

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December 15, 2017

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"We tried to explain that Billy had started it, that we'd been provoked and were defending ourselves and didn't even aim  to kill, but the cop wasn't interested in the nuances of the situation." (89)

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"We tried to explain that Billy had started it, that we'd been provoked and were defending ourselves and didn't even aim  to kill, but the cop wasn't interested in the nuances of the situation." (89)

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Word: Nuance
Part of Speech: Noun
Definition: subtle changes and differences.
Original sentence: The difference in the shade of blue was a barely noticed nuance.

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"It had been months since I laid eyes on Mom, and when she looked up, I was overcome  with panic that she'd see me and call out my name, and that someone on the way to the same party would spot us together and Mom would introduce herself and my secret would be out." (3).

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"It had been months since I laid eyes on Mom, and when she looked up, I was overcome  with panic that she'd see me and call out my name, and that someone on the way to the same party would spot us together and Mom would introduce herself and my secret would be out." (3).

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This quote is on the first page of the book, but sets the tone for the memoir. The shame the author felt towards her upbringing and her parents is introduced in this quote. Jeanette was determined to overcome her childhood and established a career despite her parents. She became the type of person they despised: financially secure, stable job, and consistent living situations. Growing up, Jeannette and her family constantly moved around because her alcoholic father could never retain a job. The family squatted in abandoned houses and often went to bed hungry. Her parents chose to continue living homeless rather than live with her in comfort.

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Short Bio of yourself - 60-100 words; why did you choose this particular book?

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Short Bio of yourself - 60-100 words; why did you choose this particular book?

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For my outside reading, I choose The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. The book was highly recommended by my mother. She had enjoyed reading this memoir in her book club and thought I would learn from reading it. The main character, and narrator, of this memoir grew up in a transient family with unstable parents. She managed to overcome many limitations to get an education and pursue a successful career. Today, she is a respected author and columnist for world wide websites such as msnbc. The upbringing of the author is eye opening and makes my own obstacles seem insignificant.