• What experiences do you share with the characters?

• In what ways is your family similar or different from those in the book?

• What did you learn about a character or group of people that you have not personally experienced?

  One experience that I share with the characters would be also having a dad that drinks and turns out homeless as well and is fine with it. I think it plays a huge effect on my life because I never thought it would get that bad. I think one way my family was different from the family in the book would be by how we never really had to be on the constant move. What I learned about the dad and mom that I have not personally experienced would probably be how paranoid the dad is and in order to be rich he has to find gold and how he could barely keep a job. Something about the mom would be how she is so care-free about her kids and doesn't really show affection towards them.

• Social Class

• Race/Ethnicity

• Religion

• Education

• Culture

• Health

• Political Landscape

  I believe education has an effect on the novel. I think this has an effect on many people's lives because they can't afford to get their kids into school. How I think education shows in the book is by the parents not getting them into school and only teaching them things that they know. They also only teach them survival stuff so when they are in life threatening situations that's the only thing they know. Eventually they get into school but I think not starting them in school at a young age will have an effect on their social life and on trying to make friends.

• Give context for your quote. What was happening in the story that made this quote significant? Who was speaking?

• Why did this quote stand out to you?

  While the author is talking about her brother never crying she also says that her mom said,¨Mom always said people worried too much about their children. Suffering when you’re young is good for you, she said. It immunized your body and your soul, and that was why she ignored us kids when we cried. Fussing over children who cry only encourages them, she told us. That’s positive reinforcement for negative behavior.¨( Walls 28) I think this quote stands out to me because it makes me believe that the best thing she did for her kids was make them suffer and fend for themselves.

1. I think the author's use of dialogue is very effective because it sets the story up. Personally the author's use of dialogue makes me really imagine what is happening in the story. I feel like it shows how the characters were towards each other.

2. Some recurring patterns that I find throughout the book would be the author talking about how many times she has had to move. Another recurring pattern would be them getting money but just spending it all in one day on food and not saving it. An effect of these patterns would be either them doing something bad so it would make them leave. Lastly an effect of them spending all their money in one day would be because they are poor so they don't know exactly what to do with the money.

3. I think when the author chose to tell us about when she caught on fire was very significant in the book. I think the purpose of telling that part of the story would be because it shows at a very young age that her parents had to make her independent. It also shows that during when that happened that her parents really didn't show that they cared that much.

• What experiences do you share with the characters?

• In what ways is your family similar or different from those in the book?

• What did you learn about a character or group of people that you have not personally experienced?

  What I learned about Billy that I have not personally experienced is that he is not a very nice person. He did things to Jeannette without her consent and then after he does it he gets mad and starts to shoot her and her siblings with a BB gun. I think he did not really grow up in a loving family home since his dad was an alcoholic and his mom is dead. He was a bully and was overall not a very nice person.

• Social Class

• Race/Ethnicity

• Religion

• Education

• Culture

• Health

• Political Landscape

  One social issue that was presented in this reading chunk would be health. Why I chose this one was because they were dealing with not having any more and not being able to have food on the table. I found it very sad how they were so hungry that they really had to eat a stick of butter. In Battle Mountain their life was going somewhat good, but towards the end it got worse and that's why they had to leave. Their house also wasn't that spotless either. Overall in Battle Mountain that was most poorest they could've have been since they were stealing food from their peers in school without them knowing.

  
  

• Give context for your quote. What was happening in the story that made this quote significant? Who was speaking?

• Why did this quote stand out to you?

  While Jeannette was trying to hide while playing with other kids, Billy decided to come and hide with her. While they were hiding he decides to get sexual with her and after that all happens he says he to her, ¨ Guess what? ... I raped you!¨ (Walls 87) Why this quote stood out to me was because at she really didn't know what that word meant. I also thought that it was sad that she had to go through that at a young age.

  
  

1. How readers in different times periods or of different ages interpret the text would probably be that older people would think the parents are crazy and don't know how to raise kids. While maybe younger people wouldn't really think its that crazy because they are doing it to show them how to be independent.

2. 
   

In what ways does capitalism (our free market economy) benefit or challenge characters in our memoirs? 

Ways capitalism benefited or challenged characters in our memoirs would be by where they lived. I think this benefited them because they got a free house and although it was in an area where a lot of lower classed people lived, they fit right in. I think capitalism challenged our characters as well. Why I say it did was because they only had like 3 pairs of clothes they would have to wear every week. Why I also say it challenged them was because they couldn't even afford to buy a 3 dollar tree so the guy working told them that it was only a buck. He only said it because he saw how the kids looked and felt bad since he could tell they had no money.

• Give context for your quote. What was happening in the story that made this quote significant? Who was speaking?

• Why did this quote stand out to you?

  Since the parents liked to sleep with the windows open back in battle mountain, vagrants would come into the house. As Jeannette was sleeping in bed with her sister she starts to feel hands touching her around her body parts, and the man says, ¨ I just want to play a game with you.¨ Why this quote stands out to me because its a common thing that people say to when they are trying to SA someone. I think its also wack how the parents would want to sleep with the windows open knowing the area they live in and have young kids in there.

  
  

• Social Class

• Race/Ethnicity

• Religion

• Education

• Culture

• Health

• Political Landscape

  I think the political landscape could be a social issue. Why I say the political landscape is because of where they live. The area that they live in is where a bunch of hippies live and where vagrants are as well. It ´ s an area where people who don't really fit in with high classes are and can be together. I think Jeannette and her family fit here because they don't really know how to take care of themselves and are more of a low class.

  
  

• What experiences do you share with the characters?

• In what ways is your family similar or different from those in the book?

• What did you learn about a character or group of people that you have not personally experienced?

  How my family is very similar from those in the book is one my dads side, they are also alcoholics. So when we met Erma and the whole dad's side of the family it reminded me of how my dad's side of the family is. My grandpa had the personality of Erma. Another way my family is similar from those in the book would be by the way the dad Rex acts when he is drunk. I see a lot of similarities in him and my dad because my dad would also be a verbal and physical abuser.

What is motivating the characters would be a hard past forces people to learn to rely on themselves to make their life better by pushing through their struggles. Like for example they rely on each other when they get into fights because they work as a team and can't do it by themselves.

• Give context for your quote. What was happening in the story that made this quote significant? Who was speaking?

• Why did this quote stand out to you?

  While Jeannette is talking to her mom about dumping trash in a whole outside their house and asking what people would think about them. Her mom stated, "Life's too short to worry about what other people think ¨ (Walls 157) Why this quote stands out to me is because that shows the moms thinking about life. She doesnt care how people judge her or look at her, she just lives life and does whatever she wants.

  
  

• What experiences do you share with the characters?

• In what ways is your family similar or different from those in the book?

• What did you learn about a character or group of people that you have not personally experienced?

  In this week of reading I learned about the different families that lived on their street. She describes them all very differently. What I learned about their little town that I have not personally experienced would be that in Welch there were a lot of fights. There would be street brawls, bar stabbings, parking-lot beatings, wife
  slappings, and toddler whaling. Personally I've only experienced street brawls because of kids at our school but all the other things I haven't.

  
  

My thoughts on the book is that I really liked it. I like that we kind of share common things with our dad and I can relate to her. I think it's good to know how other people live their lives because you never know what's going on so that's why it's never good to judge a person. I think her life story is sorrowful but it has a good ending because she achieved the life that she wanted to live. The book is very inspiring as it shows you to never give up no water what circumstance comes your way.