Characters in Glass Castle

The only characters that have appeared in the book so far are Jeannette and her family. Jeannette's parents are very carefree. In my opinion they don't seem like very good parents. Her dad encourages her to play with fire after her burn. "Dad also thought I should face down my enemy, and he showed me how to pass my finger through a candle flame" (pg.15). I wonder to myself what kind of a parent does that. He lets her do things that I never a imagine a parent allowing. "By the time I was four, I was pretty good with Dad's pistol, a big black shot revolver, and could hit five out of six beer bottles at thirty paces" (pg.21). Her parents seem somewhat too laid back. "Some parents worried that their kids might get hit by lightening, but Mom and Dad never did, and they let us go out and play in the warm, driving water" (pg.22)

Even though Jeannette's life seems somewhat unstable, she doesn't seem to mind it. "'Do you like always moving around?' Lori asked me. 'Of course I do!' I said. 'Don't you?' Their crazy nomadic lifestyle doesn't seem to phase her. Also, Though I don't think of her dad as a good parent, Jeannette seems to look up to and respect her dad. "When Dad wasn't telling us about all the amazing things he had already done, he was telling us about the wondrous things he was going to do" (pg.25). I admire Jeannette's attitude toward life as a child. Though she has it rough, she seems to make the best of it. It may just be the fact that she is a child and knows nothing else, but I see a srong character in her. Already she has had many struggles, but always makes the best of it.

Glass Castle Plotline

After Jeanette comes home from the hospital, instead of being afraid of fire, she is fascinated by it. You'd think after being severly burned, fire might be a little scary, but it isn't for her. A few months later, Jeanette's dad wakes everyone up in the middle of the night and they leave the home in which they currently reside taking only the "necessary" things. Jeanette says her family was always doing the skedaddle as she calls it. She was poor as a child and her dad flees from bill collectors they have not paid. They live like nomads moving from town to town. Her dad would get odd jobs, and every once in a while they would live with their rich grandma. But that wouldn't last very long because a fight always breaks out between her and the dad. Her dad tells the kids stories about when he was young for entertainment. He also promises them that one day they will strike it rich finding gold from the machine he is inventing called the prospector. After they do, they will live in a big beautiful house made soley from glass called the glass castle. Jeanette and her family travels in a car they call the green caboose. During one of their many trips, Jeanette falls out of the car and her parents don't notice until her brother Brain tells them about a mile later. She is mad at first but her dad cheers her up. In thier many moves, Jeanette and her family travel to Las Vegas, San Francisco, And then back to a small town called Midland. They have Christmas one year in MidLand and Jeanette explains that shes never believed in Santa Claus beacuse her parents told her the truth. She never gets much for Christmas, but one year her dad gives all the kids a star of their own for "keeps". Her mom then gets pregnant and they move to a town called Blythe. Jeanette goes to school there and is the smartest one in the class. Unfortunately, the other kids aren't too fond of her and she is beat up several times. Her mom finally has the baby and they name her Maureen. A few days later, they embark on another trip. They rent a U- Haul and all the kids are to ride in the back. The car door flys open during the ride, and the kids almost fall out. Thats pretty much all thats happened so far. The book is unlike any that I have read before, but i really like it.

Hunger in Black Boy

We've been talking about a few themes in Black Boy. I am really interested in the subject of Hunger throughout the book. The defintion I came up with is not satisfied or wanting more. Richard is hungry in a physical sense but also really hungry for knowledge. He is wanting to broaden his horizons and I feel a sense of his determination to better his life.

* "I studied night and day and within two weeks I was promoted to the sixth grade... I told the family emphatically that I was going to study medicine, engage in research, make discoveries. Flushed with success, I had not given a second's thought to how I would pay my way through medical school. But since I had leaped a grade in two weeks, anything seemed possible, simple, easy" (pg. 125).

This paragraph shows how much Richard wants to change his life. I am inspired by the fact that he is so excited about learning and thinking about all the opportunity availiable through school. He is taking a different path than he knows through family expierence. I am pushing for Richard to reach his goals and become something that no one thought he ever would.

So Far In Glass Castle

I chose to read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. One major reason I chose to read this book is because it is a memoir. As we are reading Black boy, I thought it would be fun to be able to compare and contrast writing styles for the same genre. I have only read The Glass Castle during the time we got in class last wednesday, so i havent much to say. So far though, they both have a sad tone. In Black Boy, Richard's family life isn't very stable. I see a similarity in The Glass Castle. Jeannette starts the story as a little girl. She was burned very badly while cooking lunch on her own at only age three. She is put in the hospital for a little while and really likes it there. But, her dad decides to sneak her out of the hospital for "her own good". I feel that shes not going to get along very well with her parents as the book progresses. I am excited to read more in the book, and have heard it is very good from many people. Goodbye for now!