#1- The Glass Castle, pp. 3-41
The impression I first got when I first read about Jeannette's mother in The Glass Castle is that she is poor, homeless, and somewhat hardheaded. I saw her mom as poor and homeless because of Wall's description of her digging through the dumpster, her matted hair, and the tied rags around her shoulders. The reason I got the image of her mom being hardheaded was her replies to Jeannette asking her if she could help her and the description she gives of America being wasteful, being the reason she was digging through the trash.
I think it was very important that Jeannette Walls starts her memoir with the scene of her watching, from the seat of a taxi, her mom dig through the dumpster in New York City. It is important because it makes the reader wonder why the daughter is going to a fancy party all dressed up, while the mother is homeless, digging through the trash, living on the streets of New York City. It also leaves the idea of how this happen, why is there such a difference between family members.
In The Glass Castle Jeannette's parents Rex and Rose Mary always used the word "skedaddle". Jeanette's father explains it as a way to keep safe, away from people trying to harm them; but, Jeannette's mother says it's a way to avoid the bill collector. The parents justified the moves from something either happening, forcing them to move, or they haven't paid their bills for some time, and the bill collectors are after them. The Walls are always trying to stay somewhere for free, with someone they know, or somewhere for very cheap, just able to get by. Jeannette and her siblings hated being nomadic, moving from place to place all the time. At first, changing schools and never having a permanent home. But since they got so use to moving locations, it doesn't seem to bother them as much as it used to.
The only memory I have about moving, is from middle school to high school. Even though I was not moving districts, and I was with the same students, the move to a new and much bigger school was quite intimidating. The move to a greater school with older people in it made me become more independent and confident, even though I was scared at first. This was a beneficial move for me, providing me with the opportunity to gain more knowledge, grow as a person, and make many more friends.
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