The Life of Jeanette Walls
The Life of Jeanette Walls The Walls family did not exactly live what you would call an ideal life, but to their family it was as good as it could get. In the book The Glass Castle, the author Jeannette Walls explains her life story. Jeannette, being the main character in the book, lives with her family who is always moving to different cities whether it be Arizona, California, or even West Virginia. Being a kid at the time, Jeannette does not quite understand how irresponsible her parents are, but by the time she is an adult she understands how badly her parents have screwed up. Jeanette decides to leave her family and build a new and improved life for herself. Throughout the book, Jeanette Walls changes from an adventurous girl to a responsible woman. When Jeannette is just a little girl, she was full of adventure. She would always be out around in the outdoors, shooting bb guns with her brother Brian, collecting rocks out in the desert, or even playing football with the kids on the street. “Lots of other kids lived in our neighborhood, which was known as the Tracks, and after school we all played together. We played red-light-green-light, tag, football, Red Rover, or nameless games that involved running hard, keeping up with the pack, and not crying if you feel down,” (58). This quote shows that Jeanette is kind of a tomboy and is also fearless. Many girls would not play these types of games because they would be too scared about getting hurt by the boys playing rough. Also, having these personality traits could make Jeanette not worry too much about her dad drinking or her mom not taking good care of the family. Being adventurous could also result in her behavior as well. “So we mixed up a batch of what Brian called nuclear fuel, pouring different liquids into a can. When I tossed in the match, a cone of flame shot up with a whoosh like a jet burner. Brian and I were knocked to our feet. When we stood up, one of the walls was on fire,” (61). This quote