The Castle Reading 4

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I think that most of the difficulties that they faced are now over, although I think that the memories of their childhood will always haunt them. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a type of anxiety, it can happen after someone has experienced a disturbing event. I do think all the children will have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because of the situations they were in growing up, they will always remember those times which may be hard to look back on.

The book ended in a way that I had no chance of guessing, which is what I like. Lori, who is Jeannette’s sister, goes to New York after she graduates. It was not an easy process, but she made it there. She had her life together, unlike her parents. She lived in a hotel, worked as a waitress, and was taking art classes. The next person who made it there was Jeannette. Her and Lori found an apartment together; Jeannette got a job at The Phoenix which is a weekly newspaper run. After checking in at home Jeannette realized that Brian, her brother would be better off living with her and Lori in New York City. Just like his sisters, he got on the bus and came to New York City and found a job at an ice-cream parlor. It was now time for the youngest, Maureen to come to New York. Although, there father was upset that Jeannette was taking away his children, Maureen still came to New York. They all had good paying job and was living a healthy life. It was not till three years after the big move until their parents decided to come as well. Unlike their children, they were homeless. Her mother said. "Being homeless is an adventure." (Page 255). Her parents were living hard during the winters. Her father got sick with tuberculosis; he spent six weeks in the hospital. After being released from the hospital he got his life together without his wife who refused to go with him. He stayed sober and worked on a resort during summer and fall it wasn’t until winter when their mom called him begging for him to come back. He quit his job and returned to the life he had before, back to his drunk self. Jeannette moved in with her boyfriend Eric and things were going smooth, she’s been going to college. The only child who did not have their life together was Maureen, she slept all day and only left the apartment to buy cigarettes, she then stabbed her mother after telling Maureen that she needed to get out. She went to jail without bail. Then she went to a hospital, released after a year then went to California by herself. About a year after, Jeannette gets a call from her dad saying he wants to meet up. Soon after they meet up he tells her that he is dying, after years of believing he would build a glass castle for the family he finally admits that he will never build it but that it was fun planning it. Two weeks after this, he had a heart attack. A year later Jeannette remarried a man named John and moved into a farm in a small town. For thanksgiving her family all got together and her and John's house and had a get together. They were all happy and talked about the good memoires they had with their father.

The Castle Reading 3

There have been many difficulties that both Jeanette and her family had to face. Her family moves around very often. They decide to move to Blue Mountain which is a small mining town; where Jeanette’s dad found a job as an electrician. They lived in an old railroad depot, while living here the children slept in cardboard boxes, after living here for a short time there parents offered to get them beds, the children refused they said liked sleeping in the cardboard boxes. The children didn’t have toys, they made up games, for example, they would get a piece of cardboard and go tobogganing down there houses’ staircase. One day Jeanette and her brother Brian started playing with toxic and hazardous waste in an abandoned shed, the shed caught on fire. Jeanette got out right away and had to go get there father to come help Brian out.  Another day they decided to go swimming in what was called the Hot Pot; it was a natural sulfur spring in the desert. Jeanette’s father forced her to swim on her own. She would begin to drown when her father would help her. This is a huge difficulty for Jeanette to deal with; it could scar her for life being in a situation like that. He later lost his job, life became hard and money was low. They started stealing food from the store until their mother than got a job as a teacher although she hated teaching. She let the kids do whatever they wanted with no rules, which didn’t last long. A kid named Billy recently moved into the neighborhood. He begged Jeanette to be his girlfriend, she said no but that she will be his friend. He said that she will be sorry for choosing just to be friends with him. A few days later Billy came out with a BB gun shooting at all the kids, Lori, Jeanette’s sister got their dads pistol and started shooting at Billy. The police was called and the children were asked to come in the next morning for questioning. Instead, the parents thought it would be a good idea to leave the night before, they were headed to Phoenix. Things were going well in Phoenix; they lived in their grandmother’s old house. Their father got another job and money started coming in quickly. The kids were eating more and got more toys. Although, once again there father lost his job and they were headed to West Virginia to live with his family.

In what I have read so far I think the family uses a lot of thought suppression as there way of coping. When something bad happens they would usually laugh it off or say something to make the children laugh and then everything would be okay again. I think there father is a huge problem. He is an alcoholic, whenever they are low in money he will still go out to the bar and drink. He is making his wife and children believe that they will find gold and become rich. Of course the children believe him but in reality I think he is just saying that to get the children happy. For these problems, I blame mostly individuals, as a person we get to make our choices. I do think that society has an effect on every person but in the end it is always up to us to make that final choice of whatever we decide to do.  

The Castle Reading 2

"I would have been happy staying in that hospital forever" (Walls 12)

The first chapter is about the main character Jeanette Walls, she is married and living in New York City. While in a taxi on the way to a party she saw her mother dressed in rags digging in the trash. She hasn’t seen her mother in months; embarrassed by this scene she tells the taxi to take her back to her home. Jeanette, knowing that she has money has tried to help her parents out finically many times. Although, they would always refuse the help from their daughter, they would tell her that this is the way they wanted to live there life and that she needed to accept it. After seeing her mother like that Jeanette decides to contact her, and meet up with her. While out to eat at her mother’s favorite Chinese restaurant, she brings up the subject of helping her and her father out. Her mother still refuses; Jeanette says how she saw her digging through trash the other day. Her mother’s response is that people in this country are too careless, so that is her way of recycling. 

I think Jeanette is facing many difficulties in her life that she experienced so far. While being three years old she was burned while cooking hotdogs and spent six weeks in the hospital. For her, she loved being in the hopital. Her parents weren’t responsible adults. Being at the age of four her family has already moved around to eleven different places. Her father was a drunk, the one day he was driving them with a beer one hand and a cigarette in the other. While driving recklessly and taking a turn to sharp, the door flew open and Jeanette rolled out of the car. Her parents kept driving; she thought they didn’t realize that she was missing. They eventually came back for her.

I really do not think Jeanette knows of any ways to cope with these situations that she has been placed in. In the book, it sometimes seems as though whenever something bad happens she somehow turns it around into something funny or not so serious. I think she is still too young to really know what is going on and how bad the situations that she is in are. I think this book is excellent, although if I was in her shoes I would not really know what to do. I would probably react the same way she is, being so young and all.

The Glass Castle reading 1

     

The book that I decided to read is called "The Glass Castle." When I got the list of books to choose from I looked each one up on the internet to get some background information. When I looked up "The Glass Castle" it had my full attention right away, I was very interested in it and I wanted to keep reading. I really enjoy reading and I am excited to read this book, I except to get a lot out of reading this book including reading life experiences that I did not have, as well as how these kids were raised which is completely different than how I was raised. I have already read the first twenty-five pages of this memoir and I must say that I did not want to put the book down. It is a very interesting book, I like reading about how the little girl named Jeanette lived her childhood and how she was raised then comparing it to how I lived mine and how my parents raised me. The first chapter is different than the chapters that follow it. The first chapter takes place in the present, Jeanette is married and living in New York City. The following chapters take place in the past. They explain how she is raised and her childhood starting at the age of three. The things she went through are things a three year old should never even have to witness. I do think this book is going to be sad, and possibly upset me at times. Although, I am enjoying this book and I am eager to go keep reading.