The Glass Castle (pg 238-288)

Summary

In the denouement, Jeannette leaves Welch and heads to New York City. Her and Lori get jobs to help pay their apartment bill. Eventually, Brian and Maureen come to New York City because their parents don't really do much to help them survive. When everyone, besides Maureen who is still in school, seems to be making a living for themselves, Mom and Dad show up in New York. They live with Lori, then with Brian, and then in a squatters (which are homes for the homeless). Maureen goes to live with her parents while Jeannette finishs college and Brian completes his force training. Maureen becomes to dependent on her mom so she nicely tells Maureen that she needs to move out, but Maureen stabs her. After Maureen was put in the mental home, their dad became sick and ended up dying soon after.

Jeannette and her husband, John, drive Jeannette's family to their farm. When they get to the farm, Jessica and Veronica, John's fifteen year old daughter and Brian's eighteen year old daughter, greet them. Jeannette showed them the house and her mom was very impressed with the art decorating the house. They all sat down to eat and discussed old memories, bringing up their father. Making a toast to remember his crazy, fun, and adventurous ways.

Quote
"We started talking about some of Dad's great escapades: letting me pet the cheetah, taking us Demon Hunting, giving us stars for Christmas. 'We should drink a toast to Rex,' John said. Mom started at the ceiling, miming perplexed thought. 'I've got it.' She held her glass. 'Life with your father was never boring.' I could almost hear Dad chuckling at Mom's comment in the way he always did when he was truly enjoying something" (Walls 288)


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Jeannette's Dad has many faults that at times almost broke the family up. Despite his faults, his family loved him. He always kept thier lives interesting and very adventurous. He gave his children wonderful imaginations and raised them to be tough which helped them survive on thier own when the came to New York City. He basically raised little geniuses that always excelled in schools, wherever they went. Jeannette's Dad might have not been the best, but he made his family's life a fun living dream.

The Glass Castle (pgs 168-238)

Summary
In the falling action, the kids still struggle to find food because their parents struggle to provide. As they get older, they began making plans to get out and live their own lives. To make this dream come true, Lori and Jeannette make a plan of living successful lives in New York. To help this fream come true, they work and paint to save up as much money as they possible can and store it in a piggy bank. Brian finds out about thier plan, and evn though he won't benefit from the money, he contributes to their money bank. Lori's graduation draws closer and closer and excitement rises. Until one day, when Jeannette wanted to add some babysitting money she earned to their savings, it was gone. Lori and Jeannette confronted their dad about it, but he jus denied. He had stolen the money and didn't like the idea of Lori or Jeannette going to New York. Jeannette worked out a plan that helped get Lori to New York. Jeannette, who's graduation, was also coming along pretty fast, was helped by Brian to raise the money because he wanted her bed. Her dad, wanting her to stay and help him, brought back old plans for the Glass Castle. When Jeannette said she was leaving as soon as possible and that the Glass Castle would never be built, her dad just stormed off.
Quote
"'Dad,' I said, 'as soon as I finish classes, I'm getting on the next bus out of here. If the buses stop running, I'll hitchhike. I'll walk if I have to. Go ahead and build the Glass Castle, but don't do it for me.'" (Walls 238).
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This gave me the impression that Jeannette did give up hope on her dad. Jeannette already made up her mind that she was leaving and she wasn't going to let her dad get in the way of her dreams. Especially, when he was usually drunk and was always dissappearing. I felt pity for her father though, because his only support system was leaving him and there was nothing he could do about it. If he would've been on her side when her mother was being selfish, then maybe he would still have his "Mountain Goat" by his side.

The Glass Castle (pgs 106-167)

Summary
In the climax, the Wall family ends up moving again because the dad gets tired of city life and once again looses his job. He couldn't keep a steady job because of his weird researches. Luckily for the children, their school served them food for a quarter and when they didn't have a quarter, it was given to them by a teacher. Sometimes, he would come home drunk from his supposive research. One time, he came home drunk and got into a fight with his wife that ended with laughter and hugs.
For Jeannette's birthday, she asked her dad to stop drinking, which only lasted a certain amount of time. The family goes on an expedition that is cut short because their car brakes down. Leaving all their belongings behind, they are forced to walk eighty miles. Luckily, a kind woman picks them up and gives them food and drinks. When the mom had enough money to pay for another car, she bought a 1956 Oldsmoblie. After getting the car, the family moves in with Jeannette's father's mother, Erma.
Erma lived with her husband and her son Stanley. She was very miserable and treated her grandchildren badly. She told Jeannette that she shouldn't be hanging around "n******" because people would start to think she was a n****** lover. One incident that occured caused a fight between Lori and Erma. After that, they were not allowed outside the basement, but luckily there was a door through the basement leading outside.
They end up moving out of her Erma's house and into their own. Jeannette tries making the outward appearance of the house more pleasant, which doesn't work, while her mother works on the inward appearance by hanging up up her paintings. Jeannette ends up getting teased for being dirty, living in house half painted in yellow, and for having trash in a hole in their backyard. Her and Brian fights Ernie and his gang off, from the side of their house with a hand made catapult, and do their victory dance :).

Quote
"He was shaking his head, but wildly, almost as if he thought he could keep out the sound of my voice" (Walls 148).
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Reading this quote made me think about Jeannette's father's childhood. After the incident, instead of usually being on the children's side, he chose his mother. It makes me wonder how his mother treated him. She probably made him miserably and maybe did what she did to Brian to him when she was drunk. When his kids try to explain the situation to him, he just shook his head, trying his best not to hear. He didn't want to be reminded of what he had to go through as a child.

The Glass Castle (pgs 50-105)

Summary
In the rising action, Jeannette and her family moved to Battle mountain. They moved into an old wooden building that had once been a railroad depot. Altogether, there were fourteen rooms, including bathrooms and kitchens. They didnt really have funiture, so they managed. Jeannette's parents' room was on the second floor, while the kids slept down stairs in cardboard boxes. They did have a piano that their mother played when she wasn't painting or preparing something for the kids to eat.
Jeannette's dad got a job as electrician in a barite mine. Even though he worked, he found time to play soldier games, card games, and invented games with the kids. If he had enough money, he would take the family out to eat at The Owl Club. Soon after, Brian, Jeannette, and Lori enrolled in the Mary S. Elementary School. After school, Brian and Jeannette would go searching for gold, but usually would find garnets, granite, obsidian, Mexican lace and a lot of turquoise. Jeannette started her collection which she kept behind the house near her mother's piano.
Jeannette's father "lost his job" to continue with his work. Leading to violent arguements and Jeannette's mom gettting a job as a teacher to stop the kids from eating any thing they could get their hands on. Even though Jeannette's mother was making the money, her dad still thought he should be in charge of the money. Even though she wanted put as much money in the bank, she just couldn't say no to her husband.
A little while after Jeannette turned eight, a boy named Billy Deel moved to town. He was three years older than Jeannette, but still had a crsuh on her. He told her taht if she be his girlfriend that she would be sorry. He attempted raping her which didn't work, and coming to her house with a BB gun when her parents weren't home. Lori runs upstairs to get their father's pistol and shoots at Billy. Brian, Jeannette, and Lori run outside and Jeannette takes the gun and shoots at Billy who gets away. Police come by to question them telling them to come to c ourt tomorrow, but they never do because they leave town.
Now on the road again, Jeannette finds out that her grandmother died and her family was going to live in one of the two houses that she owned. They now lived in Phoenix witha decent house and food to eat. Again, they enrolled in school, but were put in "gifted" reading circles. Walking home after school were horrible because streets were full of perverts. The hot weather caused the doors and windows of Jeannette's house to be open. One night one pervert came into their house and touched Jeanette. Brian, Jeannette, and their father went looking for him, but they could never find him.
Quote
"'I swear, honey, there are times when I think you're the only one around who still has faith in me...I don't know what I'd do if you ever lost it." I told him that I would never lose faith in him. And I promised myself I never would" (Walls 79).
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Jeannett's father is doing a lot of weird things to fund his project: The Glass Castle. Everyone in the family, except Jeannette, doesn't think it's possible. He quit his job, which was his family's only way of buying things they need, to focus on his new inventions and finding gold. The only one who really believes and has faith in her father is Jeannette. She loves his ideas and his inventions. Whenever her brother Brian and sister Lori make fun of him, she's quick to defend him. Reading this quote makes me happy for Jeannette's father, but also feel pity. As of now, he has motivation to continue on with his works and ideas, but Jeannette's promise could be broken leaving her father with no reason to continue working.

The Glass Castle (Pgs 3-50)

Summary

In the exposition, Jeannette intorduces her family and thier lifestyle. Her father, when sober, is an intelligent man who teaches and amazes his children at the same time. When he drinks, he's one of the scariest people Jeannette and her siblings have to deal with. Jeannette's mother loved art and called herself an "excitement addict". She felt that cooking dinner for the family would only fill them for a while, while art could last forever. Lori, Jeannette's older sister, and Brian, Jeannette's younger brother, were tough kids. Their parents let them do things on their own and they learned from their own mistakes. When Jeannette was only three years old, she was badly burned because her nother let her cook her own hotdogs. After six weeks of being in the hospital, Jeannett's dad decides to check her out "Rex style". After getting chased down by nurses, they hop in the car where their family is waiting and drive off. They end up leaving the city and becoming nomads, going from place to place in desert like areas.

Quote

"Once he finished the Prospector and we struck it rich, he'd start work on our Glass Castle" (Walls 25).

Reaction

Jeannette, and her siblings really admire their father. They think he is a genious and his inventions are intersting. He created the Prospector to help them find gold to become rich. After they struck rich, they would begin to build their Glass Castle. The Glass Castle was yet to be his best project. "It would have a glass ceiling and thick glass walls with thick glass staircases. The Glass Castle would have solar cells on the top that would catch the sun's rays and convert them into electricity for heating and cooling and running appliances with its own water-purification system." (Walls 25). I feel this quote really relates to the story beacuse it lets me know where the name comes from. Their glass castle is a place they can stay and live as a fanily together. A place where they feel comfortable and safe. A place where no one could disturb them and they could do what they wanted. The Glass Castle is their dream home.