Reading Reflection

#1 (pg. 19-31)

I wonder why Rex Walls, the main characters father always talks about himself. She holds him so high on a pedestal in her life because in her eyes, her father is the only interesting and important thing in her life. If Rex Walls was really what she had believed him to be then why is he broke and living in a van with his family? It might be from his alcohol addiction, or because he can not maintain perfection. His Glass Castle is just a hopeful dream that he fools his children with so they will always have some thing to look up to; to have a goal in life. Another set back that he might have had when he was "searching for gold to get rich and complete his inventions". But I have concluded that Rex Walls likes to be on the run constantly, and to live on the edge avoiding every one and making it up as he goes.

#2 (pg. 32-53)

One reading question that I found interesting was the question, "how did Rex and Mary meet?". This intrigued me because before we read how they met I had always wondered how and why Mary married Rex. After everything that he had put her through, she still stayed. I wonder if she ever knew that she was marrying a drunk who wasted their money on beers and cigarettes? But she did marry him and this is how it happened. Rex was in the Air Force and Mary was in the USO, they soon met on a cliff that they were going to jump off into the water down below. Mary then fearlessly jumped over, but soon followed by Rex because he had never seen a woman so beautiful or so daring then her. She had then told him that 26 men have already proposed to her. However, Rex told her that she was going to marry him. To my surprise, they did get married six months later. I think that she married him just to get away from her family. To conclude, the part of the reading pages 32-53 that mostly surprised me was how they met. It was awkward circumstances and I wonder if Mary regrets making that decision o leave her parents to marry the drunk?

#3 (pg. 74-120)

In these chapters there have been a lot of changes in the Walls family, like them moving into the house that Mary inherited from her mother. Another important change is when Rex gave Jeannette the present that she asked for on her tenth birthday. Both of these are significant in the chapters because before Mary's mother died they had some different values but also had some similar values too. One of the differences that they had was that Mary never wanted to have a teachers degree, she had just wanted to paint. Her mother on the other hand wanted her to have a fall back plan in case she failed as a painter. However one similar thing that they had in values was that they both respected rules, Mary with her religion and Grandma Smith with every thing else in her life. Now the other more important change in these chapters is when Rex Walls asks his "Mountain Goat" (Jeannette Walls) what she wanted for her tenth birthday. What she asked would change her father for a while. She asked him not to drink anymore, and he gave his favorite child what she had asked for. If this is for better or worse I do not know, but let's hope that Rex Walls is better at being a responsible father when he is full time sober.

#4 (pg. 155-213): A

When the Walls family moves to Little Hobart Street, they quickly descend into impoverished living conditions. Jeannette copes with the deficiencies in her life by trying to clean the house. When her mother was in a upswing mood she decided to clean the house, however her idea to clean the house was very different from Jeannette's was of doing it. Jeannette wanted to clean out every room and then put only the important things back, but her mothers idea was just to straighten some papers. She also got a real job in these chapters to get out of the house, she was earning 40 dollars a week which was serious money.