New York

          The children can't wait to get out of Welch and after being inspired to pursue a life in New York they start earning money and compiling their savings to go toward their trip so that Lori can leave as soon as she graduates. One day Jeanette sees that all of the money has been stolen by her father but they don't let this stop them. They work harder to get money and soon Lori is on her way to New York. Instead of waiting until she graduates, Jeanette leaves her junior year for New York and moves in with Lori. Eventually she gets a job with a newspaper and then goes to Bernard to get a degree. Brian comes and joins the police force and Maureen comes to finish school and lives with Lori. Finally, Mom and Dad come to New York too. The whole family is back together again. I can't imagine what thoughts go through Jeanette's mind. She tries so hard to get away from her past and now her parents have come to "make the family whole again." As life goes on Jeanette graduates, Maureen moves to California, and Dad dies of a heart attack after being sick for a while. At least for Jeanette all of the ends met and her life turned out to be everything that she hoped it would be.

Welch

          The trip to Welch takes a month and once they get there it is easy to see that it wasn't worth it. Jeanette has imagined finding a scene similar to staying with Grandma Smith but instead finds completely the opposite. Their father's family is even worse than him on his bad days. Erma, their grandmother, seems to punish the children for everything bad that ever happened to her. Because of growing up on the other side of the country they can't understand the thick accent that the people have and are put in the class for children with learning disabilities. Welch was supposed to make everything better but instead everything seems like it's going to get worse. They are soon kicked out of the house by Erma and go buy a new house. The house is actually pretty pathetic from Jeanette's perspective. I think that if this had been back towards the beginning of the story she wouldn't have been so critical of the house but it is obvious how much she has changed and matured throughout the story. She is definitely starting to doubt her father. After all these years he says he is going to build the Glass Castle but it is obvious by the beginning of the book that this will not ever happen. This definitely doesn't seem like an exciting adventure.

Christmas

          Christmas has got to be one of my favorite times of year but once again Jeanette Walls shows how completely different her life is from mine. She buys everyone in her family a present using only one dollar. Today I couldn't buy one person a Christmas present, never mind five people. They buy a Christmas tree for a dollar and using grandma's old Christmas ornaments decorate it. The first present they give is to their dad and it is a lighter which he throws into the fire ruining all of the other presents. Once again Mr. Walls ruins everything good for his family. This was supposed to be the best Christmas ever for his family and they had spent weeks making it perfect just to have it go up in flames.

I imagine that their Christmas Tree looked something like this

The Zoo

          It's impossible to try to discern what goes on inside of Rex Walls's head. He takes Lori, Jeanette, Brian, Maureen, and their mother to the zoo to show that no animals, no matter how  wild, is dangerous. He tames a cheetah at the zoo and all of the kids get inside the fence where the cheetah is and have the opportunity to pet it before they are kicked out for being in the pen and disturbing the animal. Once again all of the money disappeared and dad lost his job again so they had to scrape by. Instead of trying to get another job he always comes home everyday drunk. I don't know how the family puts up with him acting like this. He needs a serious lifestyle change.

Phoenix

         Staying with their grandmother has to be the best conditions the children have ever had to live. If this is the way their mother used to live it makes you wonder why she would settle for living the way she is instead of the life of luxury she could have had. Whenever the family has no where else to go they stay with Grandma Smith and the kids get to go to the movies and don't have to worry about having enough food. Naturally since the children have been told they are going to Phoenix they assume that, like always, they will stay with their grandmother, but after Jeanette asks they find out that Grandma Smith is dead. I can't imagine the shock of the children after hearing that; I know how I would feel if it was me. I can't imagine why the parents didn't tell them when it happened and neither can Jeanette, but after they get Phoenix she soon forgets when she sees the magnificence of the house. The kids live as they never had before,  they have everything that they need for the first time and also have money for things they want like brand new bicycles. I really feel like i have learned from reading this. I take for granted the fact that I will have food waiting for me when I get home but for the Walls children it is a treat. I feel that as I continue this book I will learn even more. They live in Phoenix for a while and after their dad gets tired of city life they move again.

Battle Mountain

         Finally, after having the idea that the kids think of their entire life as an adventure, the reader gets the first sign that the children aren't thrilled by their lifestyle. Jeanette startles her mom by complaining that she is hungry, breaking their unspoken agreement to pretend their entire life is an incredible adventure. It is clear that the family is fed up with the way they have to live while their father is off gambling and trying to make money to find gold. Their mother is force to get a job as a teacher to try and make more money for the family. She hates her job and perhaps hates more the fact that she has to leave Maureen who is now two with a woman whose husband is in prison. Even with their mother working as well they still don't have much money though they now almost have enough food to last each month. As the book continues, I am slowly beginning see how the Jeanette is beginning to see through her fathers act. Since the readers are hearing the story from Jeanette's perspective we have only seen their father through her eyes and she promised her father she would always have faith in him, I don't feel the readers are getting an accurate depiction of his character. I think that the father will eventually lead to the demise of the family or the children will all leave and become independent of their parents. Once again they have to leave after they got in a fight with a neighbor who had shot them with a BB gun and were ordered to court. They left the night before the trial and went to their grandmother's house in Phoenix.

Mojave Desert and Blythe, California

         I don't understand how Jeanette's father is able to get away with everything he does. He gives Lori and Brian stars for Christmas and gives Jeanette the planet Venus. My parents would never been able to get away with that if I was 7 years old like Lori. With their father being able to convince them that they could claim a star, or a planet, it's hard to believe that they are so intelligent. When the family moves again, this time to California, the kids have to go to school and Jeanette's teacher quickly realizes that she is very smart for her age. All of the children are recognized as smart by their teachers. Because Jeanette is smart she is beat up by other girls in her class for being a "teachers pet." Soon after they moved to California their mother had another baby girl that they called Maureen. I don't know how that family will manage since they struggled to take care of three kids and now have a fourth. I would not like to have a life like the Walls family because they move again this time to Battle Mountain, Nevada. I can't believe that Jeanette thinks this life is fun. 

      I have decided that I would hate to be moving all of the time and never have an opportunity to make friends. The family still seems to be holding out the hope that they will find gold and strike it rich though I doubt that will ever happen and I believe the Glass Castle will never be built. I feel sorry for the children because this is the only life that they have known. They think moving around all the time is exciting because that is all they were ever told and that's all the ever experienced. In their new home they sleep in cardboard boxes and use ole industrial wooden spools for tables and chairs. The kids think that going to bed in their cardboard boxes is an adventure. When their dad loses his job instead of moving like they always have they stay but have to "make sacrifices" so the kids are forced to eat less.