Journal Entry #1: The Glass Castle Pg. 3-41

A) What impression of Jeannette’s mother do you get in the first section (pp. 3-5)? Why do you think she chooses to begin the memoir with this encounter?

 In the first few pages of the memoir, Jeannette’s mother gives me the impression that she is someone that is self involved. Jeannette asks her mom what she wants so she can help her but she would always ask for the strangest things like perfume, health club membership and electrolysis treatment.  Both Jeannette’s parents live in the streets with dirty rags but they do not seem to care. I think she chose to begin the memoir with this encounter because she is successful while her parents are living in the streets and wants to show that she is in a higher state than her parents.

B) How do Jeannette’s parents explain the “skedaddle?” How do they justify all the moves? What are Jeannette and her siblings’ reactions to constantly moving?

Jeannette’s parents explain the “skedaddle” in different ways. The dad would explain it as a way to escape from the henchmen, bloodsuckers, and gestspo. He would also say that the FBI was after him o they had to keep moving. But the Mom would explain that dad just said those things because it was more interesting having the FBI on their trail than tax collectors. Jeannette and her siblings reaction to the constant moving was that they would never get use to a place and would not make many friends because they would have to keep moving.

C) Describe a memory you have of moving, whether it was moving homes, schools, or even rooms. What kind of impact or significance did the move have on you?
When I was about 5 or 6 I remember that we moved homes and it was all happening so fast, everyone was happy because my parents were moving from an apartment to a house. I was also happy but then I realized that I would not be able to see my friends and this made me very sad. Once we had moved in to our new home I found it very hard to get use to all the changes. I found it hard to sleep because I was use to sleeping in an apartment and I do not really know why but I could not fall asleep.