There are four Walls children that are ages sixteen, thirteen, twelve, and seven. The children live at 93 Little Hobart Street, Welch, West Virginia with their parents, Rex and Rosemary Walls. Their gray and yellow house sits high up off the road where the front is angled toward the street. The living conditions in this home are not suitable and are a hazard to the family. The exterior of the house includes a rotting wooden porch and stairs with spongy floorboards. In addition, excessive rainwater has caused damage to the weight-bearing pillars that are holding up the house. Inside the house, there are faulty electrical connectors and exposed electrical lines that can lead to a potential electric shock. The entirety of the house also contains …show more content…
He reflects on the time when the family lived with their grandparents and uncle before they bought their own house. At the time, Brian was nine years old and was sexually assaulted by his paternal grandmother, Erma Walls. She claimed she was only fixing Brian’s pants, but she caused enough pain to bring him to tears. When Rex found out what happened, he told Brian to forget about what had happened (146-148). In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it states that safety and love needs are deficiency needs which means they are essential for individuals to thrive. Once Brian alerted his father about the situation, his response indicated that he does not provide protection and love since he discouraged Brian from defending himself. Next, Brian discusses another incident in which his needs have been compromised by his parents. Jeannette and Brian once found a diamond ring near their house, but their mother did not want to sell it (186). Rosemary Walls proves to be materialistic as she insisted to keep the ring to boost her self-esteem. Not only does she put her own needs before her children’s needs, her priorities are not in order according to Maslow’s psychological theory which puts physiological needs, such as food, before esteem needs. Instead of trading in the ring for money so that the family can buy food, Rosemary’s only concern is herself. There is a constant trend through Brian’s descriptions where both parents are inconsiderate in their actions and have little regard for the children’s