The Glass Castle, By Jeannette Walls

“Life’s too short to care about what other people think” (Jeannette Walls). It is good to not care what other people think, so stay true in life and live it to the fullest. The book, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, is a memoir that tells the story of Jeannette’s difficult family and her poor living conditions, that cause life to be difficult for her. She struggles to move past all the hardships in life and she learns how to overcome the majority of them, so she can develop into her own person. Even though her family can be a little peculiar, they possess a strong bond with each other and they always seek to help one another out. Although Jeannette’s childhood is difficult, she overcomes poverty through her skills of being hardworking and

When Jeannette’s mom gives birth to her fourth child; named Maureen, Jeannette says to her, “I promised her I’d always take care of her” (46). She promises to take care of Maureen, and to take care of her Jeannette has to keep motivated and hope for the best, but also remain dedicated and try her hardest. Making that promise shows Jeannette is mature and she will accomplish whatever is possible for Maureen. As life moves on, Jeannette wants to feel like she knows what is going on in the world, “But a newspaper reporter… I decided I wanted to be one of the people who knew what was really going on” (204). When she talks about wanting to be “one of those people,” she uses diction. Furthermore, using those words Jeannette stresses her point about how reporters are different from everybody else in the world. She determines what she wants to be when she grows up. However, to become a reporter, Jeannette has to stay motivated and committed toward her goal. Having those qualities in life shows how Jeannette is mature. Shortly, Jeannette comes up with more goals in life and one of them is, “‘I want to go to college in New York,’ I said” (235). As soon as Jeannette made the decision that she wanted to live, and go to college in New York, she had to work hard toward her goal. She had to stay inclined to work hard so she can be accepted to a school in New York. During the novel, Jeannette manages to be motivated throughout her life and she exhibits that even through hard times shows she is