Reading through the first 70 pages of this book, my views of the characters in the story were shifted based on my own beliefs and experiences. When Jeannette first introduces her mother as a homeless woman, I couldn't help but question Jeannette's character and her morals. It was astounding to learn that she could be embarrassed by her mother, and yet all she could think about was if she had confronted her mother right there, that somebody in the party she was heading for would notice that they had interacted, and that her secret would be exposed. It was still difficult to side with Jeannette when her ways of communicating with her mother seemed so impractical. The way that Jeannette communicates with her mother, by calling up a friend of her …show more content…
I notice that their situation is a little tricky in which Jeannette's mother is not asking for help, yet Jeannette still wants to help her improve her lifestyle. My immediate reaction when reading that when Jeannette was only 3 years old cooking hot dogs on a gas powered stove, while her mother was in the next room painting, brought me to believe that her parents cannot be trusted. Although, there's no doubt that anyone would see their parenting styles as extremely unconventional, I honestly believe that how Jeannette describes her parents, that they have good intentions on raising their children. When reading about Jeannette's mothers' philosophy in allowing her children to come home dirty and justifying that it's something that they should get out of their system while they are young, gave me flashbacks of my own childhood and playing in the dirt. When she brings up Santa Claus, and how her family views the whole Santa facade as superfluous, her whole anecdote seemed so rich. I find the waiting a week later to celebrate Christmas to save on after-Christmas deals takes away from Christmas's religious element, but I do find that in their situation, it's