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Poverty In The Glass Castle

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In The Glass Castle, Jeannette overcame the obstacles with her parents, poverty, and getting bullied. First, Jeannette moved to the city because she needed to take matters into her own hands. Jeannette could not handle "[moving] around like [a] [nomad]" (Walls, 19) any longer, so she bought a one way ticket to New York City. Jeannette was relieved that she had a chance to start new and get away from the instability of her past. Not only did Jeannette want to get away from her parents, but her siblings did too. Jeannette wanted Brian to live with her and Lori but she was afraid he was "more of a country boy than a city kid" (249). Throughout Brian's whole life, his parents isolated him from everything which led to a difficult transaction to …show more content…

Jeannette freed her siblings and herself from being held back from the real world. Apparently, Jeannette needed a huge break from her parents to succeed in her future. Second, Jeannette lived in poverty for all of her childhood due to inapt parenting skills. When Rosemary went away, she left her children with "no food, no coal, [and] no plumbing" (273). Jeannette figured out a budget plan and provided for her siblings. Jeannette would do anything in her power to take care of her siblings even if it meant, "[stuffing] [food] into [her] purse" (173). With the conditions Jeannette was given, it would be difficult for her to keep her siblings from starving. Jeannette gave Lori her golden ticket out of Welch so she could "become the person she was meant to be" (223). Lori was a bright child with a fulfilling life ahead of her and Jeannette could see that. In every situation, Jeannette put everyone before herself. Patently, Jeannette had a mindset to give Brian and Lori a chance to prosper in life. Third, Jeannette overcame one of her bullies when she saved a poor black boy from a dog attack. Jeannette had been harassed by Erma, jumped by Mexican girls, and bombarded by Ernie …show more content…

First, Bayard Kelby's way of mourning his wife's death was digging a hole and singing songs. Bayard Kelby was devastated when his wife was burned to death and he could not do anything about it. Before Ma passed away, her dream was to have a pond of her own. Bayard's way of finding comfort was to "[dig] his own grave" (Hesse, 196) because that was what his wife wanted. With all the sorrow in Kolby's heart he sang "like an engine chocked with dust" (108) to relieve his pain. Clearly, Bayard was extremely emotional, so he dug a hole and sang to get over his wife's death. Second, Billy Joe left on a train and came back to further understand her father. When Billy Joe saw her father as she entered the station, she had begun to "[forgive] him, step by step" (207). They grew closer together as Billy Joe knew that she could not be her "own mother... and [her] own father" (206) at the time. When Billy Joe was on the train she was "lonelier than the wind" (205) and all she wanted was to go home to her Daddy. Bayard was beginning to understand his daughter further after the hardship of Ma. Billy Joe did not want her father to be "out of the dust" (209) because he was the only family she had left. Billy Joe was thrilled to finally have a normal relationship with her father after she forgave him

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