Jeannette's Portrayal Of Her Parents Essay

Did Jeannette portray her parents in a negative or positive way? “In my mind, Dad was perfect, although he did have what Mom called a little bit of a drinking situation. There was what Mom called Dad’s ‘beer phase.’ We could all handle that. Dad drove fast and sang really loud, and locks of his hair fell into his face and life was a little bit scary but still a lot of fun.” ( Page 23 ) In the quote above, Jeannette portrayed her father is a positive way. She says, “Dad was perfect,” even though the quote provides information that he is flawed by being an alcoholic. Rex Walls made Jeannette’s life scary and eventful, but she continued to love him and keep him on a pedestal. Jeannette 's mother, on the other hand, came across more negatively according to my classmates and I. While there are some extreme situations in the book that are absolutely horrible for a child to experience, many of the situations with her mom were the worst. Sure she was starving and that was bad, but it was the mother who was mentioned more, not the fact that Jeannette was hungry. Midway through

In nearly every situation, she immediately forgives him. Jeanette continues with the story and doesn’t bring up any past things with her father. In contrast, Jeannette never gives the impression that she forgives her mom in any of the bad situations. She also tends to tell more negative things about her mother than her father. Maybe it was the lack of connection or affection with her mother that caused Jeannette to include the parts she did. She tells more stories about her dad doing more positive things than negative, so when he did good things they stood out substantially. I think that some of the negative situations with Jeannette’s mother traumatized her as a child, so she clings onto those memories, rather than the good ones. Most students in my class agree with me, while some have their different