The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Vocab
Gypsum (39): A widespread colorless, white, or yellowish mineral, CaSO4·2H2O, used in the manufacture of plaster of Paris, various plaster products, and fertilizers.
Electrolysis [treatment] (5): Removing superfluous or unwanted hair by passing an electric current through the hair root.
Appeals
1. “We counted eleven places we had lived, then we lost track. We couldn’t remember the names of some of the towns or what the houses we had lived in looked like. Mostly, I remembered the inside of cars.” (pg. 29). Jeannette talks with her sister about how they have always been moving. This is an emotional appeal because it makes you think about how you would feel if you never had a true home. She truly couldn’t remember how her houses looked like because all she ever did was sit in the car. She describes this so that we really get a feel of how it was to live like that, and we know it’s true.
2. “The nurses brought me delicious meals 3 times a day[…]”(pg11). In the story she uses the words “3 times a day”, and “delicious” to describe the food and how they treated her at the hospital. This is an emotional appeal. Most people really do not like hospital food, and to describe it as delicious would probably mean she wasn’t fed very well. Also to be very happy and surprised that she got them 3 times a day is very strange. Obviously, her parents aren’t taking very good care of her.
3. “Two months after we moved to Bythe, when Mom said she was twelve months pregnant, she at last gave birth” (pg. 46). This is a logical appeal because Jeanette is stating the fact that after they moved there, her mother had a baby.
Quote
“A few days after mom and dad brought me home, I cooked myself some hot dogs. I was hungry, mom was at work on a painting, and no one else was there to fix them for me.” (pg 15). I think this quote is significant because it shows how little her parents do for her. Making hot dogs by herself was the reason she got burned in the first place. Why would you want to risk you child’s life again. I think this also foreshadows that Jeannette will be alone and doing things for herself for most of her life.
Theme
I think a theme so far is to enjoy everything you have, even if you have no material belongings. Jeanette loves her father and her siblings. She also loves the star that her dad “gave” her for Christmas. It is not something she can hold in her hands, but something she can hold in her heart.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Outside Reading -Week 1, Post B
It has been really hard to put the book down. I really like how the chapters are short, two to five pages. This makes me want to learn more about the event and makes me want to read the next chapter.
So far my book has been very good. In the beginning it foreshadows to the end of the book, and talks about Jeanette’s mother and father who are homeless and without the ability to by food for themselves. This does not surprise me after reading more, as the whole family is basically homeless, or constantly moving around, sometimes not in a house at all. I could not believe what I was reading at some parts of the book. The things that happen to Jeanette are outrageous, like when she is set on fire while making lunch for herself when she was three. Her parents seem to really love her, especially her dad, but they don’t necessarily care about her or what happens to her. They don’t care about their physical safety and well being. For example Jeanette is talking about her mom and says “She taught us that you could wash yourself up pretty clean with just a cup of water. She said it was good for you to drink unpurified water, even ditch water, as long as animals were drinking from it.”(pg. 21). I think that the mom has showed a lot of distaste towards her kids and her husband, and may leave them.
I am looking forward to reading more. I think that the book will become more depressing than it already is, but will still be good. Right now I feel really bad for Jeanette. I can not relate at all to her story, and I can’t imagine what it would be like to live like that. I think Jeanette is Lucky to have siblings that can support her, and that is who I would depend on and go to if I was in her situation.
So far my book has been very good. In the beginning it foreshadows to the end of the book, and talks about Jeanette’s mother and father who are homeless and without the ability to by food for themselves. This does not surprise me after reading more, as the whole family is basically homeless, or constantly moving around, sometimes not in a house at all. I could not believe what I was reading at some parts of the book. The things that happen to Jeanette are outrageous, like when she is set on fire while making lunch for herself when she was three. Her parents seem to really love her, especially her dad, but they don’t necessarily care about her or what happens to her. They don’t care about their physical safety and well being. For example Jeanette is talking about her mom and says “She taught us that you could wash yourself up pretty clean with just a cup of water. She said it was good for you to drink unpurified water, even ditch water, as long as animals were drinking from it.”(pg. 21). I think that the mom has showed a lot of distaste towards her kids and her husband, and may leave them.
I am looking forward to reading more. I think that the book will become more depressing than it already is, but will still be good. Right now I feel really bad for Jeanette. I can not relate at all to her story, and I can’t imagine what it would be like to live like that. I think Jeanette is Lucky to have siblings that can support her, and that is who I would depend on and go to if I was in her situation.
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