The Glass Castle - Blog 1

9/24/2013

Jeanette Walls is an established news writer (later in the book she talks about that pull). She writes "a newspaper reporter, instead of holing up in isolation, was in touch with the rest of the world. What the reporter wrote influenced what people thought about and talked about the next day; he knew what was really going on. I decided I wanted to be one of the people who knew what was really going on" (Walls 204).

With reference to one or two quotations from this section of her memoir (pages 1-90), think of reasons why you think Walls decided to become a news writer?

25 Comments

Chris moser

9/24/2013 04:31:26 am

because she had a exiting life so i think she wanted to share her life story's and other peoples its away she can stay connected to the people and things around her.

Noah B

9/24/2013 04:31:26 am

" "Tell us a story about yourself, Dad!" we'd beg him." you can tell that she wanted to be a news paper righter because she loved to hear story's. she loved hearing about other peoples and to hear and talk about them. she bagged her Dad to finish the story because she thought it was good and wanted to know more about it.

Nikki M

9/24/2013 04:31:38 am

"All we had to do was find gold, Dad said, and we were on the verge of that" (Walls 25).
I think Jeanette wanted to be a reporter because she grew up never knowing the truth about the world around her. I think that she started to want to let other people know the truth because she never did, and wanted others to live a better life.

Shonnah M

9/24/2013 04:32:52 am

"We moved around like nomads, We lived in dusty little mining towns." (Walls 19) I believe that one good reason Jeanette Walls would want to become a news reporter is the fact that her whole life has mostly been in isolation from other people so she would never know what was going on in the room.

Shawn N

9/24/2013 04:33:03 am

-"We had fifteen minutes to gather whatever we needed and pile into the the car" (17)

This explains why she wanted to know what was really going on in the world because during her childhood they were constantly moving around and she never knew why, she just had to listen and not ask questions.

Jack

9/24/2013 04:38:41 am

Jeannette lived an unusual life that was mostly dictated by her parents and that's how she lived. As a news reporter she would be able to see how other people live the "normal" life.

Srecko Hrvacevic

9/25/2013 05:57:31 am

"We moved around like nomads" I believe she became a writer because she moved around a lot and she saw so many wonders and experienced outstanding things that happened in her life so she became a writer.

Kyle R

9/27/2013 02:58:59 am

"Mom gave me a startled look. I’d broken one of our unspoken rules: We were always supposed to pretend our life was one long and incredibly fun adventure" (Walls 84).

I think Jeanette wants to be a news writer because she wants to unfold things that are not shown or told. Instead of looking outside the box she is doing the thing that no one thinks about, by looking in the box. She wants to share her story and see if people are in the same situation.

Corey D

9/27/2013 02:59:44 am

"sometimes he made me do my homework in binary" (walls 58) this shows that Lori lived a very sheltered and different life which may have got her very curious of the world around her.

sara

9/27/2013 03:02:50 am

Too many quotations to back up the question. I will provide with one (i guess). "Just tell the truth, that's simple enough" (5). This quoatation from Jenette's mother gives her a boost of motivation allowing Jenette to outspeak her mind and speak the truth. Jenette most likely thought about her childhood and experiences she had, knowing it is unique, so she decided to write a memoir. :) :) :) :) :O

Chelsey Butler

9/27/2013 03:06:29 am

"Dad closed the doors. it was pitch black and the air smelled stale and dusty. we were sitting on the ribbed wooden floor, on frayed, stained blankets used to wrap furniture, feeling for one another with our hands. "Here goes the adventure!" I whispered.
"Shhhh!" Lori said. "

I think these couple of lines show a little about Jenettes life and the fact that she finds hiding in a U-Haul van, an adventure. Jenette had a crazy child hood growing up so she has a lot to write about. Jenette also likes to be creative and is able to make a bad situation into an adventure, which is why she would be pefect at writing, especailly telling storys. Whether its about her life or someone eles, she is able relate to a lot of people and many different situations, almost as if she had walked in their shoes. This makes her stories very enjoyable to read, but very interesting and relatable, always making you want to read on. All these attributes that makes her story good are attributes of a good writer and that is why I think Jennette Walls decided to become a writer in the future.

Aidan Kirby

9/27/2013 03:07:59 am

Jeanette Walls was living a life that was constantly changing, never knowing what was happening or would happen. she looked at the life she lived and probably thought I want to be the one to know what is happening and what will happen. she wanted a life better and more aware then the one she is living.

Lauren C

9/27/2013 03:10:31 am

"Dad was a dramatic storyteller. He always started out slow, with lots of pauses. "Go on! What happened next?" we'd ask, even if we'd already hard that story before. (Walls, 24) This quotation from the book demonstrates Jeanattes love for storys and how passionate she was about them, I think this is a good explanation as to why Jeanette wanted to pursue a career in being a news writer.

Jason

9/27/2013 03:16:33 am

I could not find a quote for this, but I think that because Jeanette spent the majority of her childhood moving from town to shanty backwater town, and she realized how separated and doomed these little towns were in the long run, but she also realized that most other people - especially the ones living in big cities, really DIDN'T know about it, or about how many people have it much worse than they do. I think that may very well have fueled her interest in spreading the truth.

Nazifa.H

9/27/2013 03:34:46 am

Jeanette Walls parents were not providing the right parenting for their kids. "Mom, in an unnaturally calm voice, explained." (Walls 9). while this litttle girl was cooking had gotten bruned and she was only 3 years old. The reason why I think she became a writer is because she loves stories even though her past memory was bad.

Alex Butler

9/27/2013 04:24:33 am

"and the overwhelming emptiness and severity of all that open land that had once been a huge ocean bed."(Wall 21). I believe that the above quote may portray one of the reasons why she became a news writer. She spent a lot of time in the dessert where there is almost no civilization and people are a relatively rare sight. With her family doing the skedaddle so often she didn't really have the chance to learn about what was going on in the outside world. The idea of not knowing what was going on may have inspired her to become a news writer.

Sam S

9/29/2013 05:33:18 am

"Dad was a dramatic storyteller. He always started out slow, with lots of pauses. "Go on! What happened next?" We'd ask, even if we'd already heard that story before. (Walls 24) Jeannette grew up loving her fathers stories, she never got tired of them. she was amazed and mesmerized by them, inspiring her to go on adventures of her own and one day tell the world about her life. I believe this inspired her to become a writer.

Maddie

9/30/2013 04:11:09 am

"When Dad wasn't telling us about all the amazing things he had already done, he was telling us about the wondrous things he was going to do. Like build the Glass Castle." (Walls 25)

Jeannette's father always had great stories to tell them, which all the kids were amazed by. When he would describe the glass castle they truly were inspired by his words. This quote describes as to why she chose to become a news writer because she loved her father's stories, they gave her the inspiration to listen and to learn other types of stories.

Adam Fernandes

9/30/2013 11:04:31 am

While dependant on her parents during her youth, Jeanette Walls contained a more biased and limited view on living than most children. Or at least a very different one. "But after he left, Dad called him the Gestapo and said that people like that got their jollies pushing people like us around," (Walls 34). Of course the person her father referred to was not a Gestapo, but a local policeman in Las Vegas. Many bad situations like this were covered by her father's creativity, such as by often saying the Gestapo were after him and that's why they always had to move. In reality the main reason they usually moved was to avoid tax collectors or other issues he wished to avoid. Jeanette's life was a huge odd adventure and struggle, which was normal to her and her family. As she aged she and her siblings slowly started to learn how other families live and other truths covered by her parents such as the truth about the Green Lantern. It seems that since Jeanette was raised ignorant to a lot of truths but slowly learned on her own, it would make sense that she find interest in learning about and sharing the truths around the world as a newspaper reporter does. This is especially understandable since newspaper reporters are meant to state facts and events without opinion and bias, which she previously had little access to.

Louka

9/30/2013 11:47:52 am

I agree with Lauren. I believe that the experiences that Jeanette experienced as well as hearing the interesting stories about what her family had gone through growing up created her passion for story telling; which led her to be a news writer.

Ccody R

10/1/2013 03:10:43 am

"Dad was a dramatic storyteller. He always started out slow, with lots of pauses. "Go on! What happened next?" we'd ask, even if we'd already hard that story before. (Walls, 24) This quotation shows the reader Jeanettes love and passion for story telling. This quotation also shows the reader that Jeanette loved her fathers storys and begged him to finsh his story even is shes heard the story before. I believe this is what made Jeanette pursue a career in journalism.

Zach Recchia

10/1/2013 03:12:48 am

Jeanette starts off the book with 'I was on fire'. When she goes to the hospital she is all exited and interested in all of the new things the hospital has to offer. This shows that she likes big events and likes being around constant action which may be the reason she started the book with 'I was on fire'. Becasue she likes exitement it could be the reason she decided to become a news writer.

Kayla Hurlburt

10/2/2013 04:37:01 am

"I wondered if the fire had been out to get me. I wondered if all fire was related, like Dad said all humans were related, if the fire that had burned me that day while I cooked hot dogs was somehow connected to the fire I had flushed down the toilet and the fire burning at the hotel. I didnt have the answers to those questions, but what I did know was that I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire. It was the sort of knowledge that kept you on your toes." (Walls, 34)

I believe this quote is a great example on how Jennette is very curious and can easily put things together which are qualities that many writers have. Trying to piece together things that are going on in her life and understanding what she does know. Thus showing us that she has the qualities of a writer and would probably be a good one.

Nicole

10/7/2013 03:20:10 am

"When Dad wasn't telling us about all the amazing things he had already done, he was telling us about the wondrous things he was going to do. Like build the Glass Castle." (Walls 25)

Jeannettes father would always tell stories that the children would be inspired by. They would all be excited when it became time for Rex to tell a story. I feel Jeannette became a writer because she wanted people to be inspired by her stories as she was with her fathers.

Steven Bailey

10/9/2013 03:00:54 am

"I loved the desert, too. When the sun was in the sky, the sand would be so hot that it would burn your feet if you were the kind of kid who wore shoes, but since we always went barefoot, our soles were as tough and thick as cowhide."

I believe Jeanette became a writer because she had such a great sense of imagination and adventure influenced from her parents that she wanted to tell the world how she saw life.

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