Jeanette Walls

Seminar #1) Jeanette Walls Seminar

A) Inspired by an excerpt from page 112-113 of The Glass Castle, and Francie Nolan’s experiences in school from A Tree Grows In Brooklyn.

He’d been reading books on how to cope with the abuse at school, and they said that bullies are the ones who feel insecure about themselves, and talking to an adult will solve the problem. If I do that, it says that things will get resolved. But after seeing others follow that path of truth and reprimanding, the rampages got worse. The torment begins at a higher degree, and it’s as if nothing has changed.

None of us discussed it with an adult. The rest of us had to get used to shrinking into the darkness, hiding behind every shadow.

B) Inspired by an excerpt from page 164 of The Glass Castle.

We fought a lot on the block. Not for the thrill of it, but for the reputation. Being the puny kid who can’t fend for themselves won’t be the ones who survive on these streets. It’s easy to get into the motion of swinging fists and knuckle cracks. Bone against bone, the shattering of their peace becomes music to our ears. The aches and bruises of bloody battles serve as the monument for the victories.

It’s the only way to survive on these streets. You couldn’t expect anything from anyone. Job offers, a paycheque, it all came down to your reputation on the streets. Survival of the fittest, my father would say. He would teach me how to fight, or in truth, self-defense.

He worked in the mines, and came home stomping, cracking open a bottle of beer until the empty bottles piled up and became treacherous mountains to a small child. Shattered glass became a part of the make-up of the floorboards. When I first cut myself cleaning up the shards at the age of six, where reputation had no meaning, he said, “Get used to it.”

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