Beginning Thoughts

     A few weeks ago, I began reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.
     The first thing that struck me about The Glass Castle was the very beginning, when an older Jeannette is riding in a taxi and looks up to see her mother fishing through trash. It puzzled me to think that someone who has nothing and is looking for scraps in a Dumpster could have a daughter that's successful and well-to-do. That may sound inconsiderate, but it's honestly the first thought that popped into my head, only a sentence into the book. Still, as I read on through the next few pages, I realized that it's entirely possible for this to happen. It did happen, to the Walls family.
     Rex Walls and Rose Mary Walls married in 1956, and had four children - the oldest, Lori, the second youngest, Jeannette, the third youngest, Brian, and the youngest, Maureen. Rex and Rose Mary were interesting people, and although they loved their children very much, they were not the most responsible parents and had many problems and addictions. Rose Mary was an aspiring artist with a teaching degree and Rex Walls was an, "entrepreneur" and odd-job man, of sorts. In the very beginning, I really couldn't make up my mind if I thought Rose Mary and Rex were good parents or not; for example, in the beginning Rex steals Jeannette back from the hospital after she's burned from the hot dog machine fire, without even really knowing if she'd be okay or not; and then other times Rex would teach Jeannette, Lori, Brian, and Maureen all kinds of useful tips and wisdom.
     Even in the beginning of the book, I realized that Jeannette Walls had quite a troubled childhood, and I knew that the rest of the book was going to be sad, funny, and interesting.