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Vietnam War
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Birth
Jeannette Walls was born in Phoenix, Arizona. -
Civil Rights Act Passed
In the book, "The Silver Star," the plot revolves around a setting where segregation is still present. When the act is newly passed, the citizens of Virginia have a hard time adjusting to it. Walls lived this personally, as she was alive during this age. The way she witnessed both black, and whites, struggling to come together, and integrate is reflected in her book. In her eyes, she saw the way black were being treated was unfair, as in her book the narrator always regards the blacks as equals. -
Vietnam War
In her most recently published book, "The Silver Star," Jeannette Walls incorporates the events going on in the Vietnam War, with the personal story, the narrator is telling. The effects of the Vietnam War reflect the narrator's developing point of view on conflict, and war, as the narrator is only 12-year olds. The point of view is the conflictingpoint of view Jeannette Walls experienced firsthand, as a child growing up in this time. -
New York- Homeless Parents
During this time, Walls moved to New York, in hopes of getting away from her parents, and in order to further her education, as she recevied no kind of support from her family. Her parents ended up following her to New York, where they became scavengers. They refused any kind of help she offered them. Often times, they would come out on tv and in the news. She was ashamed at first, but this made her realize she could not hide her roots, as she wrote a whole book about it. -
Death of her Father
Walls' father was an alcoholic. His high ambition, and unrealistic hopes, and dreams is one of the reasons Walls' had a chaotic, and unstable childhood. Despite all his faults, in Wall's memoir, "The Glass Castle," she does nothing but describe him as a charismatic person, and admits that she and her father had a special relationship. Above all, he motiviated her to overcome adversities. "" I told him that I would never lose faith in
him. And I promised myself I never would." -
Mother's Living Conditions
Jeannette Walls lives in ranch in Virginia. Her mother ad been homeless, and a scavenger for quite some time, until Jeannette Walls took her in. Despite Walls offer to have her move in with her, Rose Mary has her own little cottage, separate from Walls home. She basically lives in a dump. Her mother's unique lifestyle has taught Walls not to judge anybody, and to accept people for who they really are. She demonstrates this in her memoir, as she never make her mom seem like a complete villain.
