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Phoenix Arizona
Jeanette was born in Phoenix Arizona where she lived up until the age of three. This is where Jeanette burns herself and after spending some time at the hospital, her father runs out with her to avoid paying the hospital bills. -
Inner Awakening
After leaving Phoenix to go to Las Vegas, Rex takes a sharp turn that launches Jeanette from the car. The fall hurts Jeanette both physically from the impact, and mentally from the realization that her family kept driving since they didn't notice. After some time goes by, the rest of the Wall's family returns, but not after showing Jeanette that they live by more of a carefree lifestyle. This fall may symbolize the fact that the Walls' parents do whatever and barely consider their actions. -
Burning Brothel
After the brothel they were staying at burns down, the Walls family parks their car on a nearby beach and sleep there. The police found out and forced them off of the beach. Once they leave the area, they decide to move back out into desert areas. -
Joshua Tree
After seeing a Joshua tree, Rosemary decides to have the family stay in the desert so that she can paint it. Rex finds a job, but quickly loses it before Christmas. For Christmas, the children get stars, Jeanette chooses to have Venus. -
U-Haul
After ditching their car following getting chased by the police, the Walls family rents a U-Haul in order to move to Battle Mountain. After hearing that they would have to ride in the back for more than 14 hours due to the parents wanting to take scenic routes, Jeanette says "here goes the adventure," (49). She may have said this in a sarcastic fashion, realizing that her parents use of 'adventure' is something to distract from the severity of the situation. -
Battle Mountain
In Battle Mountain, the family finds an abandoned depot to live in and both parents find jobs. Rex works at the mine and Rosemary eventually gets a job at the school, which she dislikes with a passion. Running out of food multiple times and with Rex getting fired, the Walls family is continuously struggling. -
Battle at Battle Mountain
With times getting tough, the kids have to resort to taking food from the trash cans. Rosemary and Rex start to fight more often, which led to Rosemary trying to jump out a window. Jeanette gets into another 'adventure' with a young boy, Billy, who tries to rape her after failing in starting an intimate relationship with her. After the kids end up getting in a gunfight with Billy, and attract the attention of the police, Rex decides it's time to to the skedaddle again. -
Grandma
After Rosemary's mom dies, she leaves behind money and one of two houses for Rosemary to inherit. The family moves to Phoenix to live in the inherited house. Rosemary makes quick work of the inheritance money buying art supplies. Due to the wants of the parents, the windows are left open, which leads to pedophiles and strangers to entering and terrorizing the kids. Jeanette starts to question her parents, "I didn't like... held me tighter," (114). -
The Nightmare of Adventure Pt. 2
Around this time is when Jeanette gains hope in her parents but loses it faster. With her parents stripping away her hope, she starts to trust them less and less, wanting to be more independent as well. -
The Nightmare of Adventure
When Jeanette turns 10, she asks Rex go sober for her. He struggles quite a bit and scares Jeanette with how much pain he's going through. After being sober for the majority of summer, Rex takes the family on a trip to the Grand Canyon, but the car breaks down on the way there. The family is picked up by someone and once they get back, Rex disappears, only to return days later drunk. He immediately starts a knife fight with Rosemary but both quickly recover and go back to being happy. -
Bad Blood
The Walls family moves in with Grandma Erma in Virginia with grandpa and uncle as well. With the bleak and gloomy area, the whole family feels the effects of the laughter/happiness free house. With a rough start in her new school, Jeanette loses hope in the new home after Erma shows her true racist and oppressive self. When Rex and Rosemary decide to drive back to Arizona to retrieve the family's belongings, Erma makes an attempt to molest Brian, which results in the children fighting her. -
Bad Blood Pt. 2
After hearing that the kids fought Erma, Rex gets mad at them and yells at them, seeming to care very little about what Erma tried to do. This makes Jeanette start to wonder if he really cares about them, and if he may have gone through the same kind of abuse as a child. -
93 Little Hobart St.
Once the family moves to a new home, Jeanette gains a taste of hope and makes an attempt to fix up the house, but soon realizes her family isn't invested in the effort. This shows that Jeanette gave up her 'sense of adventure' in order to have a more realistic point of view and work towards her goals instead of getting caught up in distractions and making excuses. Her family wants good conditions to live in, but aside from Jeanette herself, lack the work ethic and the yearn to do so. -
93 Little Hobart St. Pt. 2
Jeanette finds a diamond ring in the yard outside the house and shows it to Rosemary so that she could sell it for money for food and essentials, but Rosemary keeps it to replace her wedding ring and make her feel better. This occurrence symbolizes the fact that even when Jeanette tries to help her parents, they drag her down and use her source of help for their pleasure since they lack the drive to actually make things better. In school, Jeanette discovers her true passion: journalism. -
93 Little Hobart St. Pt. 3
When Rosemary and Lori go away for the summer, Jeanette becomes the head of the house, but has very limited money. With this responsibility, Jeanette decides to try and create a budget for food and essentials, but runs into snags when Rex comes to her asking for booze money. In order to pay the money back to Jeanette, Rex plays pool against a man for money and uses Jeanette as a distraction. -
93 Little Hobart St. Pt. 4
With the family back and giving no hope in improving, Jeanette decides to finally sacrifice her sense of adventure and save money to move away. Lori and Jeanette decide to pool their money together to try and get Lori out to New York first. Rex brings back the family habit of preventing progress by destroying an art piece for Lori's scholarship and also draining the girls of hope by stealing the money they were saving. After making it work, Jeanette gives Lori a job that will get her to New York -
The Return of Hope
After a successful year in high school, Jeanette continues her plans to move out, starting her own adventure, but straying away from her parents' adventure. Rex pulls his last stand of trying to get Jeanette back to his level and to stay with the family, but Jeanette breaks ties and finally leaves to embark on her own adventure. -
New York and the Escape of the Walls
Without Rex making the decisions for the family, Jeanette and Lori are able to work hard, make a living, and rescue their siblings from living in Welch with Rosemary and Rex. Overall, Jeanette didn't lose her sense of adventure, she just created her own adventure that she can work towards and be in control of. -
Conclusion
Throughout the book, the reader can see as Jeanette falls for her parents excuse for an adventure, but starts to see the realness in the dangers of this lifestyle after falling out of the car. The moment that Jeanette loses faith in her parents adventure is when Rex stole the New York money and Rosemary decides to quit her job and continue painting. On page 218, Rosemary decides to quit her teaching to do something for herself and living her own life. These moments solidify leaving for Jeanette.
