Irresponsible Mother Gone Home Analysis

Shortly before Jeannette turned six, Rose Mary, her mother, had her fourth and last child, Maureen. Rex who previously “broke” Jeannette out of the hospital, continued this pattern when he snuck Rose Mary and the new baby out of the hospital prematurely. The Walls’ family race away from the hospital to avoid getting caught. Jeannette describes this moment, and says, “Mom handed me [Jeannette] the baby” (Walls 46). By Jeannette specifically using the word “handed,” she paints a picture for her reader. Normally, when one hands something down, it goes from someone higher to someone lower. Therefore, by Jeannette choosing to incorporate the word “handed” into this moment, she insinuates that her mother, an adult, someone supposedly higher up, willingly hands her newborn down to her young child, …show more content…
As suggested beforehand, Rose Mary was a very irresponsible mother because she gave her newborn child to a six year old (Walls 46). Due to his constant drunkenness, Rex often does not come home at night, which makes him an irresponsible father. On several occasions, Jeannette has to summon her father back to the family. On one occasion, Jeannette writes about how she had to go fetch her father from a bar. She had to visit two different bars before she found him (Walls 182). Once she had found him, after a brief acknowledgment from Rex, Jeannette tells him why she came, and says, “‘Mom says you have to come home’” (Walls 182). Through this small excerpt, Jeannette infers her parent’s thoughtlessness, though she does not directly say so. She infers that Rex behaves irresponsibly when he continually disappears and needs to be tracked down in the bars he frequents. Jeannette implies that Rose Mary acts just as irresponsibly as her husband because she sends Jeannette to find Rex, even though Jeannette could be hurt or