Jeannette's extremely abnormal childhood of confusion and bizarre parenting made her think about if she wanted to be like her parents, homeless migrants, or to be a normal person. Jeannette was free to do whatever she wanted and was told crazy things by her parents. As she got older she realized that how she and her parents lived is not normal. Living in abandoned train depots, her father constantly looking for gold, or his fear of being chased is what led Jeannette to want to live a normal life. Jeannette Walls' success, not just in wealth, but also in her character, is in spite of her abnormal childhood of being homeless, constantly neglected, and being poorly influenced by her parents. To begin, Jeannette's homeless upbringing is what caused
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Neglect helped Jeannette realize that she needed to focus to make her situation better and that is exactly what she did. Jeanette's parents often forgot the birthdays of their own little children, "Mom and Dad might get us a little present-a comic book or a pair of new shoes or a package of underwear-but at least as often, they forgot our birthdays altogether" (116). Jeanette explains how her parents forgetting her birthday at ten years old is traumatic and borderline neglect. Looking at this, Jeanette realized how disorganized her parents were, and one of the main qualities of all successful people is having some sense of organization. Seeing her parents disorganization, taught Jeanette to do the opposite and become an organized person as seen with her rock collection. The unsafe amount of freedom given to Jeanette allowed her to experience things to help her get a sense of right and wrong, "So we mixed up a batch of what Brian called nuclear fuel, pouring different liquids into a can. When I tossed in the match, a cone of flame shot up with a whoosh like an afterburner" (61). Times like this is where freedom allowed Jeanette to discover what she should do and what she should not, which ultimately determines your sense of morals as an adult. These bizarre experiences, caused by a lack of good parenting, allowed Jeanette to find her own morals and become
Neglect helped Jeannette realize that she needed to focus to make her situation better and that is exactly what she did. Jeanette's parents often forgot the birthdays of their own little children, "Mom and Dad might get us a little present-a comic book or a pair of new shoes or a package of underwear-but at least as often, they forgot our birthdays altogether" (116). Jeanette explains how her parents forgetting her birthday at ten years old is traumatic and borderline neglect. Looking at this, Jeanette realized how disorganized her parents were, and one of the main qualities of all successful people is having some sense of organization. Seeing her parents disorganization, taught Jeanette to do the opposite and become an organized person as seen with her rock collection. The unsafe amount of freedom given to Jeanette allowed her to experience things to help her get a sense of right and wrong, "So we mixed up a batch of what Brian called nuclear fuel, pouring different liquids into a can. When I tossed in the match, a cone of flame shot up with a whoosh like an afterburner" (61). Times like this is where freedom allowed Jeanette to discover what she should do and what she should not, which ultimately determines your sense of morals as an adult. These bizarre experiences, caused by a lack of good parenting, allowed Jeanette to find her own morals and become