“‘It was the only thing to eat in the whole house,’ I said. Raising my voice I added, ‘I was hungry.’” (69 Walls)
As Jeanette ages she seems to become more aware of what is going on around her. She notices how her family is low on necessities, like food, she is aware of the fights her parents are having, and she notices that the families gas has been turned off. At this point in the novel I believe that Jeanette is six years old. At six years old you should not have to worry about where you are going to get your next meal, how you are going to get your mother out of bed so she can go to her job in the morning, or how to stop your parents from arguing. Jeanette worries about all of these things. Her whole family scavenges for food. Jeanette prefers to steal from her friends lunchboxes, and to take food from her friends houses when they are not paying attention; while Brian was caught breaking into the neighbor's house to eat their pickles. Then there's Lori, who eats margarine and sugar as a meal. Margarine and sugar, that is not a meal. Not only is that super unhealthy, it’s not substantial at all. Jeanette is becoming aware of these things.
Jeanette also goes on to say “We were always supposed to pretend our life was one long and incredibly fun adventure” (69 Walls). This quote especially shows the awareness she is learning. She knows that her life is not one long and incredibly fun adventure. She also mentions several times throughout the section that her family is tight on money. The fact that her father deliberately got fired from his job is not helping the situation. As all of this unfolds Jeanette seems to be getting her own identity, she is no longer conforming as much to what her parents want, and is instead doing what she has to to survive. She is slowly breaking free, becoming more and more like her sister Lori. I am seeing more similarities between the two of them. Maybe her breaking away from her parents is how she becomes as successful as we see in the beginning of the novel?
As Jeanette ages she seems to become more aware of what is going on around her. She notices how her family is low on necessities, like food, she is aware of the fights her parents are having, and she notices that the families gas has been turned off. At this point in the novel I believe that Jeanette is six years old. At six years old you should not have to worry about where you are going to get your next meal, how you are going to get your mother out of bed so she can go to her job in the morning, or how to stop your parents from arguing. Jeanette worries about all of these things. Her whole family scavenges for food. Jeanette prefers to steal from her friends lunchboxes, and to take food from her friends houses when they are not paying attention; while Brian was caught breaking into the neighbor's house to eat their pickles. Then there's Lori, who eats margarine and sugar as a meal. Margarine and sugar, that is not a meal. Not only is that super unhealthy, it’s not substantial at all. Jeanette is becoming aware of these things.
Jeanette also goes on to say “We were always supposed to pretend our life was one long and incredibly fun adventure” (69 Walls). This quote especially shows the awareness she is learning. She knows that her life is not one long and incredibly fun adventure. She also mentions several times throughout the section that her family is tight on money. The fact that her father deliberately got fired from his job is not helping the situation. As all of this unfolds Jeanette seems to be getting her own identity, she is no longer conforming as much to what her parents want, and is instead doing what she has to to survive. She is slowly breaking free, becoming more and more like her sister Lori. I am seeing more similarities between the two of them. Maybe her breaking away from her parents is how she becomes as successful as we see in the beginning of the novel?