“Being a strong woman was harder than I had though.” (Walls 214)
The first problem with this quote is Jeannette’s use of the word “woman”. At thirteen years old she acts more like a woman than most, including her mother, but she is still a child. She has not even graduated from high school yet and she considers herself a woman. At thirteen years old you should not be worrying about managing a budget, or going to bars with your father to scam men out of their money. You should be worrying about your school work, and whether or not you were going to sleep at your friend's house this weekend or stay home and relax. The amount of stress that Jeannette is placed under is ridiculous. It is health damaging. Like I said before, Jeannette is just a child. She takes on more responsibility than her own mother.
Jeannette has really changed since the beginning of the novel. This is obviously expected, as she ages she becomes more aware of what is going on around her. Her position on certain things will change. She is no longer her father's ally. Also she is craving to leave home and go to New York. She already sent Lori there, so now her and Brain just have to make it there. Going to New York represents a new better life, without the stigmas of her past attached to her. She will be free to live her life the way she wants to. We are already getting inklings that she will be more responsible than her parents, especially since she can manage a budget. Managing a budget is one of her parents weak points and one of the reasons why they are living like they are now. Going back to the quote, when reflecting on these past few pages, I believe that Jeannette is a strong person. I feel like she is being too hard on herself. She can only control so much and what she is managing turns out well. Strength shouldn’t be defined as fixing all of the problems, but as making an attempt to better oneself. That is what strength is to me, and to me Jeannette has that quality.
The first problem with this quote is Jeannette’s use of the word “woman”. At thirteen years old she acts more like a woman than most, including her mother, but she is still a child. She has not even graduated from high school yet and she considers herself a woman. At thirteen years old you should not be worrying about managing a budget, or going to bars with your father to scam men out of their money. You should be worrying about your school work, and whether or not you were going to sleep at your friend's house this weekend or stay home and relax. The amount of stress that Jeannette is placed under is ridiculous. It is health damaging. Like I said before, Jeannette is just a child. She takes on more responsibility than her own mother.
Jeannette has really changed since the beginning of the novel. This is obviously expected, as she ages she becomes more aware of what is going on around her. Her position on certain things will change. She is no longer her father's ally. Also she is craving to leave home and go to New York. She already sent Lori there, so now her and Brain just have to make it there. Going to New York represents a new better life, without the stigmas of her past attached to her. She will be free to live her life the way she wants to. We are already getting inklings that she will be more responsible than her parents, especially since she can manage a budget. Managing a budget is one of her parents weak points and one of the reasons why they are living like they are now. Going back to the quote, when reflecting on these past few pages, I believe that Jeannette is a strong person. I feel like she is being too hard on herself. She can only control so much and what she is managing turns out well. Strength shouldn’t be defined as fixing all of the problems, but as making an attempt to better oneself. That is what strength is to me, and to me Jeannette has that quality.