1: The Glass Castle 1-66

"I wondered if the fire had been out to get me. I wondered if all fire was related, like Dad said all humans were related, if the fire that had burned me that day while I cooked hot dogs was somehow connected to the fire I had flushed down the toilet and the fire burning at the hotel. I didn't have the answers to those questions, but what I did know was that I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire. It was the sort of knowledge that kept you on our toes.
After the hotel burned down, we lived for a few days on the beach. When we put down the backseat of the Green Caboose, there was room for everyone to sleep, though sometimes someone's feet would be sticking in my face. One night a policeman tapped on our window and said we had to leave; it was illegal to sleep on the beach. He was nice and kept calling us 'folks' and even drew us a map to a place wheere we could sleep without getting arrested
But after he left, Dad called him the goddamn gestapo and said that people like that got their jollies pushing people like us around around. Dad was fed up with civilization. He and mom decided we shold move ack to the desert and resume our hunt for gold without our started money. 'These cities will kill you,' he said." (Walls 34)

This excerpt sums up the plot of the book so far. Jeannette Walls family is completely different then a normal family, but they still manage to live a good life so far. Throughout the memoir so far, they have moved a lot of times. This is just another one of their adventures that they have to go through. Jeannette's family is chaotic and there are a lot of questions left unanswered. They don't know where their future is going to go, or even what they are going to do tomorrow. Her life is a big mystery; nothing is for sure, it is very unstable. Jeannette sums up her life in one sentence. "I didn't have the answers to those questions, but what I did know was that I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire." Since her family does not have a plan, anything could go wrong at any moment. In fact most of the time something does go wrong and they have to find a way to work around their difficulties and the obstacles that they encounter during their journeys. I think that Jeannette's family is just like any other family: disfunctional and quirky, except a little more so then most families. Her parents have different views on life and are very independent. Jeannette's dad "was fed up with civilization." This is one of her dad's quirks. This quote is the reason why their family is so different from the others. The Walls are always running away from society and they never stop running.