Glass catle pages 93-144

1. Jeannette’s 10th Birthday Wish — Dad to Stop Drinking
Event + Significance:

Instead of toys or a party, Jeannette asks Dad to quit drinking. He is shaken, emotional, and promises to try. Marks her taking on an adult role.
Emotional Meaning: Shows her longing for stability and belief in his potential. Painful parent–child role reversal.
Symbolism: Her “gift” symbolizes the childhood she’s losing.
Quotes:

• “Do you think you could stop drinking?” (p. 116)

• “He turned and looked at me. ‘You must be awful ashamed of your old man.’” (p. 116)

• “He said he was going to give up drinking for good.” (p. 117

2. Dad’s Withdrawal — Tied to the Bed
Event + Significance: Dad goes cold turkey. Shakes, screams, and hallucinates. Mom ties him to the bed with belts.
Emotional Meaning: Jeannette sees him vulnerable; his myth of invincibility breaks.
Symbolism: Belts symbolize addiction’s grip on the family.
Quotes:

• “Dad’s whole body started shaking.” (p. 117)

• “Mom had to tie him to the bed with belts.” (p. 117)

• “He screamed and thrashed for days.” (p. 118)

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3. Dad Relapses After Withdrawal
Event + Significance: After surviving withdrawal, Dad returns to drinking after the car breaks down and he is gone for the night. 
Emotional Meaning: Jeannette realizes promises don’t last; hope collapses.
Symbolism: Relapse represents the cycle that defines her childhood. NOT GOOD FOR FAMILY

4. The Cheetah at the Zoo
Event + Significance: Dad takes kids to the zoo because tired of city life and wants an adevent. He goes behine the fence and lets them pet a cheetah inside the enclosure.
Emotional Meaning: Awe mixed with danger; represents Rex’s parenting style.
Symbolism: The cheetah symbolizes wild, uncontrolled life.
Quotes:

• “Dad stuck his hand through the cage and stroked the cheetah’s neck.” (p. 109)

• “‘Go ahead,’ Dad said. ‘He won’t hurt you.’” (p. 109)

• “The cheetah started licking my hand.” (p. 109)

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5. The Man Who Touches Jeannette — Parents Leave Doors Open
Event + Significance: A man enters their Phoenix home through the door and touches Jeannette. Parents refuse to lock windows/doors.
Emotional Meaning: Shows parents’ “never live in fear” philosophy overriding children’s safety.
Symbolism: Open door represents vulnerability and lack of boundaries.
Quotes:

• “I woke to find a man standing over my bed.” (p. 103)

• Man said I just want to play a game

• “Dad refused to put a lock on the window. They said you should face your fears.” (p. 104)

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6. Dad’s Job — Engineer in Phoenix
Event + Significance: Dad works as an engineer but is fired, loses his job, and never gets another stable position. The family’s financial stability collapses.
Emotional Meaning: Reveals Dad’s brilliance, charm, and irresponsibility. Children experience insecurity.
Symbolism: Work is about freedom and ego, not providing security.
Quotes:

• “Dad lost his job… Phoenix was so big and growing so fast that he could find another job…” (p. 110)

• “Whatever money Mom had inherited from Grandma Smith had disappeared, and once again we started scraping by.” (p. 110)

7. The Move to Welch — Shattered Expectations
Event + Significance: Family relocates to Welch. The mom decides it is good to go to Rex’s family and Dad does not want to go and decides last minute. Travel on rundown 2,000 dollar car and goes super sl Children face bleak reality instead of the adventure Dad promised.
Emotional Meaning: Marks shift from desert freedom to Appalachian entrapment; dreams disappoint.
Symbolism: Welch symbolizes downward spiral and confinement.
Quotes:

• “Momsaid Welch was going to be an adventure.” (p. 125)

• “I thought the mountains would be beautiful, but everything looked gray.” (p. 125)

• “It wasn’t the place Mom promised it would be.” (p. 125)

8. Meeting the Grandparents — A New Level of Dysfunction
Event + Significance: Children meet Rex’s parents. Erma is fat  harsh and racist, shaping the children’s understanding of inherited dysfunction.
Emotional Meaning: Generational trauma becomes clear; kids realize Rex’s flaws are rooted in his upbringing.
Symbolism: Erma represents inherited cruelty and prejudice.

9. Welch Town Conditions
Event + Significance: Town is poor, rundown, and segregated; economic decline is evident.
Emotional Meaning: Children confront social inequality and harsh realities of Appalachia.
Symbolism: The town reflects the family’s financial and social entrapment.
Quotes:

• “The town had gone downhill… there were no jobs, and houses were falling apart.” (p. 128)

• “Everyone seemed to be struggling just to get by.” (p. 128)

10. Living Conditions in Welch House
Event + Significance: House is cold, cramped, and falling apart. The family must cope with squalor.
Emotional Meaning: Children feel fear, discomfort, and abandonment in a harsh environment.
Symbolism: The house represents the consequences of parental neglect and poverty.
Quotes:

• “There was no warmth in the house, and the rooms were dark and cold.” (p. 129)

• “Dad and Mom didn’t care that the roof leaked or the floors were rotting.” (p. 130)

11. Families’ Feelings Toward the House
Event + Significance: Children are scared and overwhelmed, but parents downplay the problems.
Emotional Meaning: Shows disconnect between parents’ ideals and children’s reality.
Symbolism: Represents the fantasy versus reality tension in their lives.
Quotes:

13. Helping a Neighbor Boy — Jeannette Learns Empathy
Event + Significance: Jeannette helps a small boy (Dinita’s neighbor) get home safely, stopping Dinita’s bullying.
Emotional Meaning: Shows compassion triumphing over social pressure; her moral growth.
Symbolism: The act of helping represents personal agency and kindness.
Quotes:

• “I guided him home, ignoring Dinita’s threats.” (p. 133)

• “I realized that doing the right thing mattered more than fitting in.” (p. 133)

14. Erma’s Racism and N-Word Commentary
Event + Significance: Erma openly expresses racist views toward Black people, using the N-word and referring to the area as “N-word-ville.”
Emotional Meaning: The children witness prejudice firsthand, shaping their understanding of cruelty and intolerance.
Symbolism: Erma represents the entrenched racism and decay of the town.
Quotes:

• “Erma kept talking about N-word-ville… how the town had gone downhill.” (p. 134)

15. Town Decay and Poverty
Event + Significance: Welch is a shabby, struggling town with few jobs and rundown houses.
Emotional Meaning: Children see extreme poverty and feel trapped in a bleak environment.
Symbolism: The town mirrors the family’s downward spiral and instability.
Quotes: