The Glass Castle

"You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it." - Bill Cosby

This quote can be applied to The Glass Castle in many ways. Poverty is a key issue that the Walls family is being faced with. They have no money, and travel from town to town often. The children have known nothing else but struggling to get by. However, they are never down or depressed. The children get by with what they have, and they are resourceful. These are some of the most resourceful and happy young children. Throughout the entire book there are many situations in which this quote can be applied. However, one instance that stands out is when the family was living in Phoenix. During the summer months they slept with their windows and doors wide open to get air flow due to the lack or air conditioning and the extreme heat. One night a man walked into the house, and upstairs into Janette's room. The man attempted to get into bed with Janette. She screamed and Brian, her brother, came running. Janette and Brian chased the man from the house. During the time in which they were looking for the man, they made it into a game. The game kept the mood light, as they were looking to for all the drunken burglars.

This is just one example of how a bad situation can be turned into a pleasant one, as long as you keep the mood light and full of humor. These children did things like this everyday. They tried, no matter the poverty or hardships they faced, to keep laughter and happiness in their spirits.