Outside Reading, Week 4, Post B

I hate to keep flip-flopping, but I think Jeannette is finally coming to terms with how terrible her family is. This week, her mother gets a job teaching and the family finally has a steady and decent income. Jeannette sets up a very easy to manage budget for each month and believes that everything will turn out okay if they stick to it. However, Jeannette soon learns how weak her mother is. Her mother refuses to stick to the schedule and constantly gives into demands by Jeannette's father: "'Mom, what happened to it all?' I asked as we ate our ice-cream slices. 'Gone, gone, gone!' she said. 'It's all gone.' 'But where?' Lori asked. 'I've got a houseful of kids and a husband who soaks up booze like a sponge,' Mom said" (197). Jeannette briefly attempts to control the money herself, but she too gives into her father's demands. It seems like her family was doing so well, but then her father plunges back into his alcohol and they are back at square one. Several times during this section, Jeannette suggests to her mother that the only way to ever achieve a decent life is to run away from her father. However, her mother completely rejects and they are left to rot at their shack.
In a way, I feel kind of bad for Jeannette and her siblings. They are so talented and have so much potential, but their parents are deadbeats and are dragging them down. On the other hand, I feel like the children need to take initiative and leave the house. They are almost all in their teens by now and are more than capable of surviving on their own. It's at times like these that I don't feel pity for them, but rather I am angry. Angry that they are just throwing their lives away when they all do so well in school. I truly do hope that Jeannette leaves her parents in a future section. At first, I did see her parents as caring and loving, but just unorthodox. Now, I see that they are just selfish pigs who only care about their own wellbeing.