More Adult Than Children

In Rawling’s “A Mother in Manville” and Wall’s The Glass Castle, both main characters, Jerry and Jeannette, were more adult than children. Jerry was an orphan and even though Jeannette had a mother, she didn’t get good care from her parents. There are three qualities that Jerry and Jeannette possess that make them adult－independence, braveness, and thoughtfulness.

First, they both took care of themselves and sometimes even others. Jerry took the milk twice daily to the baby cottage. He also took good care of the narrator and her dog, Pat. He was very good at taking care of others since he had to take care of himself and younger children in the orphanage. Jeanette’s mother did not pay attention to her so she had to meet her basic needs by herself. She cooked for herself and shared food with her dog. She already knew how to cook hot dogs at the age of three even though the full water pan was too heavy for her to hold and the process she used to fill the pot was time consuming. She cooked methodically making it clear that she did so often.

Secondly,  both Jerry and Jeannette faced the world bravely. Jerry once broke the ax handle, but he refused to take the money from the narrator. He wanted to pay for it by himself even though he only had a little money. He stood back of his own carelessness, and took the responsibility without hesitatation. Jeannette was burned seriously while she was cooking hot dogs when she was three. We all realize that third degree burns are excrutiatingly  painful. However, she suffered the pain and  she never cried, instead remaining calm. Besides, after being checked by doctors, she was told that she would be fine. She answered, “I know, but if I’m not, that’s okay, too.” They both showed their unwaveringly brave attitude towards life.

Last but not least, another characteristic they shared was thoughtfulness. Jerry did for narrator the unnecessary but gracious things. He dug a deep hole in the rough walk to the cabin, in order to prevent the narrator from stumbling on  a stone. He also kept some wood in a cubbyhole, allowing the narrator to always have dry wood. Jeannette once tumbled out of the car while her father was driving and rolled several yards. Her parents did not even notice and took some time to return for her. She was wounded and couldn’t help but burst into tears. She thought her parents were going to leave her alone. However, when her parents came back for her she didn’t blame them at all, instead she was able to understand her parents' feelings. She was thoughtful.

The main characters in both stories, Jerry and Jeannette, were independent, brave and thoughtful. They showed their personality clearly, and were more adult than children. This conclusion could be stronger with simply another sentence or two.