“It’s the Joshua tree’s struggle that gives it its beauty” (Walls 38)
Analysis
Said by Jeannette's mother, when Jeannette mentioned that she wanted to protect a tree from the elements so it could grow up to be tall and straight. Although this quote is said by the mother specifically, it could be referred to as both of the parent's strange views of beauty and the aspects they think are most important in life. The Joshua tree is very similar to the way the parents are raising their children. “From the time the Joshua tree was a tiny sapling, it had been so beaten down down by the whipping wind that, rather than trying to grow skyward, it had grown in the direction that the wind pushed it” (Wall 35). Rather than being allowed to grow slowly, their parents (like the wind) are shaping them the way they want to, even though it may not be the best thing for the tree/the kids. Most parents influence their children in this way. However, the Walls are doing it to such an extreme that they are causing the children to be “crippled” and permanently bent, just like the Joshua tree. Like the tree, once it is bent or crippled, or for the kids once they are traumatized, its permanent and there's no going back. In the end, the Joshua tree stands alone and the Walls family left it behind as well because they left the city. The tree represents the Walls children, so this may be foreshadowing what is to come in their future.
'Shortly after we moved into the depot, Mom decided that what we really needed was a piano' (Walls 52)
Analysis
This is an interesting and revealing quote because it exposed multiple things about the Walls dark family. The parents have had several major fights throughout the story and get into arguments with one another very often, but there is no mention of the dad disagreeing with the mom about getting the piano. A This is even more surprising because the family did not have the money for furniture (including beds for the children) at the time of this incident. How odd that the mom had a sudden urge/desire for a piano when her very own kids don't even have a bed to sleep in? That's right, a mother values an instrument over a bed for her own children. The kids said that they preferred not having beds, but it is interesting that the parents actually listened to them since they very rarely do for anything else. It's as though the parents only listen to them if they like what they're saying, in this case the kids didn't want beds, and as a result the parents could save money so they were more than happy to oblige. When it came to things like keeping their family pet, they rarely got to have a say. Instead, when there is something that does not affect the parents directly (like the kids not having beds) they are fine listening to them. This really exposes the parents greed. The story only mentioned that the children did not have beds, so the parents likely did. Disgusting. This makes the parents seems selfish, and more than that, they are unfit for parenthood and struggle to value what things in life should come first, especially when it comes to family. How could parents be so selfish and unthoughtful of their very children?
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'I wanted to hug him, but that would have been too weird' (Walls 45)
Analysis
This is a small reminder that despite all the crazy things happening in life for our friends, the Walls children are still just kids. Just like most other kids their age, they are just normal siblings, just like any brothers and sisters would be. Even though the Walls are still just a family, their situation is more unique than most (evidently), and they seem to be surviving on their own and relying on themselves rather than one another despite living in the same home. They begin as totally independent people who are almost strangers to one another who share a house, as I wouldn't even call their household a home. Almost as if going through this “trauma” their parents call their childhood, it's almost as if it's brought them closer together than ever before. The kids grew up making their own meals and being taught how to be independent, and over the story they begin to rely on one another more and more, like how siblings should be. Even their mother, who is supposed to be the one at home helping them out, is often lost in her own hobbies, disconnected from reality. This quote and overall scene is definitely a sign of progress from when the book first started and Brian cared more about eating ice than his sister (who had just been severely burned). Over the course of the book, we see love begin to develop between the siblings like it should be, and they begin to look out for one another although they may not make it obvious that they are, they all do it in their own ways.
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