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The Glass Castle Part II, Chapter 7 Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • The family lives in Vegas for a while, until the casinos realize Dad is conning them somehow and chases them out of town.
  • At least that's what Dad says.
  • The fam moves to San Francisco, into an SRO in the Tenderloin District.
  • Mom says SRO means "special residents only" (2.7.5). Jeannette doesn't have Wikipedia, so she doesn't know that's not what it actually means.
  • Jeannette likes to light things on fire and flush them down the toilet.
  • One night, the building catches on fire. Maybe it's all the flaming TP in the pipes.
  • The family evacuates, and Jeannette, who was burned as a child, wonders if all fire is out to get her.
  • With their no-tell motel burned down, the family starts living on the beach. This is not what the song means by "California dreamin'".