The Glass Castle Part III, Chapter 21 Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • Jeannette retrieves Mom's check for her Texas land, but Dad takes it.
  • Jeannette decides to get a job and earn money for herself that Dad can't get his hands on.
  • Jeannette lies and tells a local jewelry store owner, Mr. Becker, that she's seventeen, even though she's only thirteen. He hires her.
  • Sometimes, Mr. Becker rubs up against Jeannette inappropriately, but at this point, Jeannette is used to it. She pushes him away and keeps working. He acts like nothing happened.
  • Every time he leaves, though, Mr. Becker accuses Jeannette of stealing.
  • So Jeannette decides to steal a watch, and she gets away with it.
  • But Jeannette realizes that she can't ever wear her stolen watch, or she'll get caught. So she returns it.