Quote

"Poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue; it is hard for an empty bag to stand upright."

This quote is saying that poverty makes a person shameful and if a person is in poverty, they cannot have any pride in themselves or stand strong. This quote is wrong about the family in The Glass Castle. They are extremely poor, but they choose to be this way. Their mother has a teaching degree so she could go get a job teaching, but she chooses not to. Their father is a very knowledgeable man and if he put his mind to something, I am sure that he could achieve it. Although I think they are capable of doing a lot, they choose to live the way they do. The do not follow the 'normal' rules of society. Their dad does not usually get regular jobs, and even if he does, he does not keep them for long. He thinks that one day they are going to strike gold, but it is not working out well, and they are living in bad poverty. Although they are living in terrible conditions, it does not bring down their spirits. They stay positive in just about every situation, no matter how bad things get. They always find a way to get eachoher through tough times. They stand up strong for what they believe in, no matter what other people think of them. For example, when Rex takes the kids to the zoo, and they go over the gate and pet the tiger. People think they are crazy and think that is wrong, but he does not care what they think. Their parents do not care if others think they are bad parents; they are raising their kids the way they think is the right way.
None of the people in this family have been deprived of their spirits. Their father may be a drunken jerk most of the time, but I do not believe that this is because they are poor. I believe that they are poor because of his drinking and the way that he wants to live his life. So this family is an example of how poverty does not bring down all of a persons spirits and virtues. This family has their own virtues, which they stick to, no matter what others think. This family is pretty much in poverty because they choose to be, so I think they are happier living the way they are than they would be living by the 'normal' rules.