The famous French playwright Moliere once said, "The greater the obstacle, the greater the glory in overcoming it." Throughout our lives, we often face difficulties that push us to change ourselves, the people around us and the situation itself. Because of this, it could reveal our true characteristics to show who we really are. In the memoirs “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls and “Warriors Don’t Cry” by Melba Patillo, they vividly illustrate the story of how they faced their struggles. Both prevailed due to their mental toughness, but handled situations in different and similar ways. The characteristics of the characters Jeannette and Melba show the similarities and differences between the characters. Jeannette Walls was born into a poor family who often had to live without a home and food. The environment she grew up in is what gave her the characteristics she possesses. One characteristic that describes Jeannette is that she is very adventurous. Because she was constantly exposed to new environments, she became curious about them. While homeless in the desert, he played a game called Monster Hunting with his father. She grew up to not be afraid of anything, since she could fight these so-called "monsters". Furthermore, Jeannette is very determined. To get away from Welch, a poor town in West Virginia, he made sure he had enough money to move to New York. He did this by getting a job to save money for bus fare and college. Besides this, Jeannette is very ambitious. She worked very hard to get accepted into college by working for the school newspaper, as she wanted to become a journalist. On the other hand, Melba Patillo was born into a middle class family living in Lit...... middle of paper ...... and many other soldiers were removed from school, Melba began to be more afraid of what could happen to her. This makes them different because while Melba worried about what would happen without protection, Jeannette wasn't focused on needing other people to achieve her goals. To conclude, the characters Jeannette Walls and Melba Patillo display both similar and different characteristics. The traits they retain influenced their stories in many ways and ultimately determined the outcome. Since Jeannette showed ambition towards her future, this led her to succeed, making the story positive. As for Melba, her courage and determination to end segregation created an inspiring environment for readers. Overall, a character's characteristics can create vivid images for readers, making reading an interesting experience.