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Essay On The Glass Castle Alcoholism

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Alcoholism is a physical and psychological disorder of the brain that involves the chronic and exorbitant consumption of alcoholic beverages. The consumption can be in response to stressful situations, at overwhelming amounts of social activities, and even in the comfort of one's own home. Alcoholism can trigger other psychological disorders such as depression and schizophrenia, and it also has other negative consequences such as kidney failure, heart defects, and even death. An example of alcoholism in a piece of literature is Rex Walls from The Glass Castle. His actions throughout the novel have extremely detrimental consequences for his wife, children, and himself. It can be concluded from various clues and pieces of contextual evidence …show more content…

Rex's hostile and dangerous behavior was a direct result of alcohol consumption. After drinking, he grew excessively angry, his driving skills were lessened, and he wreaked havoc between the family while completely ignoring the needs of his children. His spells of drinking were a direct result of stressful situations. (Bartkevicius 151) On page 71 of Walls's The Glass Castle, Rex attempts to domestically abuse Rosemary by hanging her out of a window towards the end of an argument. Leading up to this, the context provides evidence that at this time the family was tight on money primarily because Rosemary refused to get a job. Rex also mentions going to the "Owl Club", a casino, to "earn extra money" for the family. During this time period, his hostile actions towards Rosemary along with constant screaming and yelling depict his overconsumption of alcohol. His reckless drinking and driving also put his family in danger while driving at outrageous speeds, swerving, and driving the car off the road. Alcohol has been proven to cause an increase in domestic violence and overall hostility in a family and severely impairs driving skills. Statistically, 70% of drivers over the age of 25 had fatal accidents were under the influence of alcohol in 1994. (Frey, 50) His hostile behavior was constant throughout the novel and proves that he was an

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