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Essay On The Glass Castle

1070 Words5 Pages

The Glass Castle, Is the Movie Worth Your Time? The Glass Castle, written by Jeannette Walls is a compelling and heart-wrenching memoir of the hardships and abuse Walls and her siblings faced at the hand of their parents, Rose Mary and Rex Walls. The Glass Castle was adapted for the big screen in August of 2017. The screenplay was written by Andrew Lanham and Destin Cretton, the later directed it. The movie stars Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts as Rex and Rose Mary, Ella Anderson as young Jeanette, and Brie Larson as adult Jeannette. The Glass Castle draws the reader in from the very first page. The hardships the Walls siblings endure and their success in overcoming them makes for a gripping and compelling tale. The movie, while at times …show more content…

Instead of going to the springs, the Walls go to the community pool to enjoy a morning swim. The Walls are enjoying lounging around the pool deck. Rex talks with Rosemary while he enjoys a drink. That is until he sees Jean clinging to the side of the pool. The site inspires Rex to teach Jean learns how to swim. His methodology is the same as it is in the book. Because they are at a public pool, Rex’s swim lessons create a scene. The other patrons become upset and concerned and the Walls are asked to leave the pool. As the Walls leave the pool Rex gives the same speech to Jeannette, except in the film the pool manager interrupts Rex asking if there is a problem. This sends Rex into a rage resulting in him assaulting the manager. The change in setting is effective because we see just how outrageous Rex’s behavior is viewed through the lens of normal parents.
Rex’s character is an integral part of the story. His character is responsible for the outrage the reader feels towards the Walls parents abuse, but the reader also feels some kindred with Rex because, like Rex, the reader, too, wants to see the Walls children succeed and overcome the obstacles their parents have created. Both the movie and the book do an equally effective job at conveying this conflicting response. However, the differences in setting and characterization result in a major shift in tone and mood, even if the take home feeling is the

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