ipl-logo

Jeannette Wall's Life Is The Perfect Example Of The American Dream

704 Words3 Pages

Jack Huntebrinker Dr. Farmer English 3 15 May 2023 The American Dream Jeannette Wall’s life is the perfect example of the American dream. “The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, the set of ideals (democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity and equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, as well as an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers.” (cited https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream). The reason why I think the Walls kids are the perfect example of the American dream is that they came from nothing to something and through all of the situations that happened they strived when something happened. Jeannette lived …show more content…

Ever since she was a little girl her whole family struggled with having a steady place to live. This was all from her parents though because Rex and Rose liked being on the run. Rex was a very smart person but had very bad habits and Rose was very bright and artistic but also had bad habits. Jeannette had plans on going to New York with her older sister Lori but their dad ruined it by smashing open the piggy bank with all of the money they had saved. After that they only saved up enough money for either Lori or Jeannette. Lori had the opportunity to be the first Walls kid to become better than what their parents would ever be. Not too long after Jean went to New York the rest of the family followed along. They all created boundaries with their parents because they knew that it would be for the best. The quote on page 10 says “I know,” I said, “but if I’m not, that's okay, too”. This was said during one of the times they were on the run and Lori was overwhelmed because of what was happening so Jeannette calmed her down and explained that even though Jeanette was calm if she wasn’t that's also okay. It shows that this isn’t the first time they have been in this situation. With all of this information stated above that is why I think the Walls kid became the perfect example of becoming something from …show more content…

All of the kids constantly struggled with multiple things, these ranged from being picked on because of how they smell all the way to being hungry so badly that they stole. Lori was really the one that struggled the most, she was the oldest and was taking care of her siblings a lot as her dad was out drinking or working and her mom was painting and not caring. The quote that I picked was on page 96 says “I nodded. Lori looked at me and then burs ted into tears.” The reason why I picked this quote is because it's talking about when Lori first got her glasses she was overwhelmed because she was finally able to see clearly. Something that Lori has always dealt with has finally been fixed. This is a struggle that she went through and this shows how much the little stuff we take for granted. Like I said before Lori was like the parent of the family, she matured at a young age which caused her to not have a childhood. Not only did she struggle but the rest of her siblings did, they all struggled with being bullied and each one also had their own separate things about them. If they didn’t struggle I always wondered how different they would

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Jeannette Walls By Jeannette Walls

    344 Words  | 2 Pages

    She loved the adventures they brought and how fun they made every trip. Jeannette was a very mature and responsible child. At the age of 3 she was cooking hot dogs on the stove by herself. She always helped her mom cook, or even cook by herself. She had to take care of herself most of the time, her parents always wanted the best of their kids but they never had enough money.

    Read More

  • Poverty Exposed In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

    642 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jeannette Walls is an amazing woman with an abnormal and noteworthy life. She has a lived in poverty most of her life. Living in poverty isn’t just struggling for meals and living on welfare for Jeannette. It is living in the desert being nomads, living in trailer parks, and living in termite and roach infested homes. If that isn’t enough she was sexually assaulted more than one, bullied, and her parents are delirious.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Jeannette Walls The Glass Castle

    1351 Words  | 6 Pages

    For instance, Jeannette knows that Rex is wrong when he takes Ermas’ side, so she sticks up for herself. When Jeannette explains what happened, Rex yells, “I don’t care what happened” and Jeannette says, “But we were just protecting ourselves” (147). This shows that although her father, who she thought was going to be on their side, is opposing her, she does not stand for his treatment towards her and instead stands up for herself. In addition, Jeannette decides to get a job. After she realises that living in poverty is not a good way to live and to fight against the lack of parental income, she gets a job so that she can pay for the bare necessities that a family should have.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

    447 Words  | 2 Pages

    Simple moments like these, are when their parenting notions become exceedingly noticeable. Allowing a three year old child to cook on a stove, is irresponsible and hazardous. Signs of mental illness, and alcoholism also effected the children in many ways. I was astonished at how strong Jeannette became as an adult in her later life. Oscar Wilde once said, “To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

    1206 Words  | 5 Pages

    She figures out how her father's family has an endless list of problems and issues with them after Jeannette’s grandma molests Jeannette’s brother. After this emerged, the Walls family was no longer allowed to live with Rex’s family. Soon after, Jeannette’s dad disappeared for days at time, and lied about what he was doing when he was gone. That year two men showed up from New York City after seeings Jeannette’s sister, Lori, artwork at a summer camp and unknowingly convinced Lori and Jeannette to

    Read More

  • The Glass Castle, By Jeannette Walls

    1180 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Walls children must grow up at a younger age than most because of their parents abandonment and neglect. When one's father or mother leaves for days, weeks, or months on end, or is present but not supervising, endangerment of the children increases. At an immature age of only three years old, Lori was standing on a chair in front of their stove when she bent over to pick up a hot dog with a fork. Momentarily, she felt heat on her side when she realized she was on fire and it spread up to her face (Walls 9). After a few days of hospital care, while Jeanette was not fully healed, her dad told her they are checking out “Rex-Walls style” (Walls 14).

    Read More

  • The Glass Castle Essay

    867 Words  | 4 Pages

    Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a captivating memoir about the early life of Jeannette Walls and her family. It demonstrates the darker side of the American dream as they struggle with poverty, homelessness, bullying, hunger, and as far as the children's neglectful treatment from their parents. “The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, the set of ideals (democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity and equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, as well as an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers.” (cited https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream) We see multiple instances of poverty, homelessness, discrimination,

    Read More

  • What Are The Similarities Between Rex And Rosemary Walls Successful

    476 Words  | 2 Pages

    Being exposed to alcoholism, weaponry, abuse, and having to take care of both her mother and father, Walls loses all her childhood innocence at a young age. Walls learns to be a tenacious and competent person which helps her succeed as an adult. Growing up, her family is always on the run, leaving friends, family, pets, and toys behind and never looking back. This helps Walls become a forgiving person because it teaches her to live in the present and not the past- to forgive and forget. Rex and Rosemary Walls are constantly hurting their children because of their irresponsible actions.

    Read More

  • The Glass Castle Literary Analysis Essay

    567 Words  | 3 Pages

    Here, Walls and her father see differently. Walls told her father about this situation so that he could address it, but instead he made up an excuse for what really happened when he was not in the room with his daughter and his acquaintance. Personally, the Walls’ parents are too worried about themselves. Instead of making money to support their kids, the parents spend money on other things like art supplies for the mom, and alcohol for the dad. Like shown in the evidence above, Walls’ parents don’t show much care or worry for specifically Jeannette, but also the other kids.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Jeannette's Relationship With Her Parents

    323 Words  | 2 Pages

    As Jeannette matures her connection with her parents, particularly her father begins to diminish. Jeannette didn’t grasp that the way her parents raised them or viewed the world wasn’t normal and as she got older she recognized how selfish her parents were. Jeannette was constantly close with her father, and always showed compassion for him, but when they relocated to Welch it appeared as if her father had changed. Jeannette eventually obtained work and began to save up money so she and her siblings could survive, but her father didn’t approve and eventually sabotaged that plan. Eventually, Rex went to Jeannette and requested money from her, he did promise to pay her back.

    Read More

  • The Glass Castle Joshua Tree Quotes

    647 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lori never turns back and begins a life on her own and later on invites her siblings to move to New York with her. But after they stabilize and start building their careers, the breaking news gets to Jeannette and that is that her parents had followed them and moved to New York too. Like the Joshua tree, it can never avoid the hard winds that it goes through in the desert, so when the Walls children want to grow upwards they get hit by the strong winds that they cannot avoid. After that, they realize that they have to learn to grow sideways and venture

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Devices In The Glass Castle

    1574 Words  | 7 Pages

    When Rex Walls would announce that they had to leave, the children would not become irritable because, to them, this meant a new adventure was ahead. As she grew up, Jeannette brought

    Read More

  • Struggle Of Life Exposed In Jeannette Walls's The Glass Castle

    758 Words  | 4 Pages

    She proved that one must depend on others and their outside surroundings in order to successfully find their individuality and unaccompanied personality from the inside. Jeannette became an independent woman through her unintentional battles becoming an

    Read More

  • The Struggle In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

    732 Words  | 3 Pages

    After graduating middle school her friend lost touch with her and eventually left her life for good: “By the time she got to Welch High Dinitia changed.” Jeannette was also sexually harassed by one of her friends in Phoenix while playing hide-and-seek: “Billy smushed his face against mine… ‘Guess what?’Billy shouted. ‘I raped you’” Lastly, while going to school in Phoenix Jeannette was bullied for being smart and skinny: “The other students didn’t like me much because I was so tall and pale and skinny and always raised my hand too fast… A few days after I started school, four Mexican girls followed me home and jumped me in an alleyway…”

    Read More

  • The Glass Castle: A Memoir

    663 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the end Jeannette is forced to examine her own life and realize that while she has distant herself from her parents and her past, part of her thrives on the reckless freedom they implanted in her. She finally reunites with her family after five years and eventually finds peace with her past and her

    Read More

More about Jeannette Wall's Life Is The Perfect Example Of The American Dream

Open Document