“That was the thing about the hospital. You never had to worry about running out of stuff like food or ice or even chewing gum. I would have been happy staying in that hospital forever” (Walls 12).
• Jeannette Walls had been taken to the hospital at the age of three years old with horrible burns after trying to boil hot dogs. This situation was quite ironic as most children would be scared or anxious, but Walls was optimistic and enraptured by the simple pleasures and basic necessities provided at the hospital. Her burns also represent her obsession with fire and fascination with chaos.
“Like build the Glass Castle. All of Dad’s engineering skills and math genius were coming together in one special project: a great big house he was going to
…show more content…
The dramatic transformation represents their self-sufficient attitude and strong determined attitude they enforced on their children, yet were unable to follow themselves.
“That was why we had to find gold. To get Mom a new wedding ring. That and so we could build the Glass Castle” (Walls 31).
• Walls discusses their plans for the future after observing the past mistakes of her parents. Despite all her parents’ faults, Jeannette sees no wrongs with her parents, loves them to the very end, and forgives them for all her unpleasant childhood experiences. The symbol of child-like innocence and faith in her parents is represented by her plans.
“Just then we took a sharp turn over some railroad tracks, the door flew open, and I tumbled out of the car” (Walls 34)
• The Walls had been moving around for a while and had just stopped for a piece of candy for the kids as they passed through another town. However, Jeannette flew out of the car. This situation represents the erratic and unsafe conditions of their entire childhood. Despite these conditions, Jeannette remained strong and continued to come up with a plan to allow her parents to find her easily. She also forgives her parents immediately and continues to love them. Love and forgiveness are important themes of this
She loved her parents but hated the things they did. When Jeannette was a child, never understood her parents behavior. As a teenger sher just dealt with it still not completely understanding her parents. Jeannette tells multiple reasons why the relationship between her mother and father was so complex.
The 3 Wall’s children were frequently in harm’s way, therefore child protective services would have found a number of very serious situations. Raised in a neglectful household, Jeanette Wall’s authored a narrative of the abuse she has received. The Glass Castle shows experiences, accidents, at the moment of encounters with never-ending abuse. Although Jeanette shares the suffering her parents had handed her throughout her childhood, she also paints a picture of an emotionally caring family; thanking her mother for believing in art and truth; thankful for her father for dreaming big dreams, always wanting to be the father that his children can rely on, making sure they can use imagination in replace of material joy. Even in the mistreatment
This demonstrates human resilience because she presses on with her life, despite being badly burned and being in a hospital for several weeks. She even gets on her feet and leaves the hospital with her father, despite not being completely healed from her burns. She also has the resilience to deal with her father’s irresponsible behavior when he refuses to pay the bill (Walls 14). Another part of the book where her resilience is demonstrated is when Walls’s family is traveling through the desert after refusing to pay the hospital bill. She has to put up with her father’s bizarre phobia of the government, as well
Success: An Escape from Privation Inevitably, the conflicts people face at multiple points in their life is a determining factor in shaping individuals into the person they will eventually become. Namely, these conflicts direct people 's behavior over the course of time; contributing to a person’s ability to achieve success. In particular, Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle is an honest depiction of her life and the conflicts that arise throughout her state of impoverishment, as well as the success that stems from her hardships.
Since the Walls family is so poor and homeless it seems that Rex and Rosemary are not always there to give their children the support and comfort that kids need at a young age. Instead of giving love and comfort, they decide to teach their kids how to be tough and how to learn to do things themselves. Unlike most parents, who focus on supporting, caring for their children first, and then teaching them how to live on their own once they get much older. This attentive parenting method is not visible in the Walls’ family. For example, when Jeannette has her accident with fire and explained it to the nurses she gets rather surprised and
Max Lerner an American Journalist stated “the turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt.” Throughout The Glass Castle a memoir by Jeannette Walls, Jeannette and her siblings, Lori, Brian and Maureen are faced with an unpleasant upbringing that they are put through by their parents Rex and Rose Mary Walls. Due to the terrible living conditions and bad parenting they had to endure for many years, they had to teach themselves and each other to be strong and survive on the very little food and necessities that they were given. Throughout the memoir, it is seen that Jeannette has a special connection with her father unlike any of the other siblings, but despite Jeannette believing in him Rex struggles to raise her and the kids in the normal life that they deserve due to his battle with mental illness. Bipolar disorder “is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks” (National).
Jeanette’s childhood was shameful due to her parents careless way of living. Throughout The Glass Castle Jeannette hides her childhood just like she from her mother because she is ashamed of what people might think. Jeannette Walls lived a tough childhood because of her parents. They were always moving around trying to find a place to build a glass castle. They never gave any of their children a set home while they were growing up.
As a child, Jeannette Walls moves around constantly with her family. The Walls family would move to different desert towns and settle as long as Mr. Walls can hold a job. When sober, Mr. Walls represents a charismatic father who loves his children and teaches them important life skills. He encourages imagination inside of the Walls kids and often captures their dream and creativity. Together, the family had planned to build a glass castle that contains all of the family’s hope and inspiration.
“If you don 't want to sink, you better figure out how to swim” (41). Although Rex Walls was not always an admirable father and role model, he did make an essential point while teaching his daughter, Jeannette, how to swim. In life, not everything comes without resistance. As Jeannette Walls describes throughout her life story, sometimes people are forced to face hardships that make them question their whole life. However, as seen in her book, it is important to learn to take those hardships and use them to shape one’s future for the better.
Kai Sebastian English 10H Mrs. Denchfield 8/27/15 10H Summer Assignment: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls 1.“‘We could live like this forever,’ I said. ‘I think we’re going to,’ she said.” (Walls 18) This is near the beginning of the books between the two siblings of the narrator (Jeannette Walls) and her older sister (Lori Walls) as they are lying underneath the stars on a clear night in the desert. The reason for these exchange of words was the fact they were on one of their dad’s
Paul Ryan once said, “Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together.” Individuals must strive upon excellence based on the society they are placed in. Watching how others react can help one become the best they can be. Throughout The Glass Castle, Jeannette is exposed to society by her parents. Her parents, Rex and Rose Mary, see society in different means than how others perceive it.
The Glass Castle Argumentative Essay The memoir, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, is an inspirational, eye opening, and a giggling type of story. Although there are some problems in this story that she encounters in her early years, she uses these problems to better herself for what may lay ahead of her. I am writing about what I think of her parents, Rex and Rose Mary Walls, and if they are acceptable parents, or inadequate parents to Jeannette and her siblings Lori, Brian, and Maureen. I, however, do not agree that Rex and Rose Mary Walls are acceptable parents.
In this world, there’s learning things the hard way and the easy way; in Jeannette Wall’s world, there’s only learning things the hard way. The Glass Castle is an adventurous story that reveals the painfully miserable story of Jeannette Walls. A selfish mother, a careless father, and terrible social encounters- these are some of the elements of a harsh reality Rex and Rose Mary Walls failed to shield their children from. Growing up poor was already difficult, but growing up with a selfish parent, specifically an unfeeling mom, made life hell for the Walls children. The family barely had one source of income from Rex Walls, and instead of helping out with the family’s finance issues, Rose Mary spent her days at home painting.
Jeannette Walls also uses the symbol of the Glass Castle, which develops throughout the memoir to show how she slowly loses trust in her father as she realises that she can not depend upon him or anyone else for happiness. The symbolism evolves throughout the memoir as Walls evolves as a person. In the beginning of the memoir, her description of the Glass Castle is naive and hopeful. Her naivety is most apparent when Walls writes, “All of Dad’s engineering skills and mathematical genius were coming together in one special project: a great big house he was going to build for us in the desert… All we had to do was find gold, Dad said, and we were on the verge of that.
While Jeannette was a junior in high school she became aware of the fact she had to get out of Welch and away from her parents. “ All through the long walk, the pain had kept me thinking, and by the time i reached the tree trunk, i had made two decisions. The first was that id had my first and last whipping. No one was ever going to do that to me again. The second was that, like Lori, I was going to get out of welch.