Parental Influence In The Glass Castle

In the memoir, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Jeannette manages to overcome her obstacles by realizing her independence. She is impacted by her parents’ incapabilities because she realizes that she has to do things differently than other children. Her father was a stubborn alcoholic who believed that: “[they] were all getting too soft, too dependent on creature comforts, and that [they] were losing touch with the natural order of the world”(Walls 106). He believes that every human should be independent and fend for themselves. By using the term “creature comforts”, her father is trying to separate himself from what he calls the civilians.

In “The Glass Castle”, Jeannette Walls details the conditions in which she and her three siblings are raised under by their parents, Rose and Rex Walls. Walt Disney had this quote that explained how he doesn 't believe in playing down to his children and that some parents attempt to hide things about the world from children. One may believe that Walt Disney’s quote about playing down to children is one that perfectly describes Rex and Rose Walls’ parenting style. They give the illusion that they portray parents who don 't believe in playing down to their children. On the contrary though as they are just abusive and horrible parents that abandon and exploit their children and disguise their horrible acts as early life lessons.

In the memoir, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, the Walls family is considered homeless and they are constantly moving from place to place. They constantly find themselves either with a somewhat decent amount of money or at times, no money at all. Jeannette, being one of four children always follows along with and listens to her parents and eventually notices that their family does things very differently than most other families. As Jeannette explains her childhood and how she is being raised by her parents, it is clear to see how different Rex and Rosemary’s parenting style is compared to the parenting style of other parents. Since their parenting style is so different, it seems that it affects their children in a negative way throughout their childhood, but in the end it makes Jeannette become a better and more successful person.

Nicholas Sparks once said, “I don’t know that love changes. People change. Circumstances change.” In the memoir, The Glass Castle author Jeannette Walls shows how her father Rex Walls changes with everything thrown at him as a father or four. In the beginning of being a parent Rex shares his intelligence with his children.

The Permissive Parents The parenting paradigm best exemplified to Rex and Rosemary Walls in The Glass Castle Jeanette Walls is the permissive parenting paradigm. The parents of Jeanette are more reactive than demanding to the children (Cherry, “The Four Styles of Parenting”). Jeanette at one point expressed, “I loved the desert, too… we’d catch scorpions and snakes and horny toads. We’d search for gold, and when we couldn’t find it, we’d collect other valuable rocks…” (21).

In The Glass Castle, Rex and Rosemary Walls mostly show the traits of having a permissive parenting style. Throughout the novel, Rex and Rosemary are very lenient with their children only disciplining them when they talk back, as described in the article permissive parents,” rarely discipline their children…” (Cherry, The four styles of parenting). This is proven by a quote from the book,” They’d stick their heads into her classroom and see the students playing tag and throwing erasers…” (74). Rosemary was unable to discipline not only her own kids but an entire classroom full of kids, which shows that she was definitely lenient with children and preferred to let them do their own things. Another example of the permissive parenting style shown

In The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls faces harsh stuff through her childhood because of her parents. In the beginning of the book she finds her mother digging through trash. She feels embarrassed, so she turns around and goes home without saying hello. Jeanette then calls her mother and asks to have dinner with her. She offers her mother help because she feels guilty, but her mother rejects her help. Jeanette’s mother then tells her that her values are all wrong. Jeanette opens up to her mother about being embarrassed and passing her up in the streets. When her mother asks her why, Jeannette says, “I was too ashamed, Mom. I hid”(5). This quote also relates to her childhood. 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.

In the book The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls, the narrator displays her parent's parenting skills as authoritative. According to Cherry, Kendra. “Psychology: What They Are and Why They Matter.” The Four Styles of Parenting. she defines authoritative parents as being “... more nurturing and forgiving rather than punishment”.When Rex got upset about the Erma incident with the children “ I don't want to hear another word of this. Do you hear me” Walls 148. During this confrontation between the characters the dad ended up forgiving the children rather than punishing them. Since the parents are so forgiving, the article also states that “authoritative parents are responsive to their children and willing to listen to questions”Psychology: What They Are and Why They Matter.” The Four Styles of Parenting.

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.

“Life’s too short to care about what other people think” (Jeannette Walls). It is good to not care what other people think, so stay true in life and live it to the fullest. The book, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, is a memoir that tells the story of Jeannette’s difficult family and her poor living conditions, that cause life to be difficult for her. She struggles to move past all the hardships in life and she learns how to overcome the majority of them, so she can develop into her own person. Even though her family can be a little peculiar, they possess a strong bond with each other and they always seek to help one another out.

The Glass Castle: Controversial Topics. The Glass Castle is a 2005 book by Jeannette Walls. The memoir explains the author’s life, growing up with her family most especially with her parents who could be described as nomads and deadbeats. Notwithstanding the difficult upbringing, her siblings and she had, Jeannette perseveres and becomes a successful Journalist living in New York City.

The most exemplified parenting style implemented by Rex and Rosemary Walls in The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls is permissive parenting. Rex and Rosemary have very few demands of their children “They are very indulgent, and nurturing” (Cherry, “The four styles of parenting”). “When Jeanette catches herself on fire, her mother does everything she can to get Jeanette to the hospital, she rushes to the neighbors and takes their car and speeds there.”(9) Jeanette’s mother cares very much for her children, otherwise she would have done nothing. Rex and Rosemary rarely discipline their children, “they have low expectations of maturity and self-control from them” (Cherry). One night Jeanette gets scared that there is something under her bed and

In The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, it tells about how the Walls family move to different desert towns, settling in for as long as their father, Rex, can hold a job. However, his perspective of the state and society, and his alcoholism led them to move frequently. The children - Lori, Jeannette, Brian, and little Maureen- experiences unusual childhood, where they travel like nomads to find new money source. This lead to the theme, sometimes you can be mature and responsible at a very young age. The theme is developed by how Jeannette learns how to take care of herself and her younger siblings, and the way her parent taught her.

According to Jeannette Walls, Rex was a very fun and loving father while she was growing up. Alcoholism affects the good people and the bad people, many in the same ways. However from an outside perspective, Rex Walls' behavior put his children at risk. In The Glass Castle, Rex has many moments where he puts his family's lives in risk, maiming Jeannette's. In one scene, Jeannette and the family go to a water hole to go swimming.

In the memoir, Rex Walls’ internal conflict, Jeannette Walls’ conflict with Rose Mary, and Jeannette’s conflict with society push her to become the person she is today. Therefore, Jeannette Walls’ owes her success to the hardships she had as a child. To begin, Rex Walls’ internal conflict comes from his inability to provide for his family. Being a father, Rex Walls has an obligation to look after his family and to make sure everyone is looked after.