Parenting Style In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

Growing up is a difficult and varied time for us all. People’s formative years are very influential to what kind of adults they become. However, for some there are more tribulations than others. In the memoir, The Glass Castle, Jeanette Walls, the author, was most influenced by her second time in Phoenix, as indicated by how she describes her family interactions and gains independence. Jeannette’s view on her father has drastically changed over the course of their time in Phoenix.

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.

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.

Sinking to the bottom of the ocean can signify that, that person is giving up and that they are not willing to fight anymore. Jeannette Walls was raised by parents that believed that their children should learn from their own mistakes. The Walls children were put in danger by their parents various times, just so they could understand that they should not depend on anybody but themselves; the Walls children were taught that living life holding on to the edge could prevent them to take risky chances and lose the chance of having success. In the book “The Glass Castle” written by Jeannette Walls, Rex Walls describes to Jeannette that “If you don’t want to sink, you better figure out how to swim. ”(Walls 66).

Forgiveness is the theme of the Glass Castle because although Jeannette Walls was neglected, betrayed, and even belittled by her parents she doesn’t hold any negative feelings towards them. She exemplifies the theme of forgiveness by never blaming her parents for neglecting them, when her mother and father both squander her money on themselves, or when her parents allowed Erma to treat them as horribly as she did. Jeannette knows who her parents are, accepts and forgives, to the point that she can have a Thanksgiving dinner with Lori, Brian, and Mom reminiscing about the days of past.

The Glass Castle When being put on this Earth, there is one of two options that can be made. To follow our fate and let life take us there, or chose the power of free-will. In Jeanette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, the Walls family are faced with stimulating and challenging decisions that can greatly affect the rest of their lives ahead, depending on which path they chose. It’s all a matter of fate or free-will.

To make the future what we want it to be, there needs to be effort put into shaping it. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls is the story of her life within a dysfunctional family. Jeanette must handle living with a loving, but alcoholic dad and a mother who troubles herself into a spiraling denial of her life. Jeanette does not live like an ordinary person, as she constantly moves and must rely on her own to care for her siblings and life. Jeanette has to shape things into what she wants them to be no matter how hard they are, in doing so she tries to separate herself from the family to achieve her own personal goals.

Jeanette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle (2005), reveals that where a person comes from does not have to be where they stay. Walls brings the reader through her life of struggle and how she reached the top. Walls purpose is to emphasize that everyone who is interesting has a past, in order to encourage her readers to keep fighting for where they want to be. Given the obliviousness of her parents and the reality of poverty, Walls is writing to an audience of young teens and adults who could be ashamed of where they came from, to tell them they shouldn't be. Walls grew up in a life full of poverty, alcohol, escaping and disappointment.

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.

“Life is a drama full of tragedy and comedy. You should learn to enjoy the comic episodes a little more.” The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls has very important life lessons that will teach you to laugh at your tragedies sometimes. The most important lessons are that struggle makes you unique, you either sink or swim, and sometimes crisis makes you realize your potential. In the memoir, you will learn these and accept them.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a remarkable memoir which shows the importance of acceptance and perseverance. The author and her three siblings grew up poor and were forced to try to support themselves, as their parents were unable to provide any form of stability for their kids. I had decided to read the book for many reasons and am glad that I decided to do so as it is an inspiring story. It had allowed me to see things through a different perspective and has changed my view on life. There were many reasons why I chose to read The Glass Castle as my summer reading book.

Aging is a phenomena not only of the body, but of the mind as well. It is situational in practice, giving each journey into adulthood its own “thumbprint”. One’s trials and tribulations gain emotional weight as they are encountered, but the weight one holds at certain periods of time can differ according to their background. The novels Flight, The Joy Luck Club, and The Glass Castle; however, enlighten the possibility of resembling another’s venture into maturity, despite distinct differences in general conditions. Together, these three novels endeavor into their protagonists’ personalities, and they thematically portray coming-of-age transformation.

“Believe in miracles…. Hope is never lost” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland). Believing that the worst is behind them and that they will come upon a better life is the only way that Jeanette Wall’s family is able to stay afloat. In Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle, the symbol of hope is portrayed through a Glass Castle: a real home in which everyone is important and loved.