With her father; Rex Walls being an alcoholic that couldn’t keep a job, her mother; Rosemary Walls who refused to get a job, her older
Hundreds of dollar bills—ones, fives, tens, twenties, all wrinkled and worn—spilled into my lap. ‘There's nine hundred and fifty bucks,’”(Walls 264). Rex is being helpful because he is showing that he is fatherly like most parents he is willing to help Jeanette pay her college tuition. Rex is helpful because he could use that money to get off the streets, but instead he uses it to help Jeannette get a good education. Rex could have gotten off the streets but he and Rosemary both agree that they should use the money to help out there daughter get the education they never got in there lives.
Who is Jeannette Walls? She’s the author of The Glass Castle, a 2005 memoir about 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. She explains how happy, but conflicted because her parents refuse money from her and live as homeless people. She writes the memoir to work through her feelings and share’s her story.
As readers we were under the impression that Rex wanted to show Jennette how to make money, even if it involved a way that children should not be exposed to, but that is far from the truth. Rex took Jeannette to a bar in order to get money that he owed her. He than involved her in a shame that involved selling her out for money. She was half naked in front of other men and they got out with with the money without her being raped. "I 'm not sure," I said.
By knowing who they are it allows the reader to see the journey to the end of the book. Rex Walls, the father, was a very important person in this book. He was a drunk, a good father, an adventurer, and so much more. Rex wanted to give his family everything that they deserved and to Jeanette that
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
Another big influence was the Yankees players. They came to his school to play chach (99). So holling got turned down by mickey mantle the baseball player. So then mrs.baker got 3 other players from the yankees to go to his school to play catch with him on a wednesday when everyone else went to church. Through all this he learned that not everyone is bad and there is good in some people.
Rex believes that Jeanette was able to handle herself and
However, at the same time, Mr. Walls is the biggest problem in the family. Mr. Walls is a heavy alcoholic that drinks all of the family’s money away. When desperate, Mr. Walls would even steal money from the family. The drunk Dad would curse at Mom and
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.
The walls parents consider themselves to be their kids’ friend rather than a concerned parent. “’ Good for you, Mom said when she saw me cooking. You’ve got to get right back on the saddle”’ (15)… Friends tend to encourage you to do stupid things but in this situation Jeannette’s mother is the one encouraging her to do something not so bright. Rex and Rosemary do not expect their kids to become any greater than they are.
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.
When Jeannette explains to Rex Walls what Erma did to Brian, he starts to shake and cover his ears and pretend like he couldn’t hear them. After Lori and Jeannette talk, Jeannette thinks, “You’d be weird, too, if Erma was your mom... it would explain a lot… Why he drank so much and why he got so angry.” Rex Walls tried to escape from Welch and its people for a better future, but in the end couldn’t escape from his problems because he focused too much on his past and never gave the future his complete attention. When the mines started to shut down, many people turned to alcohol and drugs to keep their minds off of their problems in life.
Rex’s method is not that of many fathers, his being “sink or swim”, providing not only the ability to swim but also a strong metaphor for the reader and Jeannette. This is a representation of not only the Walls’ teaching strategy, also for the struggle to succeed in a life the Jeannette has literally been thrown into. Jeannette takes this idea to heart even though she may not realize it, for her not to succumb to the environment in which encapsulates her, such as Welch and life on the road, she must be able to handle these hard situations and be able to stay
Throughout “The Desert,” Jeanette is exposed to everything directly from her parents. The immediate connection on how she perceives things based on how her parents do, deviates her struggles with comprehending the real society. Rex came up with a plan that would trick the system. He decided to make Rose Mary