The Glass Castle Literary Analysis

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 (Rex) “adventures”. This begins to show the characterization of these two important characters, the optimistic little sister who finds her dad’s escapades not for what they really are and the cynical older sister who is already finding the truth behind the fantasies of their father and how age connects to this maturation. This also connects to the idea of foreshadowing as this idea is followed throughout the story. 2. “‘Mom frowned at me. 'You'd be destroying what makes it special' she said, 'It's the Joshua tree's struggle that gives it its beauty'”. (Walls 38)

In this conversation between young Jeannette and her mother when the innocent Jeannette a proposed an idea to straighten a wind-twisted Joshua tree by planting it near their house so she could protect it from the wind and care for it like a mother. This idea

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