Yet, these children, especially Jeannette, have an unending love for Rex and Rosemary. This is not uncommon, and in fact, abused children keep coming back to their parents because they have hope that their parents still love them. This is not to say that Rex and Rosemary did not love their children, but one could make an argument that their actions indicate differently. For example, when Jeannette is a young teenager, Rex “pimps” her up and takes her to a bar with the intentions of using her to make money by offering her to an older man. “ ‘Holler if you need me ,’ he said and winked at me as if to say he knew I could take care of myself, that this was part of my job” (Walls 212). Jeannette described that this experience made her feel used by her father and gave her a sense of self-worthlessness. Rex knew that Jeannette had a soft spot for him and he took advantage of this. Jeannette has a psychological scar from this for the rest of her life, and it produced long-term effects of distrust and diminished self-worth. As a child she had been through more than most adults, and in one case she even wakes up in the middle of the night with a child molester in her bed. “One night when I was almost ten, I was awakened by someone running his hands over my private parts” (Walls 103). This all happened due to the fact that her mother and father refused to lock the doors
Upon reading The Glass Castle, written by Jeannette Walls, the reader will quickly notice all of the responsibilities Jeannette; the author and narrator of the novel, takes on throughout her life. The book itself is a memoir of Jeannette’s life that takes place from 1963 to 2005 and takes the reader through the ups and downs of Jeannette’s life in poverty and somewhat neglect. While reading the novel, the reader will be shown situations where they will be shocked and heartbroken. Jeannette’s family isn’t the average family from the south. 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
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. 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
“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. In her memoir, The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls describes her unique childhood through motifs, complex symbolism, and progressive tones in order to demonstrate how one’s past positively influences their future.
Even though Rex Walls goes from being a hero to a villain in the eyes of his children, the romantic values he instills in them in their earlier years serve as part of their inspiration for escaping him as they grow up.
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.
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. 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.
Parents are the biggest influence upon their children. From the time a child is born to the time they leave the household, the values that the parents hold are instilled into their children. Parents are required to make crucial decisions about how to raise their children in order to guide them through the inevitable obstacles and hardships of life. In The Glass Castle, many would argue the lack of care and responsibility the Walls had for their children. The author, Jeannette Walls, uses Rex and Mary Walls to demonstrate that their strong traits of non-conformity, self-sufficiency and perseverance are passed on to their children, allowing them to develop to their full potential. Children are dependent on their parents to
Alcoholism is a significant problem in American society. About 20 million people in the United States abuse alcohol and out of that number, around 10 million are addicted to alcohol and considered an alcoholic ("Alcoholism" 1). In The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Jeannette's father, Rex, shows signs of being an alcoholic. His disease puts a lot of strain on the family and relationships within the family and eventually, Jeannette's father dies from heart failure, a common disease caused by alcoholism. Rex Walls can be identified as an alcoholic father by most of the six identifiers of an alcoholic from the American Addiction Center.
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
Since Jeannette was responsible for the budget that summer and Rex was questioned about the use of the money. The Walls parents are not disciplinary over the children when they misbehave which is another characteristic of authoritative parenting. “Their disciplinary methods are supportive rather than punitive”Psychology: What They Are and Why They Matter.” The Four Styles of Parenting. As a result of this parenting style “We’re going to Phoenix” Walls 89. They didn’t punish Jeannette for shooting Billy they just blew it off and moved to a different state. In the book The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls, the narrator displays her parent's parenting skills as
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.
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. They think they can bend the rules and do what they think is necessary. Jeannette is exposed to these understandings, making her the person she grew up to be. Jeanette demonstrates how she struggles with her family throughout numerous portions of the novel: “The Desert,” “Welch,” New York.” These struggles developed and defined who she came to be.
Bill Gates once said, “If you're born poor, it's not your mistake. But if you die poor its your mistake.” In the novel The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls the Walls children learn many things that lead them to a successful future. This novel is about a very poor family that includes Rex, and Rosemary the father and mother of Lori, Jeannette, Brian, and Maureen Walls. Rex and Rosemary are very irresponsible and don't like having jobs. Because of this they become very poor either because their parents don't like their job so they quit or they get fired. As a result of this the Walls children have to go through many hard things due to their poverty but in doing so they learn many things that help them later on in life. This novel
Her father takes advantage of that love and belief for him at times. She loves her parents even at times when she wants to be angry with them. Jeannette bonds with her brother Brian more than her sisters Lori and Maureen, because they both like being outdoors enjoying nature and having adventures. Jeannette's emotions change towards her parents throughout the story. She always gave into her dad's drinking problem and still supported him even when he let the whole family down. Jeannette, Lori, and Brian start saving up money to send Lori to New York, but then their dad steals the money so he can go and drink. Jeanette was so disappointed that her father would do that to her and her sibling, after that incident Jeannette was done with him and his