“If you don't want to sink, you better figure out how to swim.”(Walls 41)This is what the protagonist had to do for everything in her life. If she wanted to live a good life she had to be independent and figure everything out on her own without any help.The memoir The Glass Castle is based on a true story that happened to Jeannette Walls beginning in the 1960s. The memoir depicts Jeanette's life, which was faced with constant change. Her parents were not the most suitable parents as they did not seem to put their children first in their life. Jeanette had no choice but to mature fast and help take care of her siblings. As she got older, she learned to put herself first and became successful on her own. In The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls …show more content…
As a child nothing in Jeanette's life seemed to be constant, between switching towns or switching between going or not going to school. Jeanette never knew what events were to happen next in her life as she “lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire.” (Walls 34) Majority of children live a life where everyday is a routine, but Jeanette never had that with her life being so unpredictable.Jeanette and her siblings did not even get to go to school most of the time and would be forced to stay at home only being taught math and English by their parents. Jeanette was never able to have friends growing up, which made her life difficult because it never felt like she fully had anyone by her side. She did not have parents who really cared for her when she was younger, so she always had to make the best of a bad situation. Jeanette feels her childhood turned out the way it did because of how she was raised. She feels that “No child is born a delinquent. They only became that way if nobody loved them when they were kids.” (Walls 83). The memoir starts …show more content…
Once she moved away from her parents she was able to finish out high school and even was able to put herself through college. She worked many jobs, one being an editor where she was able to make good money and figure out that is her main interest.But, their mother and father eventually found their way to New York City and made things difficult once again. But this did not change much for Jeanette as she was still able to thrive in the city. But all the constant change in Jeanette's life is what led her to be exactly where she should be. “Sometimes you need a little crisis to get your adrenaline flowing and help you realize your potential.”(Walls 254) Change is natural for the family so once Jeanette is grown she is used to the change. Therefore there is no point in dwelling on the past when instead she can move on with her life “Once you'd resolved to go, there was nothing to it at all.”(Walls 225) With all the change in her life Jeanette still ended up good. She was able to be successful and marry a man who was nothing like her father. But a year after her father died she ended up divorcing him and marrying a different guy. Her second husband's name is John who is her true love and she is able to live the life she had always deserved with him in their perfect
Jeanette is the eldest of this group of girls and she has earned the rank of a teacher’s pet, as some may say. Her quick-to-comply nature makes the sisters in the home rather fond of Jeanette; her sisters from her old life as a wolf begin to resent her. Claudette reveals a profound level of intelligence by stating, “I
She loved the adventures they brought and how fun they made every trip. Jeannette was a very mature and responsible child. At the age of 3 she was cooking hot dogs on the stove by herself. She always helped her mom cook, or even cook by herself. She had to take care of herself most of the time, her parents always wanted the best of their kids but they never had enough money.
The poverty rates are growing by the year as many families struggle to afford sufficient housing, this ultimately impacts the quality of life for their kids. In the novel The Glass Castle written by Jeannette Walls, it shows the life of Jeannette as a child growing up in a house with a constant cycle of poverty, and homelessness. To push past her families issues, Jeannette thrived in her schoolwork and became a writer for her school newspaper. As she grew older and worked harder, Jeannette moved to New York with her siblings to pursue her career in newswriting. Soon after, both of her parents followed and were homeless for many years.
In The Glass Castle the main character Jeanette Walls has a very poor life style. She grew up with an alcoholic father who couldn't hold a job. A mother who never had much money and two crazy grandparents. She was in and out of schooling and had many bullies. This is not what most would say is an ideal circumstance to succeed.
They learned a strong sense of independence and self-reliance. They learned to take care of themselves and each other while having parents who were toxic, selfish and neglectful. Because of the family’s financial situation, Jeanette started to babysit to make a little money on the side that she could use to survive, which showed she took care of herself by being independent. She used this money to feed her family and help them survive in their challenging circumstances. She also later wants braces, but learns that she actually needs them, Jeanette made her own braces.
It is crucial to Jeanette’s development that she recognizes the need to be independent and to acknowledge the drive and determination required to succeed in life. Without the ability to persevere and push oneself past their fears, a person will inevitably fail, something Jeanette will not tolerate. In another example, while
It is evident that her childhood may have impacted her in a more severe psychological way. The book The Glass Castle is a very interesting narrative. The author Jeanette Walls is able to bring new light to circumstances that many people choose to ignore or overlook by writing about her own childhood. This gives the book a new perspective and allows the reader to gain insight.
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. Jeannette Walls lived a tough childhood because of her parents. They were always moving around trying to find a place to build a glass castle. They never gave any of their children a set home while they were growing up.
Personally, I think both of her parents have a huge influence in overcoming her fear. Throughout the novel, her parents teach her how to not be afraid of it, but they do it in a strange way. Her father teachers her how to pass her finger through a lit candle. Eventually, Jeanette becomes obsessed with fire. There were two incidents where she set her doll on fire and the hotel
Jeanette wanted to escape Welch because of her unstable lifestyle, but she had fully given up on her parents. As she created her plan to escape, she said: “I had been counting on Mom and Dad to get us out, but I now knew I had to do it on my own” (Walls 221). She had finally realized that she could not rely on
(115-116). This sedate tone is a clear craft move by the author. She specifically makes Jeannie seem resigned and about to give up. Denials of small, everyday, opportunities like this can have a damaging impact on one’s mental health and can create an inferiority complex. For example, Jeanne starts blaming herself and her race for everything that happens to her.
When she was moving from house to house she always had to be the bigger person to help her family and her siblings, nothing was easy for her but she learned how to manage finances and how to keep her family afloat. For most of her young years, she had to mentor her siblings and be that strong role model that shaped her siblings into the adults they turned out to be. Jeanette also had to face her past in many ways throughout her life and find ways to move past the painful memories and difficult traumas. She also realized as she got older that her parents were not even close to other children's parents and that with each day that went by her parents were failing her.
She struggled with how the society and her family shaped who she was. She was exposed to her family first which made her behave the way she did under her family’s house. Jeanette struggled with her family by taking care of the house, beings told bending the rules is okay and the acceptance of her Mom’s and Dad’s homelessness. When Jeannette left her family and went to live in New York, she becomes an individual. She fends for herself and gets her life together.
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. Growing up poor was already difficult, but growing up with a selfish parent, specifically an unfeeling mom, made life hell for the Walls children. The family barely had one source of income from Rex Walls, and instead of helping out with the family’s finance issues, Rose Mary spent her days at home painting.
This moment of loss helps the reader understand how dire and disappointing Jeanette’s circumstances are. From this understanding, Walls fully develops the idea that her perseverance stemmed from continual