Analysis Of Quotes From 'The Yellow Wall' By Rex Walls

Jeannette’s thoughts are revealed in this quote about being associated with her mother, who is homeless. While in a taxi on the way to an upscale party, she spots her mother digging through garbage on the streets of New York City. Her “secret” that she fears colleagues will find out about foreshadows the fact that she was once homeless and poverty-stricken, just like her parents are now, and had to work her way up from the bottom.

She fears for the lives of her children and worries that harm will come to them. This also represents an aspect of the parent-child relationship. No matter how old children get, their parents still worry about the things they do and the choices they

In the text of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, the mother says, “I’m not upset because I’ll miss you, I’m upset because you get to go to New York and I’m stuck here. It’s not fair (Walls 237).” Jeanette thought her mom was sad because her daughter was leaving forever but she was just jealous that she couldn’t go to New York. This quote makes the mother look selfish and like she doesn’t care about her children. Jeannette’s mother had just started a teaching job that she didn’t like and had to deal with her father’s problems every day, so it was clear that she was under a lot of stress and was probably tired of living in Welch. But the mother also didn’t seem depressed when Lori left for New York when she should have been because her oldest

“’Well now, Miss Jean Louise,’ she said, ‘still think your father can’t do anything? Still ashamed of him?’” (Lee 129)

And despite everything, her love for her father only accumulates for him. Throughout the story Jeannette at times has given up on her father but she somehow always rationalizes his actions and continues to see him as everything but a bad influence. For example, when Rex purposely throws Jeannette into the water forcing her to learn how to swim and saying, “If you don’t want to sink you better learn how to swim.” (Walls 66) Again this just proves that despite how reckless and inconsiderate her parents were at times eventually it taught her to be independent and survive. And in the end they needed this because living in poverty its almost difficult to make sure you will survive the next day. Regardless of Rex’s weaknesses in raising Jeannette soon enough it proved that Jeannette’s love and admiration for her father was impeccable and only proved that Rex played a huge role in her

Walls suggested that they dig it up and plant it near the house so it would have the same outcome. Rosemary, their mother, was displeased with the idea, she said, “‘You’d be destroying what makes it special’ ... ‘It’s the Joshua tree’s struggle that gives it it’s beauty.’” (Walls, 38). Rosemary was essentially saying that the scraggly, permanently twisted, tortured position of symbolized the tree’s perseverance which was the tree’s beauty. One night while driving, Rosemary and their father got in an argument over how long Rosemary had been pregnant. Rosemary, exasperated, gets out of the car and runs off into the dessert, in which their father chases her, with the car. The bystanders, or the children, just readied themselves for the unforeseeable. Walls says, “Lori, Brain, and I braced one another with our arms, like we always did when Dad went on some wild chase that we knew would get bumpy.” (Wall, 42). To Walls her siblings represented a stronghold and force only achieved by being together. Something they did not experience much in their dysfunctional family. So, for persevering together the children were able to gain and benefit from a little bit of stability in their hectic life. This applies to a wide variety of reader that have sibling and can relate to the feeling of needing your siblings to be able to accomplish or get through a situation or

I told you mom, I didn’t think that Eric would lend me a million dollars...and even if he would, I wouldn’t borrow it from him. ”(Walls 273) This shows that Jeannette has finally become an individual and isn’t feeding into her parents lies anymore. She knows how to say no to them and she didn’t at the beginning of the novel. It shows how she is an individual and how she had to use courage to say no to her parents.

Jeanette represents Rex as a reasonable and loving father through Christmas time during which he gave the presents stars to them. She describes the memory with admiration and love towards her father. Although Jeanette says “we had no money at all” her family showed no regret, she instead showed how they absolutely admire him, by capitalizing “Dad”. Rex has an ability to brave the cold times because ”the cold never bothered him” as he said ( Glass Castle 39). Jeanette holds onto her father when other people ignore him because he makes her feel unique, as it gives her one of the most important moments of her life. It's clearly obvious that Jeanette admiration is growing as she continues to describe the experience in positive terms. The final quotation at

Jeannette shows that wealth is subjective. Even when she's an adult and has nice things and money, but she is still not happy. She is not happy because she is worried about her parents and she feels guilty living in a nice apartment and having all these nice things when her parents are homeless. Jeannette tries to quench her guilt by offering them help to get a house and food but her parents don't want the help. After Rex received clothes for a gift he says "you must be mighty ashamed of your old man. You think I'm some sort of goddamn charity case" (Walls 263). Jeannette sees her parents struggling to survive homeless but her dad says "Don't you fret a bit have you ever known your old man to get himself in a situation he couldn't handle" (Walls 260)?

In the novel The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, the uncertain future of the Walls’ children was questionable from the start. From a drunk father, to never having a steady home, the author tells of her idiosyncratic youth to describe the bitterness and longing for an ordinary childhood.

Connie does not have any control over what people do to her, however, the criticism she takes from her mother whenever she compares her to her sister June combined with her mother’s insults gives Connie a low self-esteem and insecurity about herself; she thinks she is “less worthy” because of this and makes her think her beauty is everything, that she is nothing without it.

“Don’t call me Grandma. Name’s Erma.” (Walls, 131). This is the first thing Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle, hears out of her grandmother Erma’s mouth when they go to stay at her home in Welch, West Virginia. The Walls family has come across hard times and they need somewhere to live. “She don't like it none ‘cause it makes her sound old.” This was the response of Grandpa Ted, Erma’s husband, a more even tempered and gentle man. Does this make Erma an upper social class woman concerned of appearing less beautiful? Or a hardworking woman torn down by poverty who doesn’t want to feel less able than she was when she was younger.

The mother taught them that you should never judge someone by what you see or what you barely know. "Everyone has something good about them," she said. "You have to find the redeeming quality and love the person for that." (144). This quote is an example of Jeannette’s mother telling them that no matter what you should never judge anyone no matter who they are. To look beyond what you see or have been told to see. You never really know who someone is until you actually take the time to get to know them.

Jeanette works up enough courage to speak out against her mom to explain to her that they never have food in the house to eat and that makes her angry. Instead of disciplining Lori and Jeanette, Rosemary explains

Throughout the book, many attempts are made by Jeanette's mother to make Jeanette suppress her feelings and sexual orientation. When Mother finds out that Jeanette is a lesbian, she kicks her out of the house, saying, "You'll have to leave, I'm not havin' demons here."(Page 136). That incident, however, happens only after Mother and the Pastor try many times to make Jeanette repent and renounce her sexual feelings toward women, including trying to make her feel guilty and shameful, sending away her sexual partners, and locking her in a room for thirty-six without food or light.