Chapter 1 - Time Line

Jeannette recalls a memory one Christmas, when they managed to buy a few gifts for each other, and even a Christmas tree. Rex, angry that he didn’t get the gifts for them, and extremely intoxicated, lights the tree on fire, burning all the presents along with it. This shows his true selfish egomaniac character. If he can’t provide the family with presents, they simply don’t get any. Rex is the perfect example of selfishness ruling over someone’s life. His selfishness not only affects his life negatively, but his entire family. His wife is too afraid to lose him, so she puts up with his constant selfishness and stubborn behavior. In contrast with Amadou and William Sine, their selflessness and sacrifice makes them and others around them very blissful, whereas Rex struggles with everything around him. He can’t hold a job, and his family is in despair. Yet, when Rex does something selfless, such as when he gave Jeannette $1,000 for college, even though it’s probably all he has, he makes a great and strong impact in her life, and he is proud of

Phoenix, Arizona was their next destination. Jeanette’s original thought of living with their grandma again were cast aside as Mary reveals that she passed away during their stay at Battle mountain. Upon arrival the family stays in a fairly large house that was left in Grandma Smith’s will for Mary. Things were positive at first as the usually are, but slowly took a wrong turn as they usually do. Jeanette attends a new school where she is bullied for her intelligence, however this conflict soon ends when her brother Brian steps in and stands up for her. Rex got another job and supplied for the family as usual. Just as things were getting nice, Christmas day comes. This time the kids actually had real gifts, they each got a bike as well as small gifts they bought each other. Everything is looking up until their father got intoxicated and accidently burned their presents after opening up his, and using the lighter inside of it. Their father loses yet another job, and things tumble downwards. From people breaking into their house, touching the children, and just sleeping in the house. The big moment comes when

She has no sympathy that her daughter was just sexually assaulted by a family member, even though about 60% of children who are sexually abused are abused by the people the family trusts (“Darkness to Light End Child Sexual Abuse”). Rex and Rose Mary tell Jeanette that she will be fine and that she can handle herself. They are too busy trying to pretend that their financial situation is okay to truly care about Jeannette being sexually assaulted.

One of her weaknesses was pets, such as her cat Quixote. Jeannette also loved her pets, but her parents did not appear to connected with them. One time when the Walls family was trying to skedaddle, Jeannette brought along her cat Quixote. However, the cat grew uncomfortable in the car and started to panic. Her mom stated that she did not wanted Jeannette to be sentimental about the cat, so they threw the cat out of the car into the wilderness. “Quixote landed with a screeching meow and a thud, Dad accelerated up the road, and I burst into tears”. (pg. 18). Additionally, another one of Jeannette’s weaknesses is her feelings towards dad. She always had a soft spot for her father, as they had a special bond with each other. However, her patience for her dad quickly grew then as he would constantly spend money on alcohol, and return home drunk. One time, when her mom left for two months, Jeannette was given $200 and had to budget it for two months. However, her father would ask for a small amount of money at first for alcohol. Jeannette knew that she should not cave in and give him the money, however, she seemed to always submit to her father. Jeannette’s weakness repetitively showed up throughout her adventure. At times she would admit her weaknesses, and realized she needed to grow from them. Jeannette’s weakness showed that while she may be a strong character, she does have

Her dad carried her away from the hospital without payment, and then her mom permitted her to cook again, moreover she said, “ Getting right back into the saddle” ( Glass Castle 47). Jeanette was not angry at such young age and soon the family had to pack their belongings into bags and “do the skedaddle” as her parents always said. The parents were fleeing from bill collectors. Although Jeanette's father was an alcoholic, he could get work almost anywhere, often in small towns. The family was moving because of these things, she never complained when they did not have enough food. Jeanette always forgave her parents, she understood what they were going through.

Jeannette’s self-reliant behavior is frequently shown through her refusal of help from others. On one trip to retrieve her father from a bar, Jeannette’s father is so drunk that he can no longer walk. Another man offers to drive them home, and

When Lori and Jeanette are growing older, they decide they want to move to New York City to start a new life, away from their parents. Lori and Jeanette get jobs and begin to earn money. They hide their earnings from their parents in a piggy bank they named Oz. One day Jeanette tries to find Oz to put her paycheck in. Instead she says to Lori “Someone has slashed him apart with a knife and stole all the money” (Walls 228). The kids knew right away who had stolen it. It was Dad. When Lori confronted Dad with the news about Oz, he started playing dumb, acting like he had not idea what was going on. But in fact he did steal the money. This action shows that Dad is very selfish and only cares about himself.

The novel, The Glass Castle, exhibits the human tendency to be selfish. This is manifested in both Rex and Rose Mary. Rex is characterized as a selfish father throughout the novel, and his paternal image is consistently skewed because of his actions. His addiction to alcohol ruins countless family events. One year the family’s Christmas is ruined when Rex drinks a great deal of alcohol and burns their tree and presents. Jeanette remembers, “Dad sat on the sofa [...] telling mom he was doing her a favor [...] no one tried to wring dad’s neck [...] or even point out that he’d ruined the Christmas his family has spent weeks planning” (115). Jeanette and her family are always left cleaning up their father’s drunken mess. Even when Rex is sober he does not apologize for ruining sentimental family events and continues to put alcohol before his family. Selfishness can also be seen in Rex’s relationship with money. He takes Jeanette into a bar in order to get money from his friend, Robbie. When Robbie asks if he can take Jeanette upstairs, Jeanette recollects, “So, with Dad’s blessing, I went upstairs” (212). Rex is so self-absorbed that he allows his daughter to go into a strange man's apartment, fully knowing his intentions. During Jeanette and her siblings’ childhood, they experience dangerous situations with their parents’ knowledge and approval. While Rex’s selfish nature is typically derived from his addiction, Rose Mary’s selfishness is simply a reflection of her personality.

Throughout her life, starting from childhood, Jeannette Walls suffered through multiple hardships that could lead her away from a successful adult life. Since she was young, her parents put her through things that a child should never be exposed to, which could lead her to make these same mistakes as she grew older. For example, her father was an alcoholic, and from this many problems sprouted. Furthermore, her mother never wanted to be tied down, and loathed the idea of family life, as she did not want the responsibility of raising a family. Rose Mary was depicted as self-centered in the novel, and did not think of her children, as she only thought of her own needs. This can be shown when she keeps the diamond ring her children found for herself.

While her father’s dismisses his destructive nature, Jeannette becomes conscious of his actions which motivates her to make amends in hopes of leaving their desolate life. Instead of getting help for his childhood trauma, Rex immerses himself in alcohol causing him to become

Towards the end of the memoir, Jeannette was in high school and was getting ready to graduate and get as far away from Welch and her broken family as possible. Jeannette decided to follow in her older sisters footsteps and move to New York. Jeannette is passionate about writing and believed New York was a perfect place to get her career started, along with college. Jeannette’s family was upset that she was leaving them, especially Rex. Rex felt as if he was losing

The family drove to their grandmother’s house near Fish Creek Canyon, Arizona. Rex and grandma have a colorful vocabulary, that Jeannette had caught onto. While in Arizona, Rex taught the kids how to use a pistol, bow, and a knife. The family later relocated to Las Vegas, where they settled for a month until their hotel burned down. Then they relocated to San Francisco. Finally they relocated to a place called “Battle Mountain” in Nevada. Rex gets a job there and the kids were sent to school at Mary S. Black Elementary. Rosemary gets a job as a teacher and leaves Maureen, who is two years old, with a baby

She has always felt a responsibility to take care of her siblings, earn money to help with finances, and control her father when he was drunk, even taking him home from the bar. Jeannette would try to bring food home for her siblings when she found any extra. At one point she says, “I felt like I was failing Maureen, like I wasn’t keeping my promise that I’d protect her.” (206) In reality, Jeannette should not be the one in charge of protecting her siblings and making sure they have enough food and necessities but she does because her parents don’t. She also feels the need to make extra money because her parents don’t have steady incomes. By the age of thirteen, she was the head of the household for the summer and had a job that paid forty dollars a week. (209, 215) She was making more money than either of her parents and she wasn’t even old enough by law to have a job. Another example of her maturity beyond her age is when Rose Mary makes Jeannette retrieve her father from the bar when he doesn’t come home after a couple of days. (181) This a job that Rose Mary should be doing herself but instead she sends Jeannette so she doesn’t have to deal with

After Jeannette’s mother leaves the family to re-certify herself as a teacher, she leaves Jeannette $200 for food and other necessities. However, with Rex’s knowledge of her possessing this amount of money, when he runs out of money to purchase booze and cigarettes, he goes to Jeannette. He did not charm his way into receiving the money from Jeannette but, “he simply waited for her to fork over the cash, as if he knew she didn’t have it in her to say no” (209). Jeannette displays weakness here as she relents to Rex’s request for cash even though she’s on a tight budget. As Jeannette is on a tight budget to ensure her siblings are fed, Rex takes her to a bar in order to pay her back, however uses her youthful looks to attract pool players, such

So when the sister and the family friend got there they were tell her that her husband was in a tragic accident and his name was on top the list of missing people. She stormed off to her room and they were trying to get her out of the room because they are scared that she could die because of the heart problem that she has. She was look out