Character Analysis: The Glass Castle

Jeannette always admired her parents despite the way that they chose to live. Even though both parents were both intelligently capable, they chose to live homeless. They both chose their own welfare over their children. With parents like hers, Jeannette took what good she could from her

Jeannette Walls has always been moving from place to place. Her father, Rex Walls, is a raging alcoholic who is constantly running from the police in order to keep his kids. They have lived in houses, their van, even outside. Imagine sleeping outside because the police are looking for the children of the parents who haven’t paid a

Describe Jeannette’s childhood, specifically her socialization or the process by which she acquired family values, information about social expectations, and survival strategies.

The Walls children are not only raised by parents that can’t hold down a job, but by parents who are also mentally unstable. In a recent study by Princeton University it was said that “ Long work hours, lack of autonomy, job insecurity, and a heavy workload are also associated with adult mental health problems.” (Princeton). No matter how bad of a “childhood” the Walls children had it’s worse because both parents can’t hold down a job. With both parents rarely working the children are left to fend for themselves, essentially raising themselves. The Walls children have a poor quality of life and a huge factor of their quality of life is because their parents can’t keep a job. For example if Rex Walls kept a job and didn't spend his money on booze the children would have food to eat. At one point in The Glass Castle it says “whenever Mom was too busy to make dinner or we were out of food, we’d go back to the dumpster to see if any new chocolate was waiting for us.” (Walls 125). Jeanette’s parents were so selfish that the children had to go to the dumpster to get a meal, and that problem could’ve been solved if either parent was dedicated to keeping a job and putting food on the table. The children also spent most of their childhood wearing the ripped and tattered clothes because their parents were unable to afford new clothes. Not only is this extremely sad, but if their parents had steady

Think back to your own childhood. Could you imagine being a child, and not having a care in the world, but then, as quick as the snap of a finger, that all changes because of a thoughtless mistake made by your parents? In The Glass Castle it is revealed that as Jeannette grew up, she endured hardships inflicted upon her by her own parents. However, if Jeannette had not gone through these things, she never would have gained the characteristics that she values present day. Although Jeannette Walls faced hardships and endured suffering during her childhood, these obstacles formed her into a self-reliant woman who proves that just because you do not have as much money as other families, you can still achieve success in your life.

Jeannette Walls, Shows in the book The Glass Castle that there are a lot of situations that happen in life where people make countless mistakes, but it is very important to forgive her father and her mother for many mistakes. She has to cope with many obstacles without her parent's help. In the author's memoir, we become attracted with Jeannette constant struggle between protecting her family and the pleasure that her family is based on the same hopes and senseless falsehood with her unbelievable storytelling method. The feelings of forgiveness hold the Walls family together. Jeanette was able to describe her family's childhood, relationships with one another. The children of the Walls family are forced to begin the independent life at an

Again the danger of parenting is depicted through walls’ use of symbolism. Jeannette being a child (three years old) and having to cook and take care of herself is substandard. Having to be surrounded by hardship and

In society, there is no “normal” but there is often a certain expectation from the member in it like holding down a job, raising children, and many other. Yet Jeannette's parents do none of these things, instead they consider it to be positive that they live outside of society. To begin with the opening of the novel Jeanette is all grown up and a full member society and a complete opposite of her younger self. Jeannette illustrates ,“ I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a dumpster” (1). This is the opener of the memoir and is setting up a large class difference between two characters. Jeanette may never have been supported in her childhood but she has made her way to a high place in society, unlike her mother who never changed in her ways. Here Walls is creating a vivid picture of what society deems as correct and incorrect drawing the reader in to find out the cause of two members of the same family being so far apart from each other in society. In the same way when Jeannette is young and, is explaining how she receives her education. Jeannette admits, “ We might enroll into school, but not always. Mom and Dad did most of our teaching” (20). Most children in society have an education from some sort of school, but since the Walls family exists outside of society in many ways. Including how they receive their education, early on in life, the children are not inside a school system. Instead they are taught how to live outside of society like their parents even if they do not want to live that way. Later on, Jeanette has moved away from her parents and has the proper schooling she is a full member of society which is everything her mother did not want. Her mother argues, ‘ Look at the way you live. You’ve sold out. Next thing I know you’ll be a Republican.’ She shook her head. ‘Where are the

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

Jeannette lived a very underprivileged life, it was always difficult for her to see the good in everyone, especially her parents. Somehow she managed love them anyway. The Walls’ were always traveling around without a clue as to where they were going, often running from financial crime. However, Jeannette and her siblings found that there was, in fact,so much to admire of their parents. and looking at any situation you can see Rex’s optimism, and Rose Mary’s loyalty.

Jeannette Walls’s memoir is the heart wrenching story of her past. Walls had a very troubled upbringing which consisted of her alcoholic father, careless mother, malicious schoolkids and abusive extended family. The horrible things that Jeannette Walls went through in her childhood are important social issues that should have more light shed on them by the media.

Jeanette Walls and her out of the ordinary family live their lives surrounded in pure craziness and poverty. Jeanette has been raised to be as independent as her age allows her. At age three she could make herself a hot dog and by the age of eighteen she had started a new life in New York away from the craziness that followed her parents throughout the kids nomadic childhood. Jeanette and her siblings Lori, Brian and Maureen live their childhoods with almost nothing. They were always wondering where their next meal would come from and where there parents had mysteriously disappeared to. Rex Walls, the father and husband was a severe alcoholic who spent most of his money on gambling or a beer from a local bar. Rose Mary Walls, the mother and wife was not better, never being to hold onto a job for long enough to get paid and support her family caused many problems for Rose Mary, Rex and most importantly… the kids. The kids all had the dream of escaping the prison their parents called home and heading to New York or California where they could feel endless happiness. The kids grow up with almost no parents, which forces them to become independent from the day they were born. In The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Jeanette's parents teach her to only rely on herself and never get attached to something you can lose, forcing Jeanette to become strong and independent throughout her childhood.

Throughout the book there is an underlying theme of chaos. Jeannette’s first memory is of her, at the age of three, cooking hot dogs and catching on fire. As the book continues, fire persists as an important theme. Jeannette Walls is fascinated by fire and continues to push the boundaries of it. When her and her brother set off their own explosive device and almost kill themselves, Rex explains to them that the boundary between turbulence and chaos has no rules. The Walls family seems to live in that boundary

Walls sets the tone of her memoir with the story of her earliest memory: being on fire. She uses this story to introduce the reader to the fact that from the start, her life did not fit the picture of the typical American dream. The first line of part two is, “I was on fire.” (9) and it is a quite a powerful one indeed. By using this eye-catching sentence, she uses the Pathos method of appealing to the readers emotions, namely, natural curiosity and empathy. As the story continues, the reader experiences the cool calmness of the hospital with Jeannette. Jeannette is not afraid during a hospital stay and enjoys the attention from the nurses. Walls uses simple childlike language to take the reader on a journey with her, from being placed in an ice bed with severe burns to chewing gum for the first time. By using this language, Walls gets the reader to sympathize her. The reader feels the loneliness that she feels while in the hospital and away from her family, but the reader also feels Jeannette’s excitement from being able to watch television all day and receiving three meals a day. From the start, Walls is incredibly tough and self sufficient. Through the tough lessons her parents teach her and the strong ties she has with her siblings, Jeannett becomes strong-willed and persistent.

The Glass Castle is story about the Walls family and their life story. The Walls are very dysfunctional and they rarely have money to spend. The family never has a permanent home to sleep in, they are always on the move. Jeanette is the main character who mainly cooks for the family. Rex is Jeanette’s father, who is a drunk