preview

Jeanine Mary In The Glass Castle

Good Essays

Rose Mary Walls’ character in The Glass Castle portrays someone who, upon first glance, doesn’t appear to behave at all rationally in any situation, from her eccentric, unpredictable attitude to her seeming lack of regard for the well-being of her children. A closer analysis, however, reveals her attitude and ideas not only to be more consistent within her character, but reveals her to play an important role in the development of the story and key to the experience of the reader. This essay moves to reveal Rose Mary’s role as a mirror to Jeanette’s experience throughout the story, as well as exploring her character through Jeanette Walls’ writing choices via diction and other literary tools to create a consistent character. By comparing the way Rose Mary is portrayed in the story before and after the Walls family’s move to Welch, her relevance to the story is revealed. Before the Walls family moved to Welch, Rose Mary is introduced as a character, while rather eccentric, still serves as a core member of the Walls family. The very beginning of the book revolves around Jeanette’s injury and subsequent visit to the hospital after she was allowed to cook hot dogs by her mother, despite her young age of three. This introduction sets the stage for a character, while a little strange in her very relaxed ideas of parenting, seems relatively normal in all respects. As the story progresses we see more of Rose Mary, each time with a focus on her eccentric views expressed through

Get Access