Jeannette Walls : What Is Most Important In Life?

Jeannette Walls changes over the course of the the story because at first she always believed in her father but now she knows her father isn't reliable. In the beginning of the story, Jeannette was being taught how to swim. Rex was letting her drown and then after some time taking her out the water. Soon she finally learned how to swim by her dad’s method. Instead of thinking he was crazy she believed in him. She taught that the way her dad taught her was the only right way and her dad had done this only for her sake. A quote to prove this, ‘“If you don't want to sink, you better figure out how to swim." What other reason, he asked, would possibly make him do this? Once I got my breath back, I figured he must be right. There was no other way to explain it” (Walls 67).

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

Early in the memoir, Jeannette is old enough to recognize the difference between the rich and poor. However, seeing herself on the shorter side of the stick doesn’t bother her when she condemns a wealthy lifestyle while star-gazing with Rex, saying, “Rich city folks,... lived in fancy apartments, but their air was so polluted they couldn’t even see the stars. We’d have to be out of our minds to want to trade places with any of them” (Walls 39). Jeannette effectively compares her poor lifestyle to a luxurious, rich one and surprisingly dismisses it. Doing so illustrates and proves the fact that at this point in her life she is satisfied with her socio-economic status, because otherwise, she would desire a rich life out of envy. Since this is true, Jeannette must not be self-conscious about her wealth, and therefore her poor lifestyle has no effect on her self-esteem. Clearly, her self-esteem is healthy enough to decline a rich lifestyle that most people crave. Similarly, while stargazing, it is revealed that Jeannette has no remorse with being poor when she mocks other children’s materialistic Christmas presents, “We laughed about all the kids who believed in the Santa myth and got nothing for Christmas but a bunch

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.

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 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)?

There are several different social issues presented in Jeannette Wall’s memoir “The Glass Castle.” These issues included neglect – medical and education,

Throughout the book The Glass Castle, the author uses point of view through the main character Jeannette Walls to convey the understanding of being able to make the most out of the little things in life whether you are alone or not. For instance, on page 149, Jeannette’s parents set out to

Secondly, self-sufficiency is illustrated through motivation. One afternoon when Jeannette was at home by herself child services came to talk to her about her living conditions and her parents. Jeannette told the man to come back when her parents were home. When Jeannette’s mom came home she told her what happened and that she needed to do something so child services wouldn't take them away, Jeannette’s mom then said, “Jeannette, you're so focused it's scary.”(195) Rosemary says when Jeannette is focused she can get intimidating. Jeannette is motivated by the need to protect her family, which shows her self sufficiency because it's up to her to keep the family together, because she knows her parents are unreliable. Additionally, Rosemary has been known to feel sorry for herself and expresses how she hates her life. When Jeannette sees her mom wallowing she stands there in disgust watching her mother give up on life when she

However, with her alcoholic dad who rarely kept a job and her mother who suffered mood swings, they had to find food from her school garbage or eat expired food they had previously when they had the slightest bit of money. In addition, when bills and mortgage piled up, they would pack their bags and look for a new home to live in, if they could even call it a stable home, since they would be on the move so often. Jeanette needed a dad who wouldn’t disappear for days at a time, and a mom that was emotionally stable, but because she didn’t have that, she grew up in an environment where she would get teased or harassed for it. Jeanette suffered so much, that even at one point, she tried convincing her mother to leave her father because of the trouble he had caused the family already. A child should be able to depend on their parents for food and to be there for them when they need it, and when that part of a child’s security is taken away, it leaves them lost and on their own, free and confused about what to do next.

From a scientific perspective, memory is not a reliable source. Although the big picture might be accurately recalled, the specifics of the event often lose its precision as time progresses. In addition, human memories often vary because of differences in interpretation, beliefs, and values. As a result, it would not be surprising if Jeannette Walls remembered events differently from her siblings. For example, since “Maureen always had plenty to eat” (Walls 173) and “was more or less living with neighbors” (Walls 249), she likely views life in Welch more positively compared to her siblings. Further, one person may think an event was more significant than another. Even though Jeannette’s story may not be completely accurate, it is truthful in her perspective. In other words, since Jeanette believes that her memory is accurate, then she is being truthful. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men…” (Emerson 1).

As a child, Jeannette doesn’t realize that she’s not actually getting what she should be getting. She thinks this is how she should be living. Jeannette doesn’t understand her parents have been neglecting her all this time. Jeannette first noticed that some things were a lot nicer than what she had when she had to be hospitalized because of her fire accident. She was just so amazed about how neat and organized everything was. For instance, “The hospital was clean and shiny. Everything was

The parent’s decision to act freely and have no worries in life causes the family’s struggle, and leads them to poverty. The struggle for the family is shown in the quote, “Mom's salary created a whole new set of problems” (Walls.p.48). What this means is that money would solve all the family's problems, but it doesn't—mostly because the dad takes all the money. Later on in the memoir Jeannette says, “Mom decided Maureen

The walls family moved from place to place and at one point they stayed with their grandmother Erma. Their grandmother is a great example of some who stereotypes others. Erma had a real big problem with African Americans. For reasons not explained she just hated them. Jeannette did not agree with her grandmother on this part, she had always been brought up to love others no matter whom they were. The walls family grew up with a lot of knowledge book wise and streetwise. They more then you would think by just looking at them and the way they lived. No matter how bad off the walls family seemed to be they always seemed to be living good and happy how they were. In the end people who judge are probably being judged themselves. Nobody’s perfect, no matter who they are, everyone has something about them that makes them imperfect. “Also, most people in Welch had a pretty good idea how bad off the Walls family was, but the truth

Jeannette Walls uses imagery to give the reader a clear insight to what she is think and what is going on in her mind. An example of this would be when she said, “Until then, when I thought of writers, what first came to mind was Mom, hunched over her typewriter, clattering away on her novels and plays and philosophies of life and occasionally receiving a personalized rejection letter. (204) In seventh grade Jeannette is the first person her age to work for the school newspaper, The Maroon Wave and this depicts the imagery in her head. She uses her own experiences with her family to influence and inspire her writing making her a great writer. The imagery in this book takes the reader to another level with understanding how the author truly sees the world.