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Summary Of The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

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Jeannette Walls never had a ideal childhood. Growing up, she was caring for herself and her siblings, they stuck together. Her parents' actions caused various burdens and embarrassment for their children. In the book The Glass Castle Walls' parents were not perfect, but she still showed compassion and love towards them. She defended her family name and cared for them.“But I could never enjoy the room without worrying about Mom and Dad huddled on a sidewalk gate somewhere”(Walls 4).

Firstly, her father, Red Walls was an alcoholic and could not maintain a stable job. A boy named Ernie Goad picked on the Walls children due to they had to throw their garbage in a hole behind their house. Ernie called them trash and gathered a group of children to throw rocks at them. Once they got back at Ernie, he never bothered physically injuring them again. Later on, her father left the house for a couple of days, when Walls went to go find him she found him highly intoxicated in a bar. A man offered her help, the man was polite, but commented that she was smart and had vast plans for being the daughter of the town drunk. Walls had to listen to all the insults and comments neighbors and townspeople made about her family. Even though she …show more content…

Walls's mother thought that children had to learn to care for themselves. She believed that if someone always told them to not do activities because they could injure themselves they would always be terrified. She ignored her children when they cried, saying that if people fussed over them it would encourage them. When Walls cut her leg a neighbor stated she needed stitches her mother looked at it and stated it was okay. Even though her mother's actions were not those of a caring mother Walls listened to her growing up. She cared about her mother's well being after her father died and even offered to get an apartment for

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