The Glass Castle : A Memoir Written By Jeannette Walls

Imagine living in a life where everything around you is different from reality. Imagine running from the police, living wherever one can find, and still taking care of one's family just at the age of 16. Jeannette Walls had to deal with all of this and more in her early childhood. In the book “The Glass Castle”, the author uses the characters, Jeannette and Rex Walls, to emphasize the importance of family bonds.

Alcoholism does not only affect a person’s physical, mental, and emotional state, but it also changes the lives of people close to the drinker forever. It ruins relationships and trust that took years to build up, and may never be able to be restored. In Jeannette Walls’s memoir, The Glass Castle, she tells the story of her childhood in which her father was an alcoholic. Jeannette’s father, Rex Walls, was brilliant and charismatic when he was sober, but when he drank, he was destructive and dishonest.

In The Glass Castle, Rex Walls, Jeanette’s father, turns to drinking. He drinks because of conflicts in his marriage to Rose Mary. They fight about many things, especially the inability to provide for their family. Rex also drinks to run away from the internal problem he faces, such as not having a job and the fact that he cannot support his family. In addition, he drinks to escape his guilt due to his daughter’s death. Rex stared drinking after the death of his daughter Mary Charlene. Walls states, “Dad was never the same after Mary Charlene dies. He started having dark moods, staying out late and coming back drunk, and losing jobs.” (Walls 28). Rex held himself responsible for Mary Charlene’s death and used drinking to escape his adversity. In addition, in Maus, Anja—a survivor of the Holocaust, could not handle the memories of the adversity she faced. Spiegelman writes, “Your mother killed her self—she’s dead.” (103). Anja turned to the worst and killed herself to end her suffering. Both Rex and Anja face adversity in a series of poor choices that negatively impact themselves and

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

People often fall into some sticky situations, but how they deal with them is the thing that matters most. In The Glass Castle, a memoir by Jeannette Walls, she takes the readers through her life, starting at her earliest memory as a three-year-old, constantly living in a state of homelessness. Throughout the story, Walls experiences countless situations from her father being an alcoholic, to everyday school bullies. She uses a series of coping mechanisms to deal with, and sometimes terminate these issues. In fact, everyone of her siblings and parents uses various coping methods for these same situations. These methods may not always be the most effective, but people, including the Walls family, nevertheless use them to get by on their

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.

[Imagine moving from one house to another each month, running from the cops, and always doubting that you are doing the wrong thing.] In the book The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, the Walls family has to face all these conflicts and more. The family of six lives far from the typical American Dream life. Instead they have to deal with unstable parents, money problems, and trust issues. Although this seems like a terrible way to live, the children learn to make the most of it.

Sometimes, one may feel trapped in a lifestyle or situation that leaves them confused and frustrated. Jeannette Walls grew up in such a situation; her life was an adventure full of childhood tales and unique experiences. Jeannette learned how to be self- sufficient, independent, confidence, strength, and optimistic despite the stark reality behind their plight. In Jeannette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, the author demonstrates how she values self-determination, which I agree with because it reveals how one can take control of his or her life despite the past.

Reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls can help build a student’s resilience especially if that student is in a tough moment in his or her life. The Glass Castle shows that Jeannette the main character suffered from a life she now looks back on and did not like. Her life turned upside down after living alone in a house that was falling apart and she had no food to sustain herself, she moves to New York with her sister Lori, in the hope of finding a better life. There is going to be motivation based on being consistent in a daily task that students would be faced with. Being invested in their education can help students become hard workers to build up their resilience. Having a desire to achieve the goal that the students has set for themselves.

Purposeful lessons from Jeannette Walls’s memoir The Glass Castle, taught from Rex Walls, teach his children life values. These lessons helped Jeannette thrive in the world as well as shape her character. However, the swimming lesson educates people in Jeannette’s situation to live independently and away from relying too much. Also, swimming demonstrates independence and how to achieve it. Swimming, of all lessons, benefitted Jeannette the most, applied to teens, and presented as the best advice by Rex.

In the memoir, The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls, the author, was most influenced by her time in Battle Mountain, as indicated by how she describes the way she felt there. The Walls children loved being free to roam the area and make up games to play. In the book Walls writes, “DAD GOT A JOB AS an electrician in a barite mine. He left early and came home early, and in the afternoons we all played games.” (Walls.54) Jeannette loved that her dad finally had a job and could buy her things. She said they even were able to go out to week a few times a week. This was a treat for the children since they were used to having to find their own food. She also loved how her dad would play games with them when he got home from work. It gave her a sense

The Glass Castle, a memoir published by Jeannette Walls in 2005, shares the harsh and troubling times a family is forced to overcome. Two very important women in the Walls family’s life impact their struggle tremendously. The mother of Rose Mary Walls, Lily Smith, also known as Grandma Smith is a caring yet strict influence on the Walls family. On the other side, Erma who is Rex Walls’ mother, is an extremely rude and careless mother and grandmother who doesn’t want anything to do with Rex and his family.

Survival tactics have a big influence on self-sufficiency. For example in the book The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, who wrote a memoir about herself growing up. The author explains throughout her writing, all the hardships that her and her family went through, about how she and her siblings basically raised themselves. Also how they had to fend for themselves when it came to basic necessities, such as food, and clothes. This book really paints a vivid picture of how the kids use self-sufficiency in order to survive. Self-sufficiency plays the biggest role in influencing the characters in the books we have read this year, because they use it as a survival tactic.

Throughout the Glass Castle, Jeanette Walls reveals every intricacy of her childhood. She spares little to no element from the judgment of the reader, especially the shortcomings of her father. Rex Walls is a highly intelligent man. At first, he is continually encouraging himself and his children to dream. He believes in himself and aspires to be better than he is; which you can tell by the contraptions he continues to spend time building in order to get rich. His major shortfall is his dependence on alcohol. This dependence leads to him lose jobs and subsequently their home, eventually forcing them to move in with his parents. After moving his family to his hometown, Rex is driven to drink more and new revelations have a major impact on his family. Ultimately, his past abuse and troubled childhood leads him into alcoholism, making him incapable of upholding his ideals of autonomy. Despite his ideals of masculinity and fatherhood, he always comes up short due to his alcoholism, which conversely drives him deeper into depression and more drinking.

Jeannette Walls is the author of The Glass Castle: A Memoir. She wrote this novel based off her life and growing up in her unconventional family. As a young girl, her and her siblings, struggled to survive with her alcoholic father and bipolar mother, but her father also had a dream. A dream that they’ll live in a solar powered house made out of glass. That is why it is called the Glass Castle. Jeannette lived an adventurous life and she wrote The Glass Castle: A Memoir to share to the world her thought provoking life story.