preview

The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls Character Analysis

Decent Essays
Open Document

Jeannette Walls Character Growth and Development Throughout the Book

In “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls, the author ecompasses many ideas about symbolism and how the environment affects the character, but there is one idea that is the strongest and seems to be most relevant. The idea that the main character, Jeannette Walls, grows and develops throughout the book and become more independent, steering on her own path. To show this important development, the author uses many literary elements including diction, syntax and tone. By the end of the memoir, Jeannette Walls develops from a naive girl to an autonomous women, putting herself in a better and healthier environment.
In the beginning of the memoir, Jeannette depended on her father …show more content…

By the end of the book Jeannette starts seeing that she does not agree with her parents motives, ideas, and ways of parenting so Jeannette becomes more vocal of her thoughts and opinions. One situation where she stood up for herself and grasped the idea that she is the only one who controls herself is when Jeannette and her parents get in a fight about money. Her mother concludes that she should “start living her life” for herself and that Jeannette and the other kids could make their own money. This makes Jeannette question why her mother is giving up on them and it ends with Jeannette accusing her that she is not acting like a mother “My mucus is yellow,’ Mom said. ‘If everyone who had yellow mucus stayed home, the schools would be pretty empty,’ I told her. Mom's head snapped up. ‘You can't talk to me like that,’ she said. "I'm your mother.’ ‘If you want to be treated like a mother,’ I said, ‘you should act like one." Then, Jeanette's father comes in and whips her with his belt, and at that very moment Jeannette knew that she would never be whipped again “The air was clear and cool, and the forest floor was thick with leaves that had fallen from the buckeyes and poplars. Late in the afternoon, I sat down on a tree trunk, leaning forward because the backs of my thighs still stung. All through the long walk, the pain had kept me thinking, and by the time I reached the tree trunk, I had made two decisions.” The author uses imagery and symbolism to show that this is when Jeannette has had enough and comes to the realization that she is alone and only her can get herself out of the situation she is in. The imagery used is describing the forest around her, this then merges with symbolism. By saying “the air was clear and cool” it symbolizes as Jeanette's realization and that it was “clear”

Get Access