Theme Of Alcohol In The Glass Castle

Authors use symbolism in order to prove points, represent emotions, or even to show ideas. In the memoir, The Glass Castle written by Jeanette Walls, the 'Glass Castle' itself represents the ray of hope that each child had as they grew up in a financially troubled and twisted family. The Glass Castle design was also used by her father as a way to get his children to trust that he will always try to provide for and protect his family. Rex Walls, Jeanette's father stated that the Glass Castle would have glass staircases, heating and cooling powered by solar energy, and even a water purification system. He planned the rooms with extreme precision and, “Carried the blueprints for the Glass Castle wherever [they] went” (Walls 25). He even had the kids, “Work on the design for our rooms” (Walls 25). All of this would be funded by his Prospector machine which would separate gold from other rocks. However, this machine was never used and Rex's drinking and gambling habits would always force the Walls family to move to a new location, putting the idea of the Glass Castle in the back of their minds.

Many people in today’s world view bars as a rather social place (“Bars and Clubs”). The article indicates that people use bars to hang out with friends, meet new people, or just be part of a lively atmosphere. If this is true, how does alcoholism lead to segregation? Sadly, being an alcoholic does not mean you will always be the life of the party. As seen in The Glass Castle, Rex’s alcoholism causes the segregation of not just him, but his entire family. For example, while the family is living in Welch, one of the men at the bar offers to give Jeannette and Rex a ride home. While in the car, the man says to Jeannette, “For the daughter of the town drunk, you sure got big plans,” (Walls 183). This quote expertly shows the severity of the Rex’s segregation. Even among fellow drinkers, Rex is singled out for his alcoholism. His addiction is so strong that he is looked down upon by the others and labeled as the town drunk. This quote also shows how the children receive the brunt of Rex’s alcoholism. Because Rex spends his days drinking and passing out in bars, everyone expects that the children will be no better than he is. Another example of Rex’s alcoholism causing their segregation occurs when Jeannette is kicked out of the town pool by a boy named Ernie Goad. As Jeannette described him, “Ernie Goad was a pug-nosed, thick-necked kid who had little eyes set practically on the sides of his head, like a whale. He

This would explain why he would urge Brian to act like a man; he had suffered through the abuse his whole childhood and came out decent enough, so his son should be able to do the same. This observation brings up a point that rex walls had more than likely grown up in an abusive household. Erma had seemed very comfortable while touching Brian and hitting Lori that it wouldn’t be a surprise if she had done the same to her son. This would also explain why Rex avoided talking about his childhood in Welch (Walls 26). It would also give a reasonable explanation as to why he was reluctant to move to Welch in the first place. It took a lot of coaxing from his wife and all four of his children before he decided to get in the car on the way to his

He also told stories to match. Whether he was telling the children stories about how a, “…demon was terrorizing an entire town, and [he] fought it off in hand-to-hand combat” (Walls 37) or about the time, “…when he was in the air force and his plane’s engine conked out, he made an emergency landing in a cattle pasture and saved himself and his crew” (Walls 240, Rex was always telling stories to entertain his children. Rex also was not a very strict rule follower…at all. On one such occasion, Rex let his children pet a dangerous tiger in a zoo, despite protests coming from on-lookers and zoo workers (Walls 108-109). His reckless behavior often had consequences and even, at times, put his children and family in danger. Rex’s drinking problem also consumed a lot of his time. Disappearing at odd hours and stating out until even later was something that he often did. He acted strangely in this aspect because he hardly ever came home at a regular time of day. One time when he was drinking in a bar, he even let Walls go upstairs with a random, older man (212-213), not even checking on her. He often times had a lapse of judgement when he drank and that is a serious issue for adequate

One night Rex made fun of how his wife looked while pregnant, so she got out of the car and ran. “Dad jerked the steering wheel to one side and drove off the road into the desert after her...hollering at Mom, calling her a ‘stupid whore’ and a ‘stinking cunt’...We shot forward toward Mom, who screamed and jumped out of the way. Dad turned around and went for her again” (43). No one in the right state of mind would comment negatively about their wife who is carrying their child, let alone try to run her over! He completely loses his calm, and puts his children and his wife at risk, by driving recklessly with an intent. Alcohol makes Rex forget about the life lessons he tries to teach his kids, it makes him forget that he cares for them, and he takes out his rage on them.

Alcohol has a way of being the cause of all of life’s problems, as well as he solution to all of life’s problems. Beowulf as well as many works in the Middle ages seem to follow this train of thought. Focusing on Beowulf we can see that drinking was portrayed as an important part of every day life. Within Beowulf, alcohol has two main purposes. Those purposes to cultivate community and to boost confidence.

On page 58 of the book a specific quote really stood out about how it is so easy to get sucked up into the drug/alcohol game. “This game didn‘t require studying or exams. It didn‘t require a degree or vocational skills. All he needed was ambition. And guts. And, as Wes was soon to understand, and ability to live with constant fear.” This quote was referring to the other Wes since drugs were more heavily highlighted in his life than the Author Wes. For example, the other Wes’ father, Westley, fell hard into the drug/alcohol game. He was so much involved in it that the other Wes’ mother, Mary, had no choice but to leave him. Later on in the book, it is expressed that the other Wes’ children’s mother, Cheryl, grew into drug addiction. Wes realized that his customers were actually fueling Cheryl’s drug addiction, which played a toll on the other Wes. This theme of drugs and alcohol supports the statement in the textbook that drugs and alcohol are extremely

According to a 2017 study done by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “More than 10 percent of U.S. children live with a parent with alcohol problems.” The author Jeannette Walls uses the book, The Glass Castle, to talk about her childhood struggles of growing up with an alcoholic father. The reason this book was appealing was because I grew up with an alcoholic father as well and I found it interesting to read about someone who had gone through similar situations. In the first 90 pages the author tells us about her chaotic family life. Her father, who is weary of civilization and authority, packs up the family camp often to roam around the desert. Due to their frequent moving her father is not able to keep a stable job,

The word addiction has a strong, negative connotation and defined as the states of being enslaved to a habit or action. In the novel, The Glass Castle, Rex is addicted to alcohol. He is dependent on alcohol, constantly craving it and spend money on it despite the family’s financial situation.The text describes him, on many occasions, making his way down to the Green Lantern, the bar, with a drink already in his hand. Rex also takes money from the family to buy booze instead allowing the children to spend it on food to eat. For example, he would always demand for a part of Rosemary’s paycheck, refusing to take “no” as an answer. Additionally, Maureen is addicted to alcohol as well as smoking. Just like Rex, her actions suggest that she abuses

Most would assume that the biggest problems incurred by an alcoholic would be on themselves, but I would argue that it is on the relationships that they have with their peers. Someone who may appear as a fully functioning individual may be extremely dangerous, dishonest, and destructive while under the influence. This scenario occurs in “The Glass Castle” with Rex Walls. The Gale Encyclopedia of Public Health defines alcoholism as “a chronic physical, psychological, and behavioral disorder characterized by the excessive, compulsive, and uncontrolled consumption of alcohol”. According to Klean Treatment Centers, there are three ways alcoholism affects the whole family: emotional hostages, stress,

Rex’s abuse of alcohol endangered the entire Wall’s family in multiple ways. Early on in the story Jeannette wants him to resort to being sober because he is useless to the family passed out on the floor drunk, and it was not convenient for Dad to be blowing off the little money the family had on alcohol and gambling especially when during most instances the money was not his to spend (Insert quote). When Rex drove after he had a couple to many beers and shots he would go inebriated rants where he would make his broken down car go as fast as it possibly could until he would overheat the radiator, which would put the family in danger. This terribly upset Lori

Rex Walls, the father of the family had the abuse of alcohol is the major resource of the family’s suffering. It seems that alcoholism is an individual behavior, however, many family and social issues caused by it make it rather to be a social problem. Such as domestic violence, suicide, murder, drinking driving, sex assault, unemployment, child neglect, poverty and many other mental health problems are all the result of alcoholism. In the book, Rex Walls is a typical victim of alcoholism. He cannot take a

The addiction to alcohol emulates the Biopsychosocial-spiritual model. According to the text, the “biology of chemical use relates to the formidable hereditary components in the etiology of this illness and the physical problems that may arise with extended use.” (Wormer & Davis, 2018 p.12). Nick’s father an alcoholic and could explain the heredity and learned behavior portion of this model. Psychological concepts are present in Nick’s life such as the

Children are most likely to abuse alcohol if their family tolerates deviance in general or encourages excitement and pleasure seeking (Morris & Maisto, pg. 156) (Finn, Sharkansky, Brandt, & Turcotte, 2000)

A study by Wolin and associates determined that children who originated from alcoholic families were not able to function in terms of behavior and emotion as successfully as those who originated from non alcoholic families. In the study, children of alcoholics scored notably lower when researchers looked at their behavioral and emotional