Individuals who are involved in self improvement ask themselves what the key to success may be. The key to success in life is, by far, self-reliance. Although there is nothing wrong with asking for or receiving help, the support of friends and family will only benefit us ephemerally. People go through their own personal journey of reaching the best version of themselves. That journey is best achieved with self-reliance. Jeannette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, is symbolic of the theme survival through self-reliance.
Walls grew up having a close relationship with her father. As a child Jeannette's father was her hero, a strong, intelligent man, her best friend, and a great father who kept his children happy with his adventurous, optimistic
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If one is unreliable, the child will turn to the other. Unfortunately, Jeannette Walls did not have any parent to rely on. Similar to her father, her mother was selfish, irresponsible, and insensitive. Rose Mary was a writer, a teacher, and an artist. Wall’s mother instilled creativity, an attitude of free spirit, and the love of reading upon her children. However, Rosemary spent countless hours sitting in front of her typewriter and a canvas. Whereas she had no interest in cooking a meal for her children which would disappear within minutes, she could make a painting that would last forever. Jeannette‘s mother could not bear to put her children before herself. While being given the opportunity to provide for her family on multiple occasions, Rosemary answered self-indulgently to each and everyone of them. From the scene in the book “where we kids had gone without food for days and my brother caught Mom secretly chomping away on a giant chocolate bar” as stated by Edna Boardman while quoting Walls, to callously denying Jeannette the opportunity to make money for food after miraculously finding a real diamond ring. Rather than allowing her children to pawn the ring, she simply states “[T]hat’s true, but it could also improve my self-esteem. And at times like these, self-esteem is even more vital than food” (183). Jeannette’s displeasure with living in a broken down house with no running water, no food, and parents who neglected …show more content…
"At Peace with Her Past." Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by Jeffrey W. Hunter, vol. 299, Gale, 2011. Literature Resource Center, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GLS&sw=w&u=txshrpub100222&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CH1100103469&asid=7f683946c2bc4511d88e9f5fa1560d26. Accessed 17 Nov. 2017. Originally published in News & Observer, 19 Jan. 2007.
Walls, Jeannette The Glass Castle. Scribner. 2005.
Wineke, William. "You Won't Put This One Down." Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by Jeffrey W. Hunter, vol. 299, Gale, 2011. Literature Resource Center, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GLS&sw=w&u=txshrpub100222&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CH1100103463&asid=c755b5abf63fe2a714c56137a5b8e105. Accessed 17 Nov. 2017. Originally published in Wisconsin State Journal, 10 July 2005, p.
The Glass Castle is a memoir of the writer Jeannette Walls life. Her family consists of her father Rex Walls, her mother Rose Mary Walls, her older sister Lori Walls, her younger brother Brian Walls and her younger sister Maureen Walls. Jeannette Walls grew up with a lot of hardships with her dad being an alcoholic and they never seemed to have any money. Throughout Jeanette’s childhood, there are three things that symbolize something to Jeannette, they are fire, New York City and the Glass Castle, which shows that symbolism gives meanings to writing.
Just one become only two, which then leads to number three that will be the last… so they say and apparently so will the one after that, after that, and after that until they can physically drink no more. For some, this might happen on their twenty first birthday or only once, but for many people in the world this happens every month, every week, or even every day. “Alcohol is the most commonly used addictive substance in the U.S. 17.6 million people, or one in every 12 adults, suffer from alcohol abuse or dependence” (“Alcohol”). The need and overdose of alcohol is called alcoholism. This addiction causes pain, anger, and loss of control all over the world. One might say, “I can handle myself. I am just fine,” but we all know they are not fine because most of the time they are causing hurt around them. In Jeannette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, her father, Rex Walls, is an example of one of these 17.6 million alcoholics and this disease affects the family in multiple ways.
Everyone has to deal with struggles during their everyday life. Some people’s problems are more serious than others, and the way that people deal with their problems varies. Everybody has a coping mechanism, something they can use to make the struggle that they’re going through easier, but they’re usually different. Some people drink, some people smoke, some people pretend there is no problem. There are healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms, and people will vary the one they use depending on the problem they’re facing. In The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, the author and her family deal with their struggles in multiple different ways as time goes on. However, the severity of her situation means that the methods she uses to deal with it are very important. That’s why it’s bad that Jeanette’s and her family have such unhealthy coping mechanisms, such
164-69. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 341. Detroit: Gale, 2013.Artemis Literary Sources. Web. 5 May 2014.
...e on her part. Throughout the story, the Mother is portrayed as the dominant figure, which resembled the amount of say that the father and children had on matters. Together, the Father, James, and David strived to maintain equality by helping with the chickens and taking care of Scott; however, despite the effort that they had put in, the Mother refused to be persuaded that Scott was of any value and therefore she felt that selling him would be most beneficial. The Mother’s persona is unsympathetic as she lacks respect and a heart towards her family members. Since the Mother never showed equality, her character had unraveled into the creation of a negative atmosphere in which her family is now cemented in. For the Father, David and James, it is only now the memories of Scott that will hold their bond together.
If everyone thinks that without struggle, it is easy to obtain their goals that is entirely false. Struggle comes from the progress of our success and achievement. It is an indication that we poured all of our time and patience into the things we pursue. Jeannette Walls, the author of The Glass Castle, explain her struggles. She survives by finding foods from the trash can and earns money by babysitting, exchanging scrap metal, finding jobs, and from her parents. As a graduating student from high school, receiving my diploma is an indication that I ...
Jeannette Walls states in an interview “My mother could not take care of herself, how could I possibly expect her to take care of me?” (Diversity Conversation) She never takes responsibility or has the initiative to go out and make a better life for her and her children. Rose Mary uses guilt and verbal abuse to keep the children “in line,” so to speak. Rex even resorts to physical abuse after Rose Mary snitches on Jeannette. “‘How dare you?’ she shouted. ‘You’re in trouble now — big trouble. I’m telling your dad. Just you wait until he comes home’” (219). As neglected as they are, they somehow survive the crazy conditions they are forced to live with — lack of food, water, a stable shelter, lack of personal hygiene, and even lack of parental supervision. Lori, Jeannette, Brian and Maureen resort to the worst possible ways to keep themselves alive. For example, the three older children find a stick of margarine in the refrigerator and split the stick between each other because they are so hungry. When Rose Mary finds out ,she becomes very angry — stating that the margarine was for her. Another time, the kids want to eat ham, but find it infested with maggots, Rose Mary tells them to just cut off the parts with maggots and eat the rest. That it will be “fine.” “A big green Dumpster stood in the parking lot. When no one was looking, Brian and I pushed open the lid, climbed up, and dived inside to search for bottles. I was afraid it might be full of yucky garbage. Instead, we found an astonishing treasure: cardboard boxes filled with loose chocolates. Some of them were whitish and dried-out-looking, and some were covered with a mysterious green mold, but most of them were fine. We pigged out on chocolates,” (110). This just shows how desperate they were for food. At the same time, their mother is hiding food from them, eating it on the sly. “‘I can’t help it,’ she sobbed. ‘I’m a sugar
Throughout the Glass Castle there is a constant shift in Jeanettes tone through her use of diction. Her memoir is centered around her memories with her family, but mainly her father Rex Walls. Although it is obvious through the eyes of the reader that Rex is an unfit parent and takes no responsibility for his children, in her childhood years Jeanette continually portrays Rex as an intelligent and loving father, describing her younger memories with admiration in her tone. The capitalization of “Dad” reflects Jeannette’s overall admiration for her father and his exemplary valor. “Dad always fought harder, flew faster, and gambled smarter than everyone else in his stories”(Walls 24). Jeanette also uses simple diction to describe her father, by starting sentences with, “Dad said,” over and over. By choosing to use basic language instead of stronger verbs, she captures her experience in a pure and honest tone.
In the novel The Glass Castle the children also have to rely on themselves and each other because their parents have a abusive and neglectful parenting style. As they have that abusive and neglectful parenting style there were instances in which the children thought their parents weren't going to come back for them. One such instance was when Jeannette fell out of the car and she wondered whether “they might not notice [she] was missing”(30) and that they would just leave her there like they did to the cat. A child shouldn't be wondering if their parents will come back for them. Jeannette wondering whether her parents are going to come
As much as Walls loved her father, she realized he would “never build that Glass Castle. But we had fun planning it.” (279) Rex told them that special kids could have “those shining stars, he liked to point out, were one of the special treats for people like us who lived out in the wilderness.” (39) Walls really felt special when her mother said, “life’s too short to worry about what other people think. Anyway, they should accept us for who we are.” (157) This vicious cycle proves to the reader that Walls never had a way to escape from her parent’s cruel ways; she grew up thinking like her parents did. This cruel way of thinking made Rex feel good about himself while making Walls’ feel special. The idea of the Glass Castle gave Walls a sense of hope that her dad would stay true to his word, but the impracticable idea of a house of glass symbolizes just how unstable the Walls’ foundation was. Walls said, “As awful as he could be, I always knew he loved me in a way no one else ever had.” (279) Rex never had the stability to protect her and she knew he would endanger her. Walls’ father Rex had extraordinary power in convincing Walls that he only wanted the best for her, even while causing her to
I’ve never heard of any childhood quite like yours. I was shocked by the personality and character of your parents and how they raised you and your sibilings, “The Glass Castle”. I understand why people call your parents monsters. I will admit that the thought crossed my own mind on multiple occasions. However, I have also never read a book or a memoir that required so much thinking . With every page I read I was able to learn about the struggles & hardships you dealt with as a child and I tried to see a deeper meaning. When I did that, I saw your parent’s intentions behind everything they did. I began to understand what you saw and still see in your parents.
The Walls family consists of three daughters and a son. Out of all of the kids, Rex the father favors Jeannette who is the middle child only because he felt that they both understand each other. “ I swear, honey, there are times I think you’re the only one around who still has faith in me” (P;79). This shows how their trust in each other is compared to the rest of the family and it also shows their bond, their sense
Social class has always been a controversial issue in America. This idea, that individuals are defined by their wealth, is explored by Jeannette Walls in her memoir, The Glass Castle. Walls shows, through a manifold of personal anecdotes, how growing up in a dysfunctional household with financially inept parents affected her and her siblings. Growing up in this environment, Jeannette was exposed to a very different perception of the world around her than those of higher social status. However, despite the constant hardships she faced, Walls makes it clear that a lower social status does not define an individual as inferior to those in a higher class.
There are several different social issues presented in Jeannette Wall’s memoir “The Glass Castle.” These issues included neglect – medical and education,
...ndurance of poverty, as we witness how Walls has turned her life around and told her inspiring story with the use of pathos, imagery, and narrative coherence to inspire others around her (that if she can do it, so can others). Jeannette made a huge impact to her life once she took matters into her own hands and left her parents to find out what life has in store for her and to prove to herself that she is a better individual and that anything is possible. Despite the harsh words and wrongful actions of Walls’ appalling parents who engage her through arduous experiences, she remained optimistic and made it through the most roughest and traumatic obstacles of her life at the age of three. Walls had always kept her head held high and survived the hardships God put upon her to get to where she is today; an author with a best selling novel to tell her bittersweet story.