In the novel, The Glass Castle, the protagonist and author, Jeannette Walls faced many challenges at a very young age. However, everything she went through resulted in her learning a variety of life lessons. Jeannette learned that with perseverance and self sufficiency, she could achieve whatever she set her mind to.
Because of the circumstances that Jeannette dealt with, she became independent very quickly. As a toddler, Jeannette had already become more self-reliant than most teenagers. At the age of three, Jeannette was severely burned while making hot dogs for herself. After being questioned at the hospital by various doctors about why and how Jeannette had been burned, she replied “Mom says I’m mature for my age and she lets me cook for
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myself a lot.” Not only does this show that the Walls family wasn’t very cautious, but it also shows the independence that Jeannette had. One of her parents could’ve easily boiled a hot dog for their daughter, but instead they gave her the freedom to do as she chose, and an outcome of that was a trip to the hospital. Later in the story, when Rosemary Walls, their mother, left Welch to study in Charleston, Jeannette took it upon herself to support her family. A few weeks after Rosemary had left, the family was struggling greatly due to Rex stealing money for alcohol and cigarettes. Jeannette knew she needed to get a job so she went to the local jewelry shop, Becker’s Jewel Box. “I was afraid that Mr. Becker wouldn’t give me the job if he knew I was only 13” she shared, but “he hired me on the spot.” Jeannette needed the 200 dollars that her mother had left for her to last 8 weeks, but since her unemployed father had his own wants and “needs”, the teenager had to be self-reliant and get a job to keep her family alive. Jeannette learned to be flexible and matured at a young age because of the circumstances she lived in each and every day. Not only did Jeannette learn to rely on herself, she also knew how to act in tough situations.
When things became difficult in her life, Jeannette always persevered and tried to stay positive. For instance, when Jeannette, Lori and Brian had been saving up money for almost nine months, they came home one day to a broken piggy bank and all of their money, gone. They knew that their father had to have done it, and they couldn’t believe he did. Although “Lori felt too defeated,” Jeannette “started saving again.” She got past what her father had done, and only looked forward. She worked even harder, babysitting whenever she could. Jeannette had such a positive outlook on life and was determined to make up for what had happened. She persevered and worked as hard as she could to make New York a possibility. Her dedication in spite of the obstacles shows true character. Jeannette, not only persevered, but also had to make do with what she was given. Since her family didn’t have a constant source of money, Jeannette learned to use her resources wisely. She knew she had crooked teeth, so she wanted to get braces. She believed she had enough money to pay for them herself, but when she was informed that they cost twelve hundred dollars, she “decided to make her own braces.” She used a coat hanger and rubber bands, and surprisingly, it worked. Jeannette went to the trouble of building her own contraption to fix her teeth, just so she wouldn’t be a burden to her family. She showed
independence and resourcefulness which are two key characteristics needed when growing up in the Walls household. Jeannette always came up with a creative solution to any problem someone had. But not only that, she also forgave and moved on easily no matter the situation. Throughout her life, Jeannette realized that with forgiveness, positivity, and independence, her dreams can be accomplished and no matter the circumstance, there is good in every person place and thing.
Jeannette’s mother said this when Jeannette starts cooking hot dogs right after the accident with the fire. Rose Walls is saying that Jeannette shouldn’t be scared of fire even after it could have killed her a few months beforehand.
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a memoir told in the perspective of a young girl (the author) who goes through an extremely hard childhood. Jeannette writes about the foodless days and homeless nights, however Jeannette uses determination, positivity, sets goals, and saves money, because of this she overcame her struggles.
Jeannette is a hero because both are represented as being forgiving, caring, and believing in people. By having theses qualities, Jeannette is able to persevere through her life. Jeannette is forgiving because she is able to rise above her bully, Dinitia, and befriends her (Walls 142). She is able to accept Dinitia’s “apology” and move on. Jeannette is also caring. She is caring because she also helps Dinitia with schoolwork (Walls 142). She does not invited Dinitia over because “Erma had made it clear how she felt about black people” (Walls 142). By keeping Dinitia from Erma, Jeannette is protecting her from Erma’s racism. By protecting her former bully, Jeannette shows just how caring she really is. Jeannette also believes in people and chooses to see the good in them. When Brian accuses their father of spending all of his money on booze, Jeannette defends him (Walls 78). Her father says “I swear, honey, there are times when I think you're the only one around who still has faith in me” (Walls 78). Jeannette then tells herself that she will never lose faith in him (Walls 78). Because she is able to keep faith in her alcoholic dad, she believes in him and that one day he will move on. By being forgiving, caring, and seeing the good in others, Jeannette is a the character archetype of a hero and uses her qualities to help her persevere in
The Glass Castle is a memoir written by Jeannette Walls about her family. In this story she tells about her adventurous and dangerous childhood that shaped her to be the person she is today. Which is a strong, optimistic, responsible woman who knows how to roll with the burns and the punches literally. Brian, who is younger than Jeannette was her partner in crime in all her childhood memories. Maureen was the youngest she was not too close with the family and if I had one way to describe her it would be lost. Lori was oldest sibling and the total opposite. She was more reserved and very into her art. Which she took after their mother, RoseMary. RoseMary was a selfish woman, she would constantly put herself first. She was also, very weak and
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.
There are several different social issues presented in Jeannette Wall’s memoir “The Glass Castle.” These issues include neglect – medical and education. unsanitary living conditions, homelessness, unemployment, alcohol abuse, domestic violence. violence, discrimination, mental health issues, physical and sexual abuse, hunger and poverty. Poverty was one of the major key issues addressed in this memoir.
Hattie spent much of her younger years living with different relatives because both of her parents had died when she was five. As Hattie was “tossed” from one relative’s home to another throughout her childhood, she never had a sense of belonging. To make matters worse, her relatives treated her like a hassle—as though her very existence was an annoyance. Needless to say, Hattie’s relatives were neither supportive nor encouraging of her. By age 16, Hattie’s feeling of self-worth was at an all time low. The story did not describe her appearance in depth, but it did say she was very modest and dressed humbly.
...d to share their deepest and most private moments with their audience members, and this in turn will create a genuine, quality story. When asked if Jeannette Walls has fulfilled the duty given to her by William Faulkner, one should not even come close to hesitating with their response. In The Glass Castle, Walls shares some of the most personal and emotion-evoking moments of her life, and they clearly include the essential characteristics of writing as defined by Faulkner. With the expert use of Walls rhetorical strategy, she makes the reader see, hear, feel, and sense the emotion as if it is occurring firsthand. So, to conclude, Jeannette Walls has most definitely fulfilled Faulkner’s expectations of a writer by crafting a memoir stuffed with superb rhetorical strategies that thoroughly translates the events in Walls’ life to the readers in a very detailed manner.
Ever since she was a young girl. Jeannette had set high goals for herself. Since she was so advanced in school and genuinely enjoyed learning, it made sense that she would want to do big things with her life. Whether it was being a veterinarian or a geologist, her dreams extended far beyond her homes in little desert towns or Welch, West Virginia. However, because of her poverty-stricken home life, many people believed it didn’t seem likely that she would be so successful. One day, while living in Welch, Jeannette goes to the bar to drag her drunk father back home. A neighborhood man offers them a ride back to their house, and on the ride up he and Jeannette start a conversation about school. When Jeannette tells the man that she works so hard in school because of her dream careers, the man laughs saying, “for the daughter of the town drunk, you sure got big plans” (Walls 183). Immediately, Jeannette tells the man to stop the car and gets out, taking her father with her. This seems to be a defining moment in which Jeannette is first exposed to the idea that she is inferior to others. Although this man said what he did not mean to offend her, Jeannette is clearly very hurt by his comment. To the reader, it seems as if she had never thought that her family’s situation made her subordinate to those
Towards the middle of the memoir, the theme is shown through the irony of Jeannette’s mother’s situation as well as Jeannette’s feelings towards
Jeanette's parents taught her the importance of knowledge from a very young age which also shaped her to become the person she became after her childhood. THroughout the story Jeannette is always learning, always reading, and educating herself to become more knowledgeable. She even at one point in the book begins a rock collection on different types of rocks which she sells to make money. Jeanette's parents instilled a large amount of positive traits and characteristics through their life of poverty to craft the amazing women Jeannette grew up to
Education plays a big role in our daily lives. Education is commonly defined as a process of learning and obtaining knowledge. The story takes place beginning in the late 1950s to the early 2000s. Jeannette Walls is the main character of the story and the narrator. She tells the events of her life living with careless and yet loving parents. This family of six lived in many cities and towns and went through tough states to stay alive. Her mother and father never kept a good steady job, but they had great intelligence. Jeannette and her siblings barely went to school to get the proper education they needed. In the book The Glass Castle, author Jeanette Walls discovers the idea that a conservative education may possibly not always be the best education due to the fact that the Walls children were taught more from the experiences their parents gave them than any regular school or textbook could give them. In this novel readers are able to get an indication of how the parents Rex and Rosemary Walls, choose to educate and give life lessons to their children to see the better side of their daily struggles.
In The Glass Castle, a story about overcoming hardships, Jeannette Walls uses creative, descriptive diction and distinct characterization through connotation to portray that in many cases, one’s beauty comes from their hardships.
She graduates and is able to become a governess for a french girl, and later a headmistress of her own school. In taking that position, she becomes truly self-sufficient. She needs to do this, because it is a part of her becoming an adult, but also because it is something she feels she needs to achieve before she achieves self-assurance. She searches for true freedom and wants desperately to be seen as an equal by others. She falls in love for the man she works for and is hesitant
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a harrowing and heartbreaking yet an inspiring memoir of a young girl named Jeannette who was deprived of her childhood by her dysfunctional and unorthodox parents, Rex and Rose Mary Walls. Forced to grow up, Walls stumbled upon coping with of her impractical “free-spirited” mother and her intellectual but alcoholic father, which became her asylum from the real world, spinning her uncontrollably. Walls uses pathos, imagery, and narrative coherence to illustrate that sometimes one needs to go through the hardships of life in order to find the determination to become a better individual.