Jeannette Walls came from a family that had always faced many struggles in life. They had to travel to many areas due to job search. At first it was all fun and games until their lives were affected in negative ways. Specifically, the parent's decisions and actions caused unforgettable moments. Although, Jeannette Walls’s father had struggles of his own and couldn’t take good care of his children due to his alcoholism; it made his children be more prepared for the future. Consumption of alcohol affects children in many negative ways. Jeannette Walls and her siblings have faced an abundance of obstacles thrown at them by their father. Despite his major flaws, Jeannette still views him as the person she used to admire. But because of …show more content…
his alcoholism, she had seen much disappointment, to her dismay. She couldn’t look for him when in need of help, nor could she count on him to fix anything. Examples of these types of issues are, her dad drinking while driving, her mother’s income from work, and the fights at school. Once, while her dad was drinking and driving, his carelessness had caused her to tumble out of the car. She saw the car drive away and thought to herself that she was on her own. As can be seen, her father wasn’t thinking about the children when he decided to drink, only of himself. Even more, her mother had started working as a teacher. Rose Mary had no control over the money because Rex “saw himself as the head of the household, and he maintained that the money should be turned over to him. It was his responsibility, he’d say, to handle the family finances. And he needed money to fund his gold-leaching research.” Responding, Rose Mary had said “The only research you’re doing is on the liver’s capacity to absorb alcohol” (Walls, 76). Yet being powerless, she always had to give him the money, no matter how much they were in need for necessities. And lastly, she couldn’t tell her dad about the fight because she couldn’t trust him, as she said “[She] was afraid that if [she] told him, he’d show up at [her] school snockered and make everything worse” (Walls, 140). This shows how him being an alcoholic affects her ability to seek help from him. Moving on, Rex’s behavior is also a key factor affecting his children. There were other cases in which Rex Walls’s behavior caused problems.
While he was staying with his son Brian, he encountered some issues. Brian didn't want him drinking so he set some rules for his father. However, Rex responded saying, “You're the king of your own castle, and that's the way it should be, but it’ll be chilly day in hell before I bow to my own son” (Walls, 254). Therefore, instead of listening to Brian, he moved out. It was easier for for him to leave than to avoid drinking. This showed how much of an impact alcohol had on him and how he chose drinking rather than raising his child. In another situation, he got home so drunk and messed up Lori’s painting. As Jeannette said, “That night we were all sitting at the drafting table watching Lori put the final touches on Shakespeare’s hair when dad came home drunk… He studied the sculpture, them suddenly reached over and smeared off Shakespeare’s mouth with his thumb” (Walls, 226-227). This demonstrated how careless he is, especially when he is drunk. He ruined her chances of getting a scholarship, which showed how his drinking got in the way of him being a father figure. However, instead of just crying about it, Lori used her anger and turned it into strength to save up money to move to New York with the help of Jeannette and Brian. This showed how his issues caused the children to try to be more prepared and work hard for what they …show more content…
wanted. A TED talk by Andrew Solomon: How the worst moments in our lives make us who we are, is an example of what Frederick Douglas meant by when he stated, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” As children grow up, they have the opportunity to learn so much.
Also, as they go through struggles later in life as they’re changing, it’ll help them realize how much they went through to be the kind of person they are. Solomon stated, “I survived that childhood through a mix of avoidance and endurance. What I didn’t know then, and do know now, is that avoidance and endurance can be the entryway to forging meaning,” to support that childhood struggles make you who are you are at the end. Jeannette Walls went through several struggles in her life as she was growing up; due to her parents, all those struggles just made her a better and stronger person. It prepared her siblings and herself as well, for the future. Although, it did not much change for the parents, especially her father whom was “broken,” as Douglas mentioned. It was not as easy to repair a strong man because the father was already stuck at his worst, while the children still had a lot more time to experience other events that can change them as they get older and
mature. In conclusion, life wasn't easy for them, but they managed to get through it. Her father’s struggles actually helped raise the children even if he couldn’t help himself; thus, it lead them to learn on their own. His addiction of alcoholism caused issues to himself and the children. However, the children, especially Jeannette Walls, were able to overcome these issues. It’s not about what you go through, but how you handle the situation and who you become at the end.
Her family stayed three years at the camp. Jeanne did not enjoy living in these camps. The memories of the past still haunted her as she grew older. “Writing it has been a way of coming to terms with the impact these years have had on my entire life” (pg
Jeannette and her siblings were all forced into completing tasks and taking on roles for themselves and their other siblings that are heartbreaking to read about and uncommon for most children to experience and tackle themselves. Much of this had to do with the lack of responsibility on their parents’ part and the ways they decided to live. As I have read the book, I have been amazed over and over again at the ways Jeannette handled the parental roles—both mother and father. She was very tough and never gave up, but you could tell there were other times she was just plain discouraged. One example we can see her using the roles to benefit her siblings was when her mom left to Charleston to “renew her teaching certificate” for 8 weeks and put Jeannette in charge of the money. She budgeted out $25 a week to provide the groceries and pay all of the bills that would need to be taken care of. Even though Jeannette gave her father (Rex) money when he asked, she
This can lead to frequent absences from work, unemployment, and misusing financial resources of the household and family. In Rex’s case in particular, he hurt the entire family: Distinctly, the Walls hold a short budget to begin with, but due to Rex’s constantly poor employment situation, and his control of Jeannette for alcohol money from their miniscule budget, the family is worse off than when they even started. Rex struggles to find employment due to alcohol’s effects: loss of work ethic and the pull to drink according to Drug Free. It doesn’t help that Jeannette gives in to Rex’s requests, but in the end they have even less money than they had. In addition to the financial hardships, the children tremendously suffer from their Rex’s behavior. As soon as Rex’s alcoholism hits it peak and the family grows well aware, Jeannette begins to adopt a trait called codependency. Codependency may be
throughout her childhood with an alcoholic father and a selfish mother who cared more about her art and happiness than that of her children’s. Alcohol misuse can affect all aspects of family functioning: social life, finances, good communication, relationships between family members, parenting capability, employment and health issues , It also has a strong correlation with conflicts, disputes and domestic violence which can leave a damaging effect on children. Alcohol misuse often times change the roles played by family member...
In John Connolly’s novel, The Book of Lost Things, he writes, “for in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be”. Does one’s childhood truly have an effect on the person one someday becomes? In Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle and Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, this question is tackled through the recounting of Jeannette and Amir’s childhoods from the perspectives of their older, more developed selves. In the novels, an emphasis is placed on the dynamics of the relationships Jeannette and Amir have with their fathers while growing up, and the effects that these relations have on the people they each become. The environment to which they are both exposed as children is also described, and proves to have an influence on the characteristics of Jeannette and Amir’s adult personalities. Finally, through the journeys of other people in Jeannette and Amir’s lives, it is demonstrated that the sustainment of traumatic experiences as a child also has a large influence on the development of one’s character while become an adult. Therefore, through the analysis of the effects of these factors on various characters’ development, it is proven that the experiences and realities that one endures as a child ultimately shape one’s identity in the future.
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
Even though things were good with Rex and Jeannette , but “ He did have what mom called a little bit of a drinking situation”(23) which wasn’t that big of deal to Jeannette in the beginning, but due to his habit of changing jobs, more so losing them, and having the same excuses for losing them creates doubtful feelings in Jeannette’s mind. which exhibits a bit of concern in Jeannette about her father’s doings. One time the walls family went to the church but Rex wasn’t himself for he was drunk, so he started insulting the people at the church, which just shows his miserable state every time he drinks. He then goes out of hand by insulting Jeannette, “ I didn’t like dad when he talked like that” (p;114), first time Jeannette feels negative towards
It is commonly believed that the only way to overcome difficult situations is by taking initiative in making a positive change, although this is not always the case. The theme of the memoir the Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is that the changes made in children’s lives when living under desperate circumstances do not always yield positive results. In the book, Jeannette desperately tries to improve her life and her family’s life as a child, but she is unable to do so despite her best efforts. This theme is portrayed through three significant literary devices in the book: irony, symbolism and allusion.
After reading the story by Jeannette Walls, there are many reasons her life was impacted due to her poverty. One of the most prominent reasons for Jeannette Walls success after being brought up extremely poor was due to the perseverance her father gave her. For example in part two chapter sixteen there is a scene where Jeanette's father teachers her a strong lesson about perseverance. “Dad kept telling me that he loved me, that he never would have let me drown, but you can’t cling to the side your whole life, that one lesson every parent needs to teach a child is “If you don’t want to sink, you better figure out how to swim”(Walls 66). In this scene Jeannette
...life living with yet loving parents and siblings just to stay alive. Rosemary and Rex Walls had great intelligence, but did not use it very wisely. 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. Showing that it does not matter what life throws at us we can take it. Rosemary and Rex Walls may not have been the number one parents in the world however they were capable in turning their children into well-educated adults.
Children living in this type of environment may feel anger, shame, and sadness. They are forced to take on adult roles much earlier because their parents are irresponsible. For instance it shows this in The Glass Castle because the children are forced to make their own meals and fend for themselves because Rex is too busy drinking and Rose Mary is careless (Walls). Alcoholism takes away children’s childhood by forcing them to take on adult roles. Another example of this is when Billy Deel is forced to take care of himself while his father is passed out and constantly drinking, “Billy had a lot of unsupervised time on his hands” (Walls 82). Billy was greatly affected by his father’s alcohol abuse his personality didn’t maturely develop like other children. This is shown when he sexually assaults Jeanette and doesn’t see anything wrong with it, he yells on page 87 “Guess what? I raped you!” (Walls). This statement proves that parents make a huge impact on children, and when children don’t have that, they suffer. Alcohol abuse is not an individual problem, it affects everyone surrounding that person. It isn’t fair for children to be raised in that environment and government should take greater action to protect the children’s safety by removing them from homes like
...victims, the Walls siblings may not have chosen to overcome their painful history to become such strong and successful individuals. The abdication of what one could consider appropriate parental responsibility by moving to Welch isolated the children in a very hard environment. In their time there, the remarkable survival skills and character that the children developed served as a source of strength in their escape from their environment. Their determination in forging a better future for themselves is realized by utilizing the skills they formed while trapped in Welch. The courage to embrace change; putting aside such a deplorable childhood speaks volumes about the remarkable ability of these siblings to overcome hardship and achieve their own powerful and unique lives.
The crippling effects of alcoholism and drug dependency are not confined to the addict alone. The family suffers, physically and emotionally, and it is the children who are the most disastrous victims. Frequently neglected and abused, they lack the maturity to combat the terrifying destructiveness of the addict’s behavior. As adults these individuals may become compulsively attracted to the same lifestyle as their parents, excessive alcohol and drug abuse, destructive relationships, antisocial behavior, and find themselves in an infinite loop of feelings of emptiness, futility, and despair. Behind the appearance of calm and success, Adult Children of Alcoholics often bear a sad, melancholy and haunted look that betrays their quietest confidence. In the chilling silence of the darkest nights of their souls, they yearn for intimacy: their greatest longing, and deepest fear. Their creeping terror lives as the child of years of emotional, and sometimes physical, family violence.
Smith, Karen. “Alcohol Use by youth and Adolescents: A Pediatric Concern.” Pediatric American Academy of Pediatrics. 12 April, 2010. Web. 26 March, 2014. .
, mind the downfallsHowever, . iIf the children didn’tdidn’t learn these from those lessons, they would’ve ended have ended up like their parents. Their parents were, homeless in the streets of New York, unable to maintain jobs, settle down, or act like mature adults capable of raising children. Even though Rex and Rose Mary succeed in the ways they taught their children in a poor manner, the lessons were learned.but also failed as in how they followed through with the way they tried to In order. fFor Rex and Rose Mary to be a considered ‘good’ parents‘good parent’, they must work as a family to get what they want; meaning they must strive for the goal for what they want and apply themselves instead of ‘getting by’. They show their strength and will by saying it It is the Walls vs. the world. They turned their children into behaved, intelligent, and outgoing adults. Rex and Rose Mary teach their children the way of life through absurd lessons and experiences and experiences about how to become a successful, mature, well- behaved adult through self-reliance and