Jeannette and her father Rex have a hopeful beginning to their relationship which consists of its own heroic moments filled with many learning experiences, moments of trust, and source of comfort, which letter on took a disappointing end filled with, hypocrisy, lack of trust, lack of protection, alcohol addictions, and death. 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 …show more content…
Some might say that’s love and some might say that’s just barbaric, but I think it 's a bit of both, even though I will never go to such an extreme, towards any of my kids that I might have in the future. Rex always has an interestingly smart way of explaining things in order to get the benefits of it through. While the Walls family were on a road trip just as they always do the skedaddle, they took a little break in the middle of nowhere just to lay down. “ We had no pillows, but Dad said it was his plan to teach us to have a good posture”. He then explains how the Indians did not use pillows, “‘Look how straight they stood’’ just to instill some appreciation in them and good posture. Jeannette considers her father really smart (p;23). Prior to school, before the kids started school, Rex taught them many important and beneficial things, for example, he taught them math, so that they might be able to adapt to solving problems they face in school or outside school. He also taught them, how dangerous the liver of a polar bear is, he …show more content…
Jeannette gets too scared so she runs outside to her father for comfort, then tells him what happened. He says, “ It’s that old ornery demon’’ (p;36). He was her source of comfort and she felt it by how empathetic he was with her whenever she was distressed. 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
This is an example of Jeannette’s parents trying to keep their children as optimistic as possible.They knew that their life would be rough and tough based on what they had gone through however if they always kept the positive mindset it would make things a lot easier for
Neglect is the failure or refusal of a parent or care giver to provide the basic needs: food, safety, hygiene, and clothing. With famished children, Jeannette’s mother remarks: “Why spend the afternoon making a meal that will be gone in an hour…when in the same amount of time, I can do a painting that will last forever” (56). What we perceive here, the characteristic conduct of Mrs. Walls, is an unwillingness to set aside her own interests in order to care for others (specifically, her own children). Rudely, her mother along with many other deteriorated parents are pre-occupied ...
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.
Jeannette then tells herself that she will never lose faith in him (Walls 78). By keeping faith in her alcoholic dad, she believes in him and that one day he will move on. Jeannette's forgiving, caring, and optimistic nature makes her a character archetype of a hero, and she uses these qualities to persevere in life. The situational archetype in the memoir is the quest. Jeannette embarks on a journey to better herself.
In the memoir, The Glass Castle, Jeannette tells about her less than easy life. Her family was constantly moving about, never staying in one place for very long, or how Rex Walls would say they were always doing “the skedaddle”. But Rex, while trying to be a good father, struggles with a strong alcohol addiction. But all throughout the book we see that Rex has many of the traits of an admirable parent. These traits being that he never expects perfection from any of his kids or himself or his wife. He doesn’t fear occasional failures from them either. All parents should try to be admirable parents for their
I feel like the Jeannette’s father was sexually, physically or emotionally abused by his own family as a child growing up. From the way how Rex Walls became abusive to his family after he consumes alcohol drinks (Rex Walls wasn’t exactly abusive to the kids but he was abusive to his wife sometimes).
Conflicts influence someone’s actions and decisions because they can control whether to make it bigger or make it better. In this case, Rex made some decisions to make things have a good turnout instead of bad. Jeannette uses many literary devices to tell this book, and to introduce adversity. There were many other conflicts in the book that turned out bad, because of the decisions that were made. Bravery is something Jeannette and her family have, because of everything they have dealt with and been through. Adversity popped up often in the book, Jeannette made people realize it by her literary
When Erma died, he spent four days in Junior’s Bar. Erma was his mother. The children were walking home from Erma’s funeral with their parents. Their father Rex was so distraught that he once again resorted to alcohol. When they were walking, Jeannette and her siblings noticed “He turned down the street to Junior’s bar. We all watched him go… Dad just kept walking” (Walls 181). Rex’s family is ashamed of him for drinking, but they rarely make an effort to help him stop. Alcoholism is a disease that is deadly for many people. It is not something that you can conclude without help. Rex took all of what money the Walls family did have and spent it on alcohol. This was a recurring event. This lead the young children to fend for themselves. They often had to go days without food but if they did have food, it was sometimes inedible. In many cases, they were pilfering through other people’s belongings. Substance abuse is dangerous in a sense that the substance itself causes many life threatening conditions. It can also be dangerous because people will do anything they can to be able to abuse again. This includes taking money that could be used on a week of groceries or to heat a home during
There are several different social issues presented in Jeannette Wall’s memoir “The Glass Castle.” These issues included neglect – medical and education,
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
My family isn 't like the Walls family because my parents would never treat my sister and I like their parents treated them, my family and I have a decent living situation, and we would never hurt any animal. From the beginning, Rex and Rose Mary treated their kids wrong and didn 't take responsibility as parents. Every child deserves a loving home and should never have to worry if they are going to eat that night. West Virginia also seemed a lot different then because the laws are more strict now. The way the Walls are, they would get in trouble for the way they treated their kids, animals, and even their living space. "Mom always said people worry too much about their children. Suffering when you 're young is good for you, she said. It immunized
The childhood of Frances Piper consists of inadequate love, loss of innocence and lack of concern, ultimately leading to her disastrous life. As a six year old child, she encounters several traumatic events, explicitly the death of her loved ones and the loss of her innocence. Over the course of one week, there have been three deaths, two funerals and two burials in the Piper family. “Frances was crying so hard now that Mercedes got worried. ‘I want my Mumma to come ba-a-a-a-ack.’”( McDonald 174). As a young child, there is nothing more upsetting than losing a mother. A family is meant to comfort each other to fulfill the loss of a loved one; however, this is not the case in the Piper family. Mercedes, only a year older than Frances, tries to console her even though she herself is worried. The loss of motherly love and affection has a tremendous impact on her future since now her sole guardian, James, expresses no responsibility towards her. Instead, he molests Frances on the night of Kathleen’s funeral to lessen the grief of his lost daughter. As a result “These disturbing experiences plague Frances with overwhelming feelings of low self worth and guilt that haunt h...
“When Dad went crazy, we all had our own ways of shutting down and closing off…” (Walls 115).In Jeannette Walls memoir, The Glass Castle, Walls enlightens the reader on what it’s like to grow up with a parent who is dependent on alcohol, Rex Walls, Jeannette’s father, was an alcoholic. Psychologically, having a parent who abuses alcohol is the worst thing for a child. The psychological state of these children can get of poorer quality as they grow up. Leaving the child with psychiatric disorders in the future and or being an alcoholic as well.
Rex Walls, father of Jeanette, was rational to the core when it came to logic, an inventor, and quite an intelligent being but lacked the capability to sustain an economic stance to provide for his family. His mother, Erma Ruth, sexually abused him as a child, which later on in life led to alcohol abuse, because he questioned his masculinity and confidence. Clearly his mother’s actions psychologically affected him for life, leaving him to cope with such shame through the only ways of numbing his pain through alcohol. However, to what extent did this man loose the true sight that his problem was not the molestation as a child, but his own personal needs, as an alcoholic became the real issue at hand? Never did he seek out therapy to sober up, which in return affected his family. “A couple of months after Dad lost his job, he came home with a bag of groceries” (pg. 68), through his alcoholism, he was unable to sustain a stable job which ...
...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.