The Glass Castle “I’m sorry, Maureen. Sorry for everything.” (276, Walls) And when that sentence was whispered, a family was left broken and unwhole. In a family of five children, even a more conventional one, sometimes the youngest feels left out. But because of the Walls unconventional parenting, Maureen didn’t sometimes feel left out, she always felt left out. Since she was the youngest of the Walls children, she was fortunate enough not to have to move all the time but that might not have been the most beneficial thing for her. Throughout the novel the family lived in many different places, each more dangerous and disgusting than the last. However, I think for most readers Welch was the most upsetting place. Maureen grew up in that toxic …show more content…
In fact, Jeannette said that she spent so much time with friends that she almost didn’t feel like a member of their family (206, Walls). At first Maureen spent the night at friends houses because she didn’t feel safe at her house. The big incident that made her sleep somewhere else was that a rat was in their house and she swore that that rat was near her and when she turned on the light she was proven right (156, Walls). And after a while, Maureen wouldn’t just go over to sleepover at friends houses, she’d go there earlier and eat dinner with her friend’s family (173, Walls). It was no secret that the Walls didn’t have food often, and when Maureen saw an opportunity to eat a hot meal she took it. Because she spent so little time with her family, she didn’t grow up like her siblings did. In each person you have a fight or flight reflex, and while her siblings took the fight reflex for a while, Maureen chose the flight reflex. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I think because she didn’t stay and fight she doesn’t know how to deal with her parents in New York like her brothers and sisters …show more content…
If she stayed in New York, she would always be a part of the Walls family and she couldn’t handle that. Maureen needed space to figure out who Maureen was, not who Maureen Walls was. She needed to get away and she always dreamed of going to California (276, Walls). She lived in California for a short period of time when she was a baby and when Jeannette, Brian, and Lori talked about what it was like to live in the Valley of the Sun, Maureen knew she wanted to go back there someday. I think it was very important for Maureen to go to California and figure out what she wanted to do with her life and also to get away from her family. She needed some time to be alone and this was probably the perfect thing for her to do at the time. However, when Maureen announces that she’s moving to California, Jeannette feels it’s her fault that Maureen wanted to leave them. Jeannette promised Maureen when she was just a day old that she would always protect and on the day she left, she felt she let Maureen down (46, 276, Walls). It wasn’t just Jeannette who was sad that Maureen was leaving, the entire family was. The youngest of the Walls family was leaving, and it was hard on everyone. “Something in all of us broke that day, and afterward, we no longer had the spirit for family gatherings.” (277, Walls) However sad it was that Maureen left, I will always think she did the best thing for herself. She couldn’t handle her parents or the
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
Her Mom was ashamed of her for acting like this but Jeannette really wanted her Mom to change her ways and stop being homeless. She really loved her mother and wanted her to have a good life.
In the book, The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls is trying to tell us that her parents are taking her happiness away. In this section, young Jeannette is witnessing how her parents get into argument about money and disrespect people who are trying to help their condition. Walls says, “I thought Grandma Smith was great. But after a few weeks, she and Dad would always get into some nasty hollering match. It might start with Mom mentioning how short we were on cash” (Walls 20).
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 and her sister Lori always talked about growing up and escaping to New York City (Walls 222). They dreamt of making it big, unlike their parents. Lori began to see New York as “this glowing, bustling place at the end of a long road where she could become the person she was meant to be” (Walls 222). This idea began to rub off on Jeannette, and she too felt the same way.
...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.
The Struggle Of Building Adversity means difficulties or misfortune. When someone's dealing with things or a situation turns out to go against them, they face adversity. Adversity is something someone comes across in life, it's like being part of a person. Decisions and actions are influenced by a lot of things. Conflicts influence all kinds of actions and decisions, depending on the person.
Jeannette Walls has lived a life that many of us probably never will, the life of a migrant. The majority of her developmental years were spent moving to new places, sometimes just picking up and skipping town overnight. Frugality was simply a way of life for the Walls. Their homes were not always in perfect condition but they continued with their lives. With a brazen alcoholic and chain-smoker of a father and a mother who is narcissistic and wishes her children were not born so that she could have been a successful artist, Jeannette did a better job of raising herself semi-autonomously than her parents did if they had tried. One thing that did not change through all that time was the love she had for her mother, father, brother and sisters. The message that I received from reading this memoir is that family has a strong bond that will stay strong in the face of adversity.
When the topic of childhood memory pops up in a conversation the listeners would think the story teller is telling the truth right? Well, what if I said that the people telling the stories might not even know if they aren’t? When these stories are told most don’t realize the little bit of memory actually involved. So how much or it is true and how much it came from another inaccurate place? Where could something like that come from? Were Jennette Walls’ memories real? Does this affect you or is it not a big dilemma? Should these be considered There are several different debates within itself but the main one to focus on is are your memories even your memories?
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.
Her family life is depicted with contradictions of order and chaos, love and animosity, conventionality and avant-garde. Although the underlying story of her father’s dark secret was troubling, it lends itself to a better understanding of the family dynamics and what was normal for her family. The author doesn’t seem to suggest that her father’s behavior was acceptable or even tolerable. However, the ending of this excerpt leaves the reader with an undeniable sense that the author felt a connection to her father even if it wasn’t one that was desirable. This is best understood with her reaction to his suicide when she states, “But his absence resonated retroactively, echoing back through all the time I knew him. Maybe it was the converse of the way amputees feel pain in a missing limb.” (pg. 399)
Could the dysfunction of the Walls family have fostered the extraordinary resilience and strength of the three older siblings through a collaborative set of rites of passage? One could argue that the unusual and destructive behavior of the parents forced the children into a unique collection of rites of passage that resulted in surprisingly resilient and successful adults. In moving back to Welch, Virginia, the children lost what minimal sense of security they may have enjoyed while living in their grandmother’s home in Arizona. The culture and climate (both socially and environmentally) along with an increased awareness of their poverty resulted in a significant loss of identity. As they learned new social and survival skills in this desperate environment, there is a powerful sense of camaraderie between the older children. Their awareness, drive and cunning survival skills while living in Welch result in a developing sense of confidence in their ability to survive anything. This transition, while wretched, sets the stage for their ability to leave their environment behind with little concern for a lack of success. As the children leave, one by one, to New York, they continue to support one another, and emerge as capable, resourceful young adults.
First, When Martha and Mrs. Peters arrive at the scene of the crime, they see that it is a very lonely place off the road. The house is in a hollow, with lone-some looking trees around it(1).Mr. Hale thinks that having a phone to communicate with rest of the world in such place will reduce loneliness although Mr. Wright does not want communication(2). Minnie lives a miserable life in this place. Martha cannot believe that this is what Minnie foster has turned into. She describes her rocker, and says: “ that rocker don’t look in the least like Minnie foster. The Minnie foster of twenty years before”(3). The rocker is a very old rocker with a faded color and few parts of it are missing. Also, Mrs. Hale thinks it is a torture for Minnie to wrestle with the stove year after year because that stove is in a very poor condition(8). These are some few examples that show how miserable Minnie is in such a lonely place.
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
In the beginning, all she tries to do is switch the family’s vacation spot to a spot she wanted to go, in order to see some of her friends. The next day, she takes the cat with them in the car, even though Bailey doesn’t like to take the cat with them on vacation, just because the grandmother didn’t want to leave the cat alone for three days. Then, in the car, she convinced the children to yell and scream to go visit a random plantation house by lying about hidden treasures because the grandmother just wanted to see the house and the arbors once again. Finally, after all her family had been killed by the Misfit, and she was the only one left, she was still trying to have the Misfit spare her by saying things such as, “you ought not to shoot a lady,” and how she would “give him all the money she had (365).” These examples show the extent of the grandmother’s selfishness, and her dedication to saving and helping herself before even her only son’s family. The Misfit can’t be blamed for the death of her family, as she single-handedly killed her family. She was the one who brought the cat, and she let the cat go, which made the car crash. She was the one who even convinced the kids to convince their father to go visit a house that none of them even knew existed. Finally, she was the one who blurted out the Misfit’s name once she recognized him, instead of keeping her mouth