In the stories The Glass Castle and To Kill a Mockingbird, both of the families experience poverty. Both families experienced poverty in different ways, the Walls experienced poverty, The Finch’s lived through it. The Walls family was always moving around because they could not pay their bills on time. Rex, The Father in The Glass Castle, could not keep a job. Rosemary, The Mother in The Glass Castle, was an artist and eventually got a teaching job, but one parent can not carry a whole family. Now the Finch family were considered a wealthy family at the time they were living in. The family lived through the time of the Great Depression. Atticus was a lawyer during the Great Depression, so his family had more money than a lot of other families. Other families that lived in Maycomb County …show more content…
When he would come home, he had bought them cowboy hats and fringed vests, and they ate chicken-fried steaks in restaurants with ice-cold air-conditioning and a miniature juicebox at each table. To the Walls family this was lavishly lived, they had never had this before. Although that didn't last for long, a couple days later Rosemary and Rex went to the blackjack table. After they almost immediately went looking for the kids, Rex tells them “One of the dealers had figured out he had a system and had put a word out on him.” They had to get as far away from Las Vegas as possible, Rex said “The mafia owned one of the casinos, and was after him.” They had started their journey to another home, they headed west, through the deserts then the mountains. Finally they made it to San Diego and had found a hotel to stay in, one night Janette woke up, the air was hot and stifling. After the hotel had burnt down, they lived on the beach for a few days. Now in To Kill a Mockingbird, they had never experienced anything of that sort. The Finch children were very shielded compared to the Walls
Jeanette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle and Marshall Bruce Mathers’ “Mockingbird” both contextually illustrate the undying love and compassion between a father figure and his offspring. In the memoir The Glass Castle, Jeannette anxiously believes that there is a monster under her bed. This results in her father, Rex Walls, taking her with him to try and find the monster under her bed so that they could face such a frightening beast together. They then check all over the house and end up going outside and Rex is bravely yelling and calling out this monster and Jeannette ends up joining him too. Eventually, after a lengthy period of time yelling at the monster, they ultimately decide that the monster is just a figment of Jeanette’s imagination. By calling out the monsters name, it is blandly obvious that Rex wanted to show Jeannette how to face her fears and confront them. Rex and Jeanette sit down and Rex explains to her “That [is] the thing to remember about all the monsters, Dad said: They love to frighten people, but the minute you stare them down, they turn tail and run. All you have to do, Mountain Goat, is show old Demon that you’re not afraid” (Walls 36). This quotation emphasizes the fact that the monsters that Jeanette perceives and the fear that she experiences, while lying in bed, is only a delusion created in the confines of her mind. In doing this, Rex Walls demonstrates the characteristics of an excellent father by demonstrating the compassion and love that he has for his child. Rex establishes this notion by teaching her life lessons, such as facing her fears, which prove to be helpful later on in the novel, as they assist Jeanette when she is in an anxiety provoking situations. The persona of a great father figure ...
During the two moves, The Glass Menagerie and A Raisin in the Sun some of the characters are strange and diverse, but the similarities and difference of their views, values, and problems, could be universal. It is universal since people all over the world have the same issues, thoughts, and reactions. Even in my life, finances, success, and family are of utmost concern. The characters in The Glass Menagerie are Amanda, Laura, Tom, and Jim. And the characters in A Raisin in the Sun are Mama, Ruth, Benitha, and Walter Lee. The characters I enjoyed the most is Amanda and Tom and Mama and Walter Lee. I would examine the mothers and the sons of each move.
In this touching, non-fiction memoir by Jeanette Walls, The Glass Castle recounts the story of her vagabond upbringing in the 1960‘s. Walls notes her parents lack of conformity while also showing their unconditional love, in rather unconventional ways. While touching the bases of alcoholism, poverty and child neglect, the author still maintains the point of a passionate determination to preserve the alliance with her siblings through it all.
In the excerpts from the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and the memoir, A Part of the Sky by Robert Peck, Walter Cunningham and Robert Peck come from similar backgrounds, and exhibit similar characteristics. Not only are their situations unusually alike, both living in poverty due to the great depression, but they also handle the situation in somewhat like ways.
In the novels Night and To Kill A Mockingbird there is a similar theme of the struggle between good and evil. This is shown through the persecution of innocent people because of their race. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Tom Robinson was killed after being convicted of a terrible crime that he did not commit. Bob Ewell accused Tom Robinson of raping his daughter to bring him to court, however Bob Ewell simply wanted another black man that he hated to die. The jury unanimously and easily decided for Tom to be put to death, not because they believed the Ewell’s, but because Tom was a man of colour which to them meant he was less than human and deserved to die. Atticus explained the jury to his children by stating, “ In our courts, when it's a white
In his own very special way, Rex Walls loved his children because he taught them to be independent, and self sufficient. He taught them life lessons that he believed could come in handy in the future. At times it seemed he loved the numbness that alcohol provided him more than his kids. He was never a role model for his children; he had the worst habits and lifestyle any adult can have. On more than one occasion Rex Walls abused the love and trust Jeannette had for him. A good portrayal of this is when the check for lease on Rose Mary’s Texas land came in the mail and Rex tricked Jeannette in trusting him with the money and said “Let’s hide it together”. To Rex everything was a big adventure, he did not care that that money was to provide for his children; his only concern was getting money to spend on alcohol and winning money from games of billiards. Even with all of his undesirable traits, his children loved him and they looked up to him when they were little. On one occasion, he said to Jeannette, "But you always loved your old man, didn 't you?" "I did, Dad," I said. "And you always loved me". Jeannette and Rex Walls shared a very special father and daughter relationship. Out of all his kids Jeannette was always the one who trusted him and
In the memoir The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, the author's earliest memory is her injury at the age of three, and in this memory she is all but unhappy. Jeannette's childhood was full of inconveniences. The Walls family had a hard time conforming to society and shaping their future life for success. Rex and Rose Mary had different morals than others when it came to raising their children: Brain, Lori, Maureen and of course Jeannette. During her childhood, Jeannette was dealt with hardships, but showed maturity and independence throughout it.
the importance of those things. But, it can be a crucial symbol for someone’s life. That is the impact of symbolism in one’s life. In the book The Glass Castle, written by Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle has a significant importance in her life. The Glass castle represents the status of the Walls family, the hope and faith for the future, and even life in general. In the story, The Glass Castle is used as the end goal of the Walls Family’s adventure of life. Furthermore, the Glass Castle supports Walls’ purpose of the hardships in life.
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.
Fire. Neglect. Sexual Molestation. No one child should have to face what Jeannette Walls had to endure as a young child. However, Walls clearly shows this chaos and the dysfunctional issues that she had to overcome while she was growing up. Within her memoir, The Glass Castle, Walls incorporates little things that were important in her life in order to help the reader understand her story even more. These little things amount to important symbolisms and metaphors that help to give the story a deeper meaning and to truly understand Jeannette and her family’s life.
Rex was an alcoholic who, when sober, was a charming and intelligent man that educated his children through geology, physics, mathematics, and how to live life fearlessly. Later, when both the love for the nomad lifestyle faded and the money ran out, the Walls escaped to Welch, a ghastly mining town in West Virginia where Rex’s family resided, who he had done everything he could to escape from. He began drinking more, saving the grocery money and disappearing for days at a time. As their parents got more and more out of hand, Jeannette and her siblings had to fend for themselves and support one another through their parent’s deception, eventually gathering the will to leave home altogether and move to New York City. Knowing that there are other families out there just like the Walls, possibly some that are even worse, makes me think about how lucky I am and how good I am.
The aspect of character development plays a prominent role in various works of literature, and no exceptions arose within this novel. Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle, uses detailed portions of the story to prominently display her character development and vibrantly show growth. The memoir follows the life of Jeannette and the struggles she faces along her journey. Living in a blue collar family, she faces many challenges that the average person may not deal with. Though the adventurous and wild-hearted Jeannette slowly begins to face reality and must adapt to her situations. Throughout the novel she matures and develops, altering her personality and thoughts. Several occurrences in the novel affect certain aspects of her personality and change certain beliefs that she once had. Her thoughts on her parents, the reality of the family's issues, and the beliefs of her future all begin to clear up and shift as she develops as a character.
Rex Walls While growing up in life, children need their parents to teach them and lead them on the path to a successful future. In the Glass Castle Rex Walls, Jeannette’s father, neglects to take care of his duties as a father figure in Jeannette’s life. In the same way, he teaches her to be strong and independent at a very young age. As we read through the story, we see the special relationship that Jeannette shares with her father. Even though he, in many instances, failed to protect his children, refused to take responsibility for them, and even stole from them, Jeannette still loved him until his death for two reasons: one, for his ability to make her feel special, and two, because he is a never-ending source of inspiration.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams share and explore themes and techniques of imprisonment, by both mental and physical means. To explore imprisonment, both writers use characters and narration techniques to express themes of illusion and reality by characterisation, the American Dream in symbolism, and entrapment by responsibility through narration structure. While both authors express a story, Tennessee Williams uses play direction, while F. Scott Fitzgerald uses novel structure to convey the ideas of imprisonment.
Compare how the novels, 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee and 'The Colour Purple' by Alice Walker, use literary techniques to explore the idea of racial injustice and female empowerment. In today's society, despite progress in the civil rights and gender equality movements, there is still a significant amount of concern about both cases. Achieving a future free from racism and inequality requires large amounts of effort, commitment, and empathy to create social justice. This can include implementing policies and practices that promote inclusivity, and raising awareness which promotes equality for all.