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An Analysis Of Mary Walls Unconventional Parenting Style In The Glass Castle

871 Words4 Pages

How would you like it if you were always moving around from home to home and your parents didn’t take very good care of you? In the Glass Castle, Rex and Rose Mary Walls’ unconventional parenting style greatly affects how Jeannette and her siblings are brought up in the world. As the Walls family packs up and moves from place to place, subtle changes begin to take place in the tone of the book. While living out west, the Walls family is still living in poverty, but her parent’s personalities are more light-hearted. When the six of them pack up and make their final move as a whole family, the severity of their situation begins to take a negative toll on everyone. Living in poverty proves difficult for every member of the Walls family, and the …show more content…

Even though it is hard for them to make ends meet, they remain optimistic and somehow always find a way to work through their problems. Their parents’ unrealistic optimism, especially Rex’s, is what keeps the children hopeful for so long. From early on in her life, Jeannette is Rex’s favorite because he manages to keep her optimistic the longest out of anybody. “You are brave and ready for adventure, right?” (17) are Rex’s words to 3-year-old Jeannette, as they are about to move once again. When life throws them curveballs, they pack up what little they have, and start someplace new. Aside from being burned by the fire, some of Jeannette’s first memories are being loaded up in the car and driving to a new home, out west. Her dad was always sure that after they moved again, they would start building the glass castle and all of their problems would be gone. Even if Jeannette was given empty promises as a child, she remembers having hope, because “Dad started telling us about all the exciting things we were going to do and how we were going to get rich once we reached the new place we were going to live” (18). This quote reveals that while the Walls family lived out west, their parents (mostly her dad) somehow had the assurance that one day their lives would be …show more content…

After the family’s spontaneous move to Welch, their family dynamics and home life are altered forever. Because they are dirt poor, food is scarce and proper plumbing does not exist. As time goes on in Welch, Rex and Rose Mary Walls appear to lack their thirst for adventure and nonconformity. Rex spends his time gambling and drinking at bars, while Rose Mary sleeps the days away and comes up with every excuse to not go to work. As the tone continues to darken, life in Welch cannot continue on with Lori and Jeannette. 9 months into Lori’s plans to move to New York, Rex breaks into the savings fund and the book reaches its darkest tone. “I’ll never get out of here,” Lori kept saying. “I’ll never get out of here” (229). This quote reveals the sudden effect that the setting has on the tone; Lori feels so passionate about getting out of Welch because she knows that once a person moves to Welch, they almost never get

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He conveys that Jeanette can become triumphant over anything she puts her mind to; as long as she is confident, she can overcome any obstacle in life. In a similar way, when the Walls go to the Hot Pot to swim, although her siblings know how, Jeanette does not know how to swim. In an attempt to teach her, Rex heaves her into the middle by herself, only saving her when she starts to sink. He continues to throw her out into the water repeatedly, saying, “you can’t cling to the side your whole life; one lesson every parent needs to teach a child is ‘if you don’t want to sink, you better figure out how to swim’” (66). Using another metaphor for a life lesson, Rex ensures that Jeanette understands that no one will do everything for her in life, and if she does not learn how to take care of herself, she will never survive in the world by herself.

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