Jeannette Walls is a magician. Maybe not in the literal sense of the word, but it is magical how Jeannette can spin a story of a horrific upbringing into an inspiring novel. In The Glass Castle, the reader experiences the hell Jeannette called reality. In this hell, Jeannette and her siblings are forced to grow up far too quickly in order to survive. Because of the Walls's atrocious lifestyle, the children exposed were exposed to explicit sexual situations and inhumane conditions.
Rex and Rose Mary introduce their children to many dangerous sexual situations. First, a man said he wanted to take Jeannette upstairs, Rex said, "Just don't so anything I wouldn't do" (Walls 212). At this time, Jeannette is a thirteen year old girl. Rex brought
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In On Dumpster Diving, when discussing how he looked for food Eighner says, “I have no special knowledge and I have been wrong before” (148). He admits to making mistakes when it comes to this lifestyle; he knows it is not foolproof and freely admits it. Unlike Eighner, Rose Mary and Rex cannot admit this. In the book, they never admit that their lifestyle is unhealthy and that there are a lot of uncertainties. Next, Rose Mary neglected her children. “It [suffering] immunized your body and your soul, and that was why she ignored us kids when we cried. ‘Fussing over children who cry only encourages them’, she told us. ‘That’s positive reinforcement for a negative behavior’” (Walls 28). Children, especially infants, cry as a means of communication. Babies cannot form words; therefore, they cannot simply ask for anything. Ignoring a child who cannot efficiently communicate through spoken language is a form of neglect. Meanwhile, Rex and Rose Mary did not provide basic necessities, like a safe home, to their children. “’We may not have insulation,’ Mom said as we all gathered around the stove, ‘but we have each other’” (Walls 176). As nice as a family is, not freezing to death is greater. With their faces and fingers turning blue, The Walls gathered around an old-fashioned stove. While the stove barely kept them thawed, it destroyed their ceiling. In the long run, making their home situation even