Child Abuse And Neglect In Jeannette Walls 'The Glass Castle'

Child abuse and neglect leads to many long term effects that can haunt victims for the rest of their lives. In Jeannette Walls The Glass Castle, she retells the ups and downs of her untraditional childhood that exposed her to the sad reality of child abuse that too many kids face. The Walls sibling’s adult life represents the different ways child maltreatment can affect people. Like many others, Brian learned from his parents mistakes and joined the police force to protect others because he was never protected. On the contrary, Maureen inherited all of her parents bad qualities. Even in her teenage years in the city, she developed drug use and criminal behavior because she was neglected by her parents her entire life, forcing her to become

Opposite to Brian, Maureen possessed many of her parent’s traits; growing up, drinking, smoking, and violence were all regular occurrences in the Walls’ house making it seem normal to Maureen to act these ways. Many kids’ rational to becoming violent or abusive themselves is the fact that if their parents did it, so they automatically believe it is okay for them as well. “Several studies have documented the correlation between child abuse and future juvenile delinquency. Children who have experienced abuse are nine times more likely to become involved in criminal activities” (Child Welfare Information Gateway). Maureen’s involvement in criminal activity, like irrational violence, came from the abuse and neglect she faced from her parents growing up. Even as she moved to the city, Maureen was still neglected by her siblings because of their busy lives. Being alone in the city brought out the worst in her which caused “Maureen [to stab] Mom” since it was all she knew. The incident “happened after Mom decided it was time for Maureen to a little self-sufficiency” (Walls 275) Throughout the novel, Walls always talked about the three siblings leaving out any mention of Maureen. Rex and Rosemary both neglected Maureen starting at a very young age which caused her to

Brian entering the police force helped him compensate with the protection he lacked as a child. His need to be the complete opposite of his parents came from him not wanting anybody else to feel how he felt. Neglected Maureen always looked for help from friends and neighbors which short circuited her ability to be independent. Her lack of independence caused her to retain only the bad attributes of her parents ultimately leading her to stab her mother. Differently, Jeanette’s loving yet abusive relationship with her father lead to attachment issues and difficulties finding a spouse. The Walls children are living representation of the various long term effects of child abuse and