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Child Abuse In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

1231 Words5 Pages

Although loved ones mean well, they do not always know what is best. Many people believe in the idea that parents always know what is best for their children because they've had similar life experiences when they were younger and have gathered wisdom. Adults set an example for their kids, but that example does not always teach good behavior. In The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, she grows up in a poor household where she experiences several forms of abuse, often at the hands of her parents. While not everyone goes through the extreme events that Jeannette deals with, several people struggle with issues in their family. Although loved ones mean well, they do not always know what is best.
Jeannette's family is constantly on the move. The …show more content…

She loves and cares for them and knows in her heart they feel the same way too. She is very obedient as well. At the beginning, when Jeanette is in the hospital because of her burns, her father decides it's best for her to leave. He says "You just trust your old man,"(14) and she does. She doesn't question his choices because she trusts that her parents know what is right and will protect her. As a teenager, Jeannette becomes more aware of her parent's actions being abnormal. When she is trying to stick to a strict budget while her mother is away and her father asks for money to buy cigars and alcohol, she states "He knew I had a soft spot for him the way no one else in the family did, and he was taking advantage of it"(209). This reveals that she's upset with her father and recognizes that he is manipulative. Ultimately, this shows Jeannette's development and now seeing that her parents do not have the same regard for her …show more content…

After her father hits her, Jeannette decides she must get away. She recalls thinking "...I was going to get out of Welch. The sooner, the better" (221). This, of course, shows her bitterness towards the actions of her parents and the fact that she's been forced to grow up in a town that she can't be happy in. She ends up saving money with her siblings and quickly growing that fund as she is persistent on leaving Welch with her sister. It is the abuse she experiences from them that causes her to push away and feel resentment. This all shows that she now understands that what has been happening to her isn't right or normal and that her parents do not know what is

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Anthony Brant once said “ Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.” In the novel, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, the Walls family is non-reliable. They do not have much money and the parents Rose Mary and Rex Walls are very irresponsible. Rose Mary and Rex Walls are the parents of Jeannette , Lori, Brian, and Maureen. The siblings Jeanette, Lori, and Brian hold the family together, but if they did not their family would split apart.

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As Jeannette matures her connection with her parents, particularly her father begins to diminish. Jeannette didn’t grasp that the way her parents raised them or viewed the world wasn’t normal and as she got older she recognized how selfish her parents were. Jeannette was constantly close with her father, and always showed compassion for him, but when they relocated to Welch it appeared as if her father had changed. Jeannette eventually obtained work and began to save up money so she and her siblings could survive, but her father didn’t approve and eventually sabotaged that plan. Eventually, Rex went to Jeannette and requested money from her, he did promise to pay her back.

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She loved the adventures they brought and how fun they made every trip. Jeannette was a very mature and responsible child. At the age of 3 she was cooking hot dogs on the stove by herself. She always helped her mom cook, or even cook by herself. She had to take care of herself most of the time, her parents always wanted the best of their kids but they never had enough money.

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It was getting harder. ”(169) Jeannette’s trust and love in her father is getting very small, because of the way he abuses alcohol and lets her down. When Jeanette tells us that she believes she is a fool for believing in Rex, it shows a change in her town to be unbelieving and critical. Throughout The Glass Castle, Jeanette’s tone of Rex Walls goes from very trusting to very disbelieving.

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He knew I had a soft spot for him the way no one else in the family did, and he was taking advantage of it” (209). Although getting played by her father, Jeannette learns a valuable lesson about managing money and how to be strong. We see in the end of the book that almost

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(116). Although she is just a child, she was able to gather the insight that her father has an alcohol issue and it is affecting her family in negative ways. By realising how harmful it is for him to drink, this demonstrates that she gains the courage to act by asking him to stop. Thus, through her new found insight and ability to act upon it, Jeannette is able to forge her path in her journey towards

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The Glass Castle Parenting Paradigms The Glass Castle by Jeanette walls is a fascinating story of the author’s childhood and how she portrays her experiences. These hardships are brought on by her permissive parents and their laid back demeanor towards life. What I would call their “nontraditional” (Cherry, the four styles of parenting) way causes many troubles in the children’s life due to lack of parental guidance that should be the foundation of a stable childhood. The first and possibly foremost important example is how eager to play along with the children’s shenanigans Jeanette’s parents are.

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They think they can bend the rules and do what they think is necessary. Jeannette is exposed to these understandings, making her the person she grew up to be. Jeanette demonstrates how she struggles with her family throughout numerous portions of the novel: “The Desert,” “Welch,” New York.” These struggles developed and defined who she came to be.

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Throughout the novel, Jeanette clarifies various occurrences of herself and her kin, fending for themselves, since her

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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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Her parents tried to teach her to do the right thing, but it was hard when they continued to show her that doing wrong was okay. Her Father loves his children dearly and wants nothing more than to love them unconditionally like they deserve. He has become an alcoholic and his wife just wasn’t ready to be a mother. He has to force her into loving her family, which leads to him drinking even more. Her father was proud of Jeannette when she came home beat up simply because Jeannette lied and said she’d hurt the other girls worse.

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Ever since she was a little girl her whole family struggled with having a steady place to live. This was all from her parents though because Rex and Rose liked being on the run. Rex was a very smart person but had very bad habits and Rose was very bright and artistic but also had bad habits. Jeannette had plans on going to New York with her older sister Lori but their dad ruined it by smashing open the piggy bank with all of the money they had saved. After that they only saved up enough money for either Lori or Jeannette.

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Jeannette is okay with not being okay. Her outlook on life is that she doesn’t really know how to respond to what just happened to her. This show that Jeannette doesn’t really care what happens and that she doesn’t think positive about her life right now. In the middle of the book Jeannette realizes that she want her parents to act like parents.

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You're the one who needs help. Your values are all confused” (Walls ). While Jeannette is trying to help her mother and bring her back into her life, she's unwilling to receive the help. Instead, she would rather stay in a hopeless world planted her mind and rejects her daughter. “Geneva remained in Fanny Culver's bedroom without saying a word about the fact that

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Jeanette’s childhood was shameful due to her parents careless way of living. Throughout The Glass Castle Jeannette hides her childhood just like she from her mother because she is ashamed of what people might think. Jeannette Walls lived a tough childhood because of her parents. They were always moving around trying to find a place to build a glass castle. They never gave any of their children a set home while they were growing up.

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