Idealism Vs. Reality In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

Jeannette Walls depicted an epoch of misfortune and adversity in her memoir, The Glass Castle. Jeannette and her 3 other siblings were all in a constant struggle to survive. Rex and Mary, the parents of Jeannette and her 3 siblings, were often in a constant dichotomy between submitting to self-interest and supporting the family. Having misfit parents, Jeannette and her 3 siblings were often independent and left to fend for themselves and for the family as a whole. In The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls evolved the theme of ideal versus reality throughout her memoir though her countless anecdotes of her father and his unattainable plans to find gold and to build a home, named The Glass Castle, for his family and her mother’s dream to become a professional and well redound artist. Jeannette’s father, Rex Walls was a strong willed and very educated individual. He often fought for his morals and that often resulted in Rex loosing every job he acquired quickly. This resulted in the constant fluctuation in the family’s economic

Mary was an unorthodox mother who was often swaying back and forth between the temptation to pursue her selfish endeavor of becoming an artist and her duty as a mother to assume responsibility and support her family. This constant feud resulted in the entire family losing faith in her and becoming distraught. Jeannette’s mother was one of the key factors that contributed in the plan for her and her older sister, Lori to move to New York and start a fresh life there. It was with the realization that the only method in which they can prosper and live a good life was to leave their parents and start a life anew. Jeannette and Lori realized that they must think logically and think about progressing in life although this plan may not comply with the ideal plan of living together as an amalgamated