Flight The Glass Castle Character Analysis

Shame and guilt can go hand in hand, as seen in; Flight, The Glass Castle, and The Joy Luck Club. As the three novels progress, many of the characters suffer with inner shame and guilt. While the characters suffer with these things, it somehow seems to shape and change them. Through the characters hardships and struggles, the theme of shame and guilt emerges. In Flight, Zits, the narrator, greatly struggles with shame and guilt. Beginning with the shame he feels from his looks and his identity. “Call me Zits. Everybody calls me Zits. That's not my real name, of course. My real name isn't important” (Flight 1). Zits’ feels so much shame, that he will not go by his actual name. He hates his appearance because of his acne, and ultimately

During Jeannette Walls’ years growing up, she often faces guilt and shame. Jeannette’s family has always been poor and struggled to get by. Jeannette’s parents rarely had enough money to provide food for Jeannette and her siblings, Jeannette had only a few articles of clothing, and her family did not have a stable home, and when they did, they lived in a home with no electricity or heat. Because of her lifestyle, she often felt shame and embarrassment, especially when she was bullied by others. Moreover, Jeannette feels the most guilt and shame as an adult. Once she moves to New York and reinvents herself, she tries to forget her old life. No one knows who Jeannette truly is and what her life was like before. Firstly, she feels shame from her parents lifestyle and does not want her acquaintances to find out about the way her parents live. “It had been months since I laid eyes on Mom, and when she looked up, I was overcome with panic that she'd see me and call out my name, and that someone on the way to the part would spot us together and Mom would introduce herself and my secret would be out” (The Glass Castle 3). Even though she feels shame because of her parents, she also feels guilty because how ashamed she is of her parents. She felt guilt for hiding her parents from the people in her life, and she felt like she was living a lie. Also, she feels guilty because her parents are homeless and living on

Guilt begins with Suyuan Woo, who had to abandon her two daughters in Kweilin, China, before coming to America. “And that's why you can understand why a mother like this could never forget her own daughters. She knew they were alive and before she died she wanted to find her daughters in China”(The Joy Luck Club 39). Suyuan always had her daughters in the back of her mind, and could never let go of the guilt she had over them. The most prominent example of shame and guilt occurs between the mothers and daughters. There daughters were always ashamed of and resented their mothers, especially while they were young. The daughters felt this way because of the way their mothers raised them. The mothers were very hard on their daughters, and pushed them towards successful, sometimes causing their daughter to feel overwhelmed. The mothers wanted their daughters to keep their Chinese heritage and culture, but also take advantage of the opportunities they have in America. The daughters were often ashamed of their Chinese heritage, and the way that their mothers acted. Lindo Jong, the mother of Waverly, says, “But inside I am becoming ashamed. I am ashamed that she is ashamed. Because she is my daughter and I am proud of her, and I am her mother and she is not proud of me”(The Joy Luck Club 255). The shame the daughters feel causes the mothers to feel shame. However, the shame the daughters felt because of