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Individuality In The Glass Castle By Jeanette Walls

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Development is something that no scientist can classify due to the individuality of the human race. Theories are constantly being disproven by people who do not follow the so called norms of society. Author Jeanette Walls is one such individual who causes even the most brilliant of researchers to question their work. She demonstrates through her novel The Glass Castle, that neglectful parents can produce successful offspring. The author describes her personal experiences with living on the streets and provides inspiration as she becomes more confident in herself and her decisions because of it. Therefore, one comes to the realization that Jeanette’s prosperous life does not come from love and encouragement, but instead is influenced by her …show more content…

To illustrate, her family is constantly moving from one town to the next which forces Jeanette and her siblings to learn how to adapt. When her family arrives at a new town, Jeanette enrolls in new schools and lives in new neighbourhoods where everyone she meets is a stranger to her. In this way, her choices are limited, as she can decide to either welcome this new way of life or hold on to the old one. Additionally, Jeanette quickly learns the difference between fundamentals and extras as her parents leave everything behind except for what they need. “After a while, I forgot about Quixote and Tinkerbell and the friends I’d left behind in the trailer park. Dad started telling us about all the exciting things we were going to do and how we were going to get rich once we reached the new place where we were going to live” (Walls 18). Even though Jeanette must let go of the things she loves, she is always able to look at her future with excitement and optimism, thus she only needs to depend on …show more content…

For example, when Jeanette is given bags of clothes by her teachers, her mother refuses to accept them because she does not want anybody’s pity. Jeanette’s parents do not wish to be seen as a charity case so they decline any assistance that they are offered. Similarly, when Jeanette or her siblings are frightened, her parents encourage them to tough it out instead of comforting them. Most lessons that the Walls parents teach are done so in the most extreme ways that require their children to develop a thicker skin so that they learn to face their problems head on. This lesson of overcoming challenges becomes evident when Jeanette and her father are demon hunting. “That was the thing to remember about all monsters, Dad said: They love to frighten people, but the minute you stare them down, they turn tail and run” (37). In the circumstance where the choices are to fight or to take flight, Jeanette’s parents teach their children to fight. Therefore, the focus that Jeanette’s parents have on personal strength allows her to figure out how to provide for and protect

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Age doesn’t define maturity. Older people are always believed to be more mature; however, this is only because they have had more life experiences. They have faced many situations in life, but there exist young people who have been through their fair share of hardships which turned their innocent skin into strong armor. In the book,”The Glass Castle,” a young girl named Jeanette Walls is brought into this world by a selfish mother and a low-life father.

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(115-116). This sedate tone is a clear craft move by the author. She specifically makes Jeannie seem resigned and about to give up. Denials of small, everyday, opportunities like this can have a damaging impact on one’s mental health and can create an inferiority complex. For example, Jeanne starts blaming herself and her race for everything that happens to her.

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In the novel the Glass Castle Jeanette Walls learns from the mistakes of her parents that being successful in life depends of your characters and the choices you make in your life . Jeanette learns from her parents that if she doesn 't start thinking about her future at a young age , she’ll eventually be following the footsteps of her parents, and having an unpurposeful and an unrewarding lifestyle in her future. The Glass Castle suggests that in order to be successful in life you have to leave some things behinds and move on and that exactly what Jeannette Walls has done. Jeanette 's parents mistake was that they never thought about the future and always tried to enjoy the present. She chose to move away from her parents and live with her older sister and that decision she made was the main reason why she succeeded in life.

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She struggled with how the society and her family shaped who she was. She was exposed to her family first which made her behave the way she did under her family’s house. Jeanette struggled with her family by taking care of the house, beings told bending the rules is okay and the acceptance of her Mom’s and Dad’s homelessness. When Jeannette left her family and went to live in New York, she becomes an individual. She fends for herself and gets her life together.

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Quote : “ Lori, Brain and I , and even , Maureen could go pretty much anywhere and do just about anything we want “ (pg.59) Jeannette’s mother and father let her cook herself hot dogs on the stove . Quote: “Good for you, “mom said when she saw me cooking “you’ve got to get in the saddle. (pg.15) last thing Jeannette success is her hardship , Hardship tough times Jeanette and her family had a very rough time in their life , They didn’t have much money for Christmas or birthdays presents but her parents always did something to make it up the kids will find any way to get money for food but not in an unsafe way . Quote:” when we wanted money we walked along the roadside picking up beer cans and bottles that we redeemed for two cents each. They all went through a tough time but they all will grow up with a lot of goals they want to make and make their self’s happy again!!

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In this world, there’s learning things the hard way and the easy way; in Jeannette Wall’s world, there’s only learning things the hard way. The Glass Castle is an adventurous story that reveals the painfully miserable story of Jeannette Walls. A selfish mother, a careless father, and terrible social encounters- these are some of the elements of a harsh reality Rex and Rose Mary Walls failed to shield their children from. Growing up poor was already difficult, but growing up with a selfish parent, specifically an unfeeling mom, made life hell for the Walls children. The family barely had one source of income from Rex Walls, and instead of helping out with the family’s finance issues, Rose Mary spent her days at home painting.

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Jeanette wanted to escape Welch because of her unstable lifestyle, but she had fully given up on her parents. As she created her plan to escape, she said: “I had been counting on Mom and Dad to get us out, but I now knew I had to do it on my own” (Walls 221). She had finally realized that she could not rely on

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The walls parents consider themselves to be their kids’ friend rather than a concerned parent. “’ Good for you, Mom said when she saw me cooking. You’ve got to get right back on the saddle”’ (15)… Friends tend to encourage you to do stupid things but in this situation Jeannette’s mother is the one encouraging her to do something not so bright. Rex and Rosemary do not expect their kids to become any greater than they are.

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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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