ipl-logo

Inherently Evil People In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

735 Words3 Pages

People, for the most part, are inherently good. It is life that makes them evil, people are affected by events, influences, and circumstances. For the most part, there is an explanation for every “evil” person 's behavior. I will focus on the impact that conditions have on people, as well as the cases of inherently evil people. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a perfect example of inherently good people making poor choices and hurting others because of the things that have impacted them. From the start of the book, readers learn about the neglect and behavior of the alcoholic father, Rex. Some of his behavior is explained when the family stays with Rex’s mother, Erma, in his hometown of Welch. You quickly learn how cold Erma is, and how creepy she is. When the parents …show more content…

But there are people out there who are inherently evil. A perfect example of this is Andy Evans from the book Speak. Andy rapes Melinda, and as seen in the following quote, has mistreated other girls at school as well. This quote is a thought by Melinda after she sees what the other girls have written on the bathrooms tall about what Andy has done to them. “There are more. Different pens, different handwriting…” (Anderson 186) There are many different girls who have written how awful Andy is and how he has mistreated them as well. This shows that what Andy did to Melinda wasn’t in any way a mistake or an accident, it was just something he does to girls. While there may be an explanation for his evil behavior, something that impacted him and made him this way, this quote clearly shows that he has a pattern of evil behavior and it 's just who he is. That is why I stated in my thesis statement that people are for the most part inherently good. Influences, events, and other people leave an impact and can affect people negatively. But it is also true, that in some cases, people truly are inherently

Show More
Related
767 Words | 4 Pages

• After realizing that her parents are never going to change, Jeannette decides to stand up to them • Rex whips Jeannette with a belt and she decides that she and her siblings won’t live in a toxic household with Rex and Rose Mary for much longer • They start an escape fund together, aiming to go to New York • Rose Mary starts crying because she’s stuck with Rex • Rex takes all of the money that they’ve saved for New York and spends it on alcohol • Lori babysits for the summer to make up the two hundred dollars and moves to New York • Rex tries to convince Jeannette to stay by working on the Glass Castle • Jeannette leaves for New York a year after Lori • Brian moves to New York shortly after Jeannette Three years later • Jeannette is attending

Read More
380 Words | 2 Pages

In the inspiring 2005 poignant memoir The Glass Castle, written by Jeannette Walls, establishes a mind changing perspective through a tough loving family of four. Jeannette is the second oldest of the 4 children born to Rex Walls, an alcoholic, and Rose Mary Walls, a painter and artist. The book uses the symbol of a Mountain Goat to develop a theme of growing up by overcoming obstacles. Not only that it also displays an endearment that implies a special relationship between Jeannette and her father that the other children could not share with him.

Read More
694 Words | 3 Pages

The JFK Profile in Courage Award was created by the Kennedy family in 1989 to honor President John F. Kennedy and recognize the quality of political courage which he admired the most. The award recognizes a public official who demonstrates the qualities mentioned by President Kennedy in his, Profiles in Courage. In order to win this award one must be a living person who are or were elected officials, must stand strong in their beliefs that are for the good of the country, risk their career, and risk getting re-elected. Many people like Daniel Webster, Thomas Hart Benton, Sam Houston, and every other character named in JFK’s book portrayed the acts of political courage which is to have the courage to stand up for what they believe is right no matter the consequences. However, when asked if Jeannette Walls could or could not be a candidate for this award the three requisites must be taken into consideration.

Read More
2224 Words | 9 Pages

The Glass Castle is a memoir from 2005 by Jeannette Walls. In my opinion, the author emotionally described in her book her childhood, in which she suffered from hunger, misery and even homelessness. Through the fault of their own parents, who stubbornly refused to stabilize and provide good living conditions for their children, Jeannette Walls went through a Gehenna in school and the environment in which she grew up. Only thanks to her own determination she achieved professional success and happiness in her personal life. The title refers to the long-held intention of her father to build his dream house, a "glass castle".

Read More
776 Words | 4 Pages

“One benefit of summer was that each day we had more light to read by.” The Glass Castle is a spectacular forthcoming book, it is a true eye opener by showing people a look into the life of Jeannette Walls. She didn’t have it easy at all, she reveals growing up poverty-stricken living in harsh conditions, her family could barely afford food and sometimes went days without eating or drinking anything. However Jeannette Walls’s father was an alcoholic who couldn’t hold down a decent job and her mother well, she was nonchalant and free-spirited who seemed to not care of what happened to her children. The memoir allows readers to be able to step into someone else’s shoes and see what it was like to be in the same situations the author went through

Read More
843 Words | 4 Pages

Whether working with a co-worker, learning with a classmate or hanging out with a friend, the thought of any of them having the potential to be evil does not cross the mind. Everyday people are not typically evil beings, but if people are not evil beings then why do they commit actions like torture, killing and genocide? Could it be that the certain people committing the acts are just monsters deep inside, or could the actions be mere products of circumstance? In his article "The Genocidal Killer in the Mirror", Crispin Sartwell, a journalist and philosopher, advises his audience to take a look at the heinous acts people have committed throughout history as a way to show us how anyone could commit evil acts, including ourselves. Marianne Szegedy-Maszak,

Read More
710 Words | 3 Pages

The Glass Castle is about four children and their mom and dad, who struggle to get by. They go from day to day with little food and barely a roof over their heads. In this book, it shows how children overcome little guidance and abusive parents while growing up. Jaennette introduces us to her father in the beginning of the book, Rex Walls. He is a father who can't provide for his family because he can't keep a job and focuses more on himself than his children or wife.

Read More
732 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
1023 Words | 5 Pages

Evil comes in various shapes and sizes. While good is found all over, it is also masked by the evil that overpowers it. Controlled through physical, and verbal manipulation, people are easily tricked into thinking that what is right, is wrong and what is wrong, is right. Whether they are committed to being good, there will always be a moment where evil will darken the bright side of a person 's soul. In the novel The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt, the author portrays the good and evil side of human nature through the main characters to show how susceptible it is to manipulate a person’s mindset to be good or evil.

Read More
555 Words | 3 Pages

Human nature is naturally good but influence compels us to commit deeds we never would have considered. For example, Eve picking the forbidden fruit . Now as I’m sure many know this story. It could be argued that Eve knowingly opened Pandora's box and exiled humans to be less than perfect. But in truth Eve shows humanity was innocent from the very beginning.

Read More
1254 Words | 6 Pages

Because people have good and bad qualities, they also have the ability to act on either quality depending on the situation. Seemingly good people can be “seduced” (Zimbardo, 2007, p.211) into acting against their nature. Under the right situational stress, people can act cruelly even if their personality is not

Read More
702 Words | 3 Pages

Are people solely good or evil? Some others would reply yes, but Graham Greene the author of The Destructors would respond differently. He believes people aren 't just good or evil. The author reveals his belief through his characterization of Trevor and Blackie, along with his use of irony.

Read More
1834 Words | 8 Pages

In the novel, Andy is angry about what Melinda said and decides to vent his anger. Andy sins, showing anger by almost raping Melinda. Andy says, "A freak. I can’t believe anyone listened to you" (Anderson 194). Andy is angry about Melinda telling the truth and speaking out.

Read More
1238 Words | 5 Pages

Firstly, man is born evil because society shows him to be evil. An example of this is how parents must raise their child to be good. A parent never has to raise their child to do bad things. A young child might draw on the wall and believe that it is art, however the parent will stop the child and tell them that drawing on the wall is a bad thing to do.

Read More
638 Words | 3 Pages

Evil is a simple word that we learn at a young age and that we understand is bad. However, our youth and innocence prevents us from knowing the weight the word holds. As our understanding of evil develops, we begin to see evil all around us. Although we hold common societal definitions of evil, each person is bound to view evil slightly different from others. Someone might consider alcoholism evil, while others consider it normal: someone might believe racism is evil, while others believe it is natural.

Read More

More about Inherently Evil People In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

Related Topics

Open Document