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Children in poverty, poverty and the effects on children
How does poverty affect children
Children in poverty, poverty and the effects on children
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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.
Taylor Grayson English Honors Period 1 Peller Task # 1: The Glass Castle Throughout their lives , every member of the Walls family experienced hardships. Though Jeannette and her three other siblings endured abuse both physically and mentally throughout their childhood, the peculiar ways in which both her mentally unstable parents showed their love and guidance ultimately helped to form these children and shape them into the individuals they are today. While Rex Walls, Jeannette’s alcoholic yet genius father, promised that he would one day create a house for the family made out of glass, his skills in mathematics and science unfortunately were not enough to battle his issues with alcohol and his inability to provide for his family.
What defines a good parent? What defines a bad one? To what point do these terms become subjective? The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls Illustrates the impact that parents have on their children and how nomadic life does as well. The Glass Castle follows Jeanette's experience with nomadism and tells how it shaped who she is and how the members of her family molded her into who she is today.
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines childhood as “The early period in the development of something.” For some children their childhood is idyllic and some of the best, most carefree years of their life. Unfortunately, one cannot control their childhood. Many children who grow up with parents that are in and out of jail, alcoholics and or drug addicts, grow up to be just like them.
Jeannette Walls, successful social figure and journalist, is on her way to a fancy New York City party. Looking out the window of a taxi, she watches a homeless woman dig through trash cans. She realizes sadly that It's her mother. Jeannette realizes this could be her and she tells us the story of how she got to where she is, sitting in a luxury car, while her mother Rose Mary is literally in the gutter.
The author of The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls describes mom and dad fighting. “Once we were on the road, Dad and Mom got in a big fight over how many months she's been pregnant.” (Walls 26) This scene where Dad tries to run over Mom. The glass castle, memoir by Jeannette Walls, is about Jeannette’s childhood living with her dad who is an alcohol addict, mom and siblings.
Parents have a profound influence on shaping their children’s personalities through their attitudes and actions. This is because children spend a substantial portion of their formative years under their parent’s care and guidance. During this period, they observe and interact with their parents, internalizing various behaviors, beliefs, and values that mold their character. This concept is clearly illustrated in the memoir The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls. This memoir depicts the author’s unconventional upbringing with their parents, Rex and Rosemary.
Separation is a serious force for most people. Many believe that it always causes loneliness and depression in people. However, this is not always true, because there may be times when people can learn to cope with separation in various situations. These situations range from a mother leaving her kids in daycare and going through a divorce, to moving to a new place and learning to settle in. Regardless of the circumstances, people should always learn how to cope with separation and survive independently.
Everyone has different beliefs when it comes to raising children and what parenting methods lead to the best outcomes. The Glass Castle (1989), a memoir written by a well-known novelist and best-selling author of historical fiction, explores the topic of parenting. The author, Jeannette Walls, writes about her unconventional upbringing in the American West and West Virginia during the 1960’s and 1970’s. The memoir details the Walls family’s frequent moving to avoid bill collectors and their time in casinos, bars, and brothels. Along with the innappropriate places they visit throughout the memoir, the parents continuously showcase their questionable sense of responsibility.
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.
The glass castle has many themes throughout the book but I think one theme that is very prominent is: the perseverance to never give up. I say this because Jeannette goes through various things throughout her life. She faces hardships at a young age and yet still has the vigor to go on. Being caught on fire at three years old, being beat up at a new school by girls twice her size, having to eat margarine because that was literally the only thing to eat in the house, watching your parents put knives to each other's throats, or being locked in a basement for stopping her grandma from violating her brother, Jeannette never once looked at her life as sad or tragic.
Contrasting Materialism Effects Society revolves around numerous values, and one that makes a significant change in a person is their standpoint on materialism. the way they embrace materialism. In the nonfiction memoir, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls follows the story of the Walls family who lived a nomadic lifestyle across America from the 1960’s through the 1980’s. On the contrary, the realistic fiction novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts members of the upper class in New York in the 1920’s. There is a drastic difference between the lives of Rex and Rose Mary Walls, who are the parents in the Walls family that chose to live a nomadic lifestyle, and the lives of the rich in New York.
For example, in the novel, The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls and her family lived in poverty their whole lives; even then, Jeannette and her siblings had a hard time with their parents since they were not really there for them. Consequently, Jeannette had a desire that was big enough to get her to become a better person although her life was a disaster, so she set her father’s dream of building a glass castle with him in order to become a successful person far away from home. The effects of this are that once her parents saw she was a successful person despite living in the harshest situations with them while running away from the government at all times, they wanted their daughter to care for them although they had never provided for her or her siblings; as a result, she had denied her parents from ever being with her and ever showing up where she would be due to their differences. To conclude, Jeannette became a successful person in New York while her parents lived the life as they always
In the memoir, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Jeannette manages to overcome her obstacles by realizing her independence. She is impacted by her parents’ incapabilities because she realizes that she has to do things differently than other children. Her father was a stubborn alcoholic who believed that: “[they] were all getting too soft, too dependent on creature comforts, and that [they] were losing touch with the natural order of the world”(Walls 106). He believes that every human should be independent and fend for themselves. By using the term “creature comforts”, her father is trying to separate himself from what he calls the civilians.
Obstacles have two meanings. First one is like a series of objects that stop you from accomplishing your goals. Second one is pretty much mental or physical problems that will also stop you from your goals. Obstacles matter because they don’t just stop you or obligate you to make mistakes; they teach you as well. Obstacles can be used as something good because they teach you lessons.
