Overcoming Obstacles In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

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. When he says “ the natural order of the world”, he means that the world should not be subjected

Due to their financial status, they couldn’t afford braces for her. When she brings up her overbite to her family, they try to point out the benefits of it. Walls describes this: “Lori told me I had an an exaggerated view of how bad my teeth looked. ‘They’re just a little bucked,’ she’d say. ‘They have a certain Pippi Longstockingish charm’. Mom told me my overbite gave my face character. Brian said they’d come in handy if I ever needed to eat an apple through the knothole in a fence” (Walls 200). Her family points out the benefits of her teeth as a defense mechanism, just like how they always do. Jeannette decides to take matters into her own hands by making her own braces. Her parents’ insufficiency contributed to her coming to terms with her

Although my experiences are not as drastic as hers, she inspires me to make my own decisions. As I grow, I realize more that my independence is important because I cannot rely on other people as much since everyone’s experiences are different. For example, when they were children in Guyana, my parents had to walk miles to school while I am able to take the bus to school. Although my parents and I went to school up until the same age, our experiences lead to different approaches in situations. The transition from middle school to high school was eye opening because in middle school the class would move together, whereas in high school, everyone went their own ways. In the end of 10th grade, I had to pick my own classes which was overwhelming. My parents were not able to help because they did not have to take the same classes. Similarly when I had to get my working papers, my parents weren’t able to help me because they had no experience with it. This process was new to me because I was not used to filling out official forms. Much like Jeanette’s situation, I had to do everything on my own. 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