Summary Of The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

The story of Jeannette Walls begins one cold March evening when she comes across a homeless woman, which is then revealed to be her mother. It is there that her troubled past comes into light in, “The Glass Castle”. But through her disastrous childhood and dysfunctional family, she manages to turn it around and by education, expectation, and most of all environment, Jeannette grew from her experiences and came out successful and stronger than ever. Young jeannette never doubted her father’s stories and ambitions , staying faithful to him, though as she becomes older and more mature she begins to questions his true purposes and honesty. “That required a lot of undercover research, and the best place to gather information was at the bars the

Often dreaming of being in Phoenix with her grandma, she admits, “I even liked all of her rules. I liked how she woke us up every morning at dawn, shouting, “Rise and shine, everybody!” and insisted we wash our hands and comb our hair before eating breakfast” (91). Children growing up in more traditional families might find Grandma Smith’s actions to be pestering and bothersome or not think much of it. Jeannette on the other hand, enjoys and craves these tiny acts of motherly attention, revealing how different their life must be from a common family and Rosemary’s neglect of being a mom. Rex and Rosemary’s inability to keep a job also take a toll on her and her siblings. “‘How many places have we lived?’ I asked Lori. ‘That depends on what you mean by ‘lived,’’ she said. ‘If you spend one night in some town, did you live there? What about two nights? Or a whole week?’ [...] We counted eleven places we had lived, then we lost track” (29). Due to her parents, they live a life constantly on the road, leaving things behind like “school records and birth certificates” (136). What Lori says only shows how unstable their environment is, sometimes only spending a night in the town. It is clear that their lifestyle influences Jeannette’s emotional health, longing for a typical