Summary Of The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

The poverty rates are growing by the year as many families struggle to afford sufficient housing, this ultimately impacts the quality of life for their kids. In the novel The Glass Castle written by Jeannette Walls, it shows the life of Jeannette as a child growing up in a house with a constant cycle of poverty, and homelessness. To push past her families issues, Jeannette thrived in her schoolwork and became a writer for her school newspaper. As she grew older and worked harder, Jeannette moved to New York with her siblings to pursue her career in newswriting. Soon after, both of her parents followed and were homeless for many years. Her father had been diagnosed with tuberculosis and eventually passed away from a heart attack. Jeannette grew apart from her mother after her father’s death. Although Jeannette grew up in a very bad environment, she lived a very successful life because of her hard-working personality and her dreams.

This is supported by the following quotes, "I never wanted to be away from the excitement and energy of my parents, but I also knew I didn't want to be like them. I wanted to be better. I wanted to be better-educated, I wanted a better job, and I wanted to make a better life for myself. And I knew that the only way to do those things was to work hard" (Walls 74) and, "I was determined to get out of Welch and to build a better life for myself. I didn't know how I was going to do it, but I knew I had to try" (Walls 99). In these quotes it shows that her work ethic was a leading reason for her successful life. Jeannette's constant hard work and determination were essential in her living a successful