Symbols In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

We all have things from our childhood we remember. Maybe it’s a teddy bear from mom, or when dad brought home a computer, or a treehouse built with a sibling. We recollect these objects because they have a significant role in our lives, something about them changed us. Jeannette comes across many things during her childhood travels, they cause an immense number of problems but in the end they change her and her family for the better. Jeannette Walls’ story The Glass Castle, is filled with symbols that gradually release her and her siblings from the grasp of their negligent parents and the harrowing abyss that is their life. Jeannette’s recollection of symbolic objects from her childhood correlate with the slow loss of faith in her parents and

At a young age for them it is just whatever mom and dad say, goes. The first time that really changes is when the Walls’ move to Phoenix. The kids take a hearing and eyesight test at their new school, Jeannette and Brian pass but Lori is sent home with a note saying she needs glasses. Her mother refuses because to her glasses “Prevented people with feeble eyes from seeing the world on their own” (96). Lori although seemingly frustrated listens to her mother. The school, however, says Lori must have glasses to attend and Rose Mary obliges when they tell her that they will pay for them. Lori’s glasses are the first big change we witness in the story. Lori becomes her own person, far less reliant on her siblings and most definitely less dependent on her parents. She is seeing things her way without assistance or suggestion, she has the ability to perceive literally and emotionally on her own. Even when her mother insists glasses ruin her personal perspective and creativity “Lori loved seeing the world clearly” (97). She saw the world how it was for everyone else and saw more beauty than ever before. She even tried to share that experience with her mother who rejected the reality of glasses and their benefit. Her new “vision” is very important to the children’s future, and her decision to be an artist once she gets her glasses plays a huge role in the a choice she makes later in the

After many disturbing events the family gets their own home and the kids decide to begin work on the glass castle. In Welch Brian loses faith in the family when he and Jeannette dig a foundation for the Glass Castle. Their father tells them it is their new trash pit because their parents can’t even get enough money together for the trash collection fee. They are too busy spending it frivolously on art supplies, gambling, and booze. Their father tells them “It’s a temporary measure” but Brian doesn't buy it (155). Jeannette doesn’t lose all hope just yet but her parents actions put a damper on her usually supportive attitude. Brian didn’t help Jeannette with house projects anymore. He avoided doing things for his parents or for the house and saw it as unnecessary. His perspective had been broadened to see how poorly Rose Mary and Rex were doing, he refused to take part in trivial tasks especially just to appease the family aesthetic. He knew their was no hope in a better life. The garbage was the final seal on the door to the Glass Castle, after this the kids knew for certain it would not