Throughout the whole novel, Jeannette says that he is drinking. When he drinks, he gets very crazy, on Christmas, he got intoxicated and lit the Christmas tree on fire and all the presents under it. Also, when Jeannette asked Rex to quit drinking as her 10th birthday gift, he did but literally
In the novel The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Rex Walls is a very special type of character and he changes throughout the book and just becomes almost like a different person. Rex goes from this person that cares about his family and his kids and would do anything for them to this person that doesn't want to do anything to do with family and him just going to the bar and drinking his life away. 1 In the beginning of the book Rex is a protective person towards his family and especially Jennette. Rex may not be be the brightest person when it comes to his actions or coming up with ideas but he takes care of his family, he was always getting jobs so his family could eat and have a roof over their heads,”Dad would get a job as an electrician or
The Glass Castle: Controversial Topics. The Glass Castle is a 2005 book by Jeannette Walls. The memoir explains the author’s life, growing up with her family most especially with her parents who could be described as nomads and deadbeats. Notwithstanding the difficult upbringing, her siblings and she had, Jeannette perseveres and becomes a successful Journalist living in New York City.
Glass Castle: The “glass castle” symbolizes Rex’s; Jeanette’s father’s hope and dreams. Before Lori was born; Rex and Rose had a baby girl whom unfortunately died at nine months. This caused a spiral downfall in Rex’s life making him become bitterer, gloomy, dark, and an increasing consumption of alcohol. But even though that situation occurred he still held on to that dream of building the glass castle. One of the biggest current problem he faces in his life is alcoholism.
Mom screamed. “He’s trying to kill me!” (71). In accordance to the NIAAA article, alcoholism causes Rex to behave along the lines of the disinhibition hypothesis, which states that when people are influenced by alcohol, it creates aggressive outbursts and a lack of restraint on impulsivity. Jeanette clearly shows how alcohol caused Rex to make impulsive, aggressive decisions and harm the family.
The Glass Castle is a memoir by Jeanette Walls in which she tells the story of her childhood and the way she became who she is. Her way to her balanced present was too difficult and full of hardships, yet she managed to become a successful and prosperous person whose life experience gave her a push to make her life happy. It stands to mention that the novel is full of symbols which contribute to reader 's understanding of Jeanette 's character and represent her most important traits and desires. Besides, all the symbols such as the fire, the Joshua tree, the geode and the glass castle are recurring and contribute to understanding the struggle of Jeanette 's childhood and her ability to overcome it and build a successful life. Fire is an
The abuse is given to the children derived from Rex’s alcoholism. Losing jobs, wasting money every night on beer and hard liquor, and prioritizing alcohol over his family’s safety, never without an excuse or lie up his sleeve to make up for his absences. Alcohol ruined special moments with the family. On page 114, the children hid bottles of alcohol away from Rex for the prevention of harm. On page 115, Rex “stocked up” on beer and hard liquor.
Though the glass castle never became a reality, the idea of glass castle bonds the family close together. In addition to the glass castle, another symbol in the book is the mountain goat. Mountain goat is a nickname Rex Walls gave to his favorite daughter Jeannette. There are numerous times in the novel when Rex calls Jeannette mountain goat. “What’s up, Mountain Goat” (Walls 36), “That’s enough, Mountain Goat” (Walls 92), or “ Me and you, Mountain Goat” (Walls 107).
This kind of life leads to less closeness and more conflict within a family. The confusion of a life with a drinking problem makes it harder to be a good parent” (PTSD.gov). Rex used alcohol as a mechanism to cope with the feelings that he didn’t want to show. With drinking so much, it made him become angry. Nobody looked at it differently when he would get
“Look at us. C'mon look at us! See? A couple of bums!” Joe exclaims to Kirstin regarding the harsh reality they are in.
The American Addiction Center's six characteristics that identify an alcoholic are extremely helpful in Rex's diagnosis. He doesn't possess all six, but the ones that he does possess put his family into constant danger when he is around. Alcoholism in The Glass Castle causes a great divide between Rex and his family and between danger and safety. Rex's daily drinking leads him to be considered a dangerous, alcoholic
Max Lerner an American Journalist stated “the turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt.” Throughout The Glass Castle a memoir by Jeannette Walls, Jeannette and her siblings, Lori, Brian and Maureen are faced with an unpleasant upbringing that they are put through by their parents Rex and Rose Mary Walls. Due to the terrible living conditions and bad parenting they had to endure for many years, they had to teach themselves and each other to be strong and survive on the very little food and necessities that they were given. Throughout the memoir, it is seen that Jeannette has a special connection with her father unlike any of the other siblings, but despite Jeannette believing in him Rex struggles to raise her and the kids in the normal life that they deserve due to his battle with mental illness. Bipolar disorder “is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks” (National).
During the 20th century, American break with its traditions. Drinking was prohibited but people was not obeying laws as the drunker knew from where they can get their drinks. The cities were governed by the criminal parties and police force was helpless. Jazz took the place of the classical music, Count Basie and Louis Armstrong were the idols of the youngsters. The young women shorten their hair and skirts against the conventional standards.
Once he finished the prospector and we struck it rich, he’d start work on our glass castle” (25). Walls’ innocence and optimism for the creation of the Glass Castle is indicated through her belief that Rex really is on the verge of finding gold and building the Glass Castle. In reality, he was out drinking all day, spending money that could have been used to feed Walls and her siblings. She still thinks that her father will follow through on his promises, and in doing so bring her happiness. She is unaware of his deception, which is becoming increasingly damaging to his family, as they have trouble affording food.
Many people get used to drink alcohol , and they can easily abuse; that is the problem. Alcoholism is the abuse of alcohol by people who are unable to control their drinking behavior over an extended period of time. Alcoholics are not simply people who drink alcohol; instead, their entire lives revolve around it. At first, everyone who starts drinking alcoholic beverages, thinks that its something normal, and that it's okay to do it, but what they really don't know yet, is that this particular habit has a way of turning itself into one of the worst addictions in the world.
