ipl-logo

The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls Analysis

1352 Words6 Pages

The Glass Castle
Jeannette Walls
New York

Abstract
Jeannette Walls was a daughter of a father that was an alcoholic, and parents that did not want to work for what they had. They were always jumping around from home to home, and the siblings were tired of it. At a young age, Jeannette had to learn ow to fend for herself by making food, washing her clothes, etc. It was hard for Jeannette growing up, but as soon as Jeannette and Lori get a chance to move they take it. Jeannette then moves to New York City with Lori where she acquires a reporting job. Their parents follow them to New York, but the children will not help them. The story ends in divorce, and their father falling into deep alcoholism.

It is mentally …show more content…

Jeanette must fend for herself even as a three-year-old, and is standing on a stool trying to reach her hotdog that is boiling on the stove. She says, “I felt a blaze of heat on my right side. I turned to see where it was coming from and realized my dress was on fire” (p9). At three years, old humans are not able to yet sense fully what is dangerous or not. While Jeannette is reaching for the hot dog her dress catches on fire, and this leaves her burned badly. Jeannette is then admitted into the hospital where her dad comes and picks her up a few days later, and he takes her without paying the hospital bill.
The Wall’s family the moves to Phoenix. At first everything is looking up for them. Mom 's has a pretty big house for the kids, and they are now eligible to be placed in school. Dad is also in a good position in his job as an electrician. The alcohol takes over him just as things are going good, and yet again he falls on his back. Jeannette begs her father for her tenth birthday to give up the alcohol. Her father does very well for a few weeks, but when the Wall’s family car breaks down in the desert, he begins to heavily drink yet …show more content…

Many times drug and alcohol abusers will blame their problems and addictions on friends and close family members. They normally say that “the reason I do drugs, and or alcohol is because of you”. They try to deflect the blame from themselves because they do not believe that they have a problem. Even though in all reality they have a big problem. If anything is mentioned about the abuser getting help they will deflect it by saying that they are fine, and they can stop using these products on their own when they want. It is also hard for abusers to trust the people that are trying to help them because they feel attacked in a way. At this point the abuser feels like the whole world is against him or

Show More
Related
141 Words | 1 Pages

In The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls is forced to take care of herself from a very young age. Her parents are mentally unstable, and her dad regularly turns to alcohol. She is forced to move when any problems arise, which is often--from Battle Mountain to Phoenix to the small town of Welch, Virginia. Despite all of this, Jeannette has a memorable childhood, riding around on bikes, petting cheetahs, and declaring ownership of stars. Throughout her whole life, she is consistently the only one that believes in her reckless father.

Read More
250 Words | 1 Pages

As a result of this parenting style “We’re going to Phoenix” Walls 89. They didn’t punish Jeannette for shooting Billy they just blew it off and moved to a different state. In the book The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls, the narrator displays her parent's parenting skills as

Read More
1290 Words | 6 Pages

Kai Sebastian English 10H Mrs. Denchfield 8/27/15 10H Summer Assignment: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls 1.“‘We could live like this forever,’ I said. ‘I think we’re going to,’ she said.” (Walls 18) This is near the beginning of the books between the two siblings of the narrator (Jeannette Walls) and her older sister (Lori Walls) as they are lying underneath the stars on a clear night in the desert. The reason for these exchange of words was the fact they were on one of their dad’s

Read More
567 Words | 3 Pages

Here, Walls and her father see differently. Walls told her father about this situation so that he could address it, but instead he made up an excuse for what really happened when he was not in the room with his daughter and his acquaintance. Personally, the Walls’ parents are too worried about themselves. Instead of making money to support their kids, the parents spend money on other things like art supplies for the mom, and alcohol for the dad. Like shown in the evidence above, Walls’ parents don’t show much care or worry for specifically Jeannette, but also the other kids.

Read More
1613 Words | 7 Pages

To begin, the lack of financial stability in the Walls family has always been problematic, however as the mother of her children, Rose Mary never contributed much to the family income due to her stubbornness and free-spirited nature. A prime example of Rose Mary not providing for her family is a constant lack of food in the house. The children’s hunger is apparent when Jeannette says, “We did eat less. Once we lost our credit at the commissary, we quickly ran out of food. Sometimes Dad’s odd jobs would come through, or he’d win some money gambling, and we’d eat for a few days.

Read More
759 Words | 4 Pages

The expectations are that the races will remain separate. Despite it Jeannette becomes friends with Danita, a black girl, which causes troubles with her grandma Erma and her uncle Stanley. Jeannette stands up for her opinion that races are not different from each other which upsets her grandmother. Moving from west to east coast bring more changes like harsh winter months. It impacts the Walls’ family happiness.

Read More
675 Words | 3 Pages

In The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, it tells about how the Walls family move to different desert towns, settling in for as long as their father, Rex, can hold a job. However, his perspective of the state and society, and his alcoholism led them to move frequently. The children - Lori, Jeannette, Brian, and little Maureen- experiences unusual childhood, where they travel like nomads to find new money source. This lead to the theme, sometimes you can be mature and responsible at a very young age. The theme is developed by how Jeannette learns how to take care of herself and her younger siblings, and the way her parent taught her.

Read More
1956 Words | 8 Pages

Parental Influence Parents are the biggest influence upon their children. From the time a child is born to the time they leave the household, the values that the parents hold are instilled into their children. Parents are required to make crucial decisions about how to raise their children in order to guide them through the inevitable obstacles and hardships of life. In The Glass Castle, many would argue the lack of care and responsibility the Walls had for their children. The author, Jeannette Walls, uses Rex and Mary Walls to demonstrate that their strong traits of non-conformity, self-sufficiency and perseverance are passed on to their children, allowing them to develop to their full potential.

Read More
1852 Words | 8 Pages

To illustrate, Walls begins painting her memoir by describing what was likely her first experience of neglect. After moving from place to place for years, when Walls family finally settles down in Welch, West Virginia she is forced to reconsider her circumstances. As Walls ages she realizes that she is not living a healthy, stable life style, but instead the lifestyle of a child subjective to physical and mental neglect. (“Jeannette Walls

Read More
1211 Words | 5 Pages

As a child, Jeannette Walls moves around constantly with her family. The Walls family would move to different desert towns and settle as long as Mr. Walls can hold a job. When sober, Mr. Walls represents a charismatic father who loves his children and teaches them important life skills. He encourages imagination inside of the Walls kids and often captures their dream and creativity. Together, the family had planned to build a glass castle that contains all of the family’s hope and inspiration.

Read More
539 Words | 3 Pages

That’s the only way to keep the roads clear.” Which was said by Greg Kincaid. This point is very emphasized in the book in most of its plot points from the burning of Jeannette’s body from the hot dog accident to finally running away to New York from her irresponsible parents. The first scene where human resilience is demonstrated is when Jeannette is cooking hot dogs and lights herself on fire.

Read More
1273 Words | 6 Pages

However, he spirals into alcoholism; recklessly spending money on liquor rather than on provisions that would help sustain his family. His compulsive spending on alcohol is, unfortunately, a major factor keeping the Walls family in a continuous cycle of impoverishment. As a result, Jeannette Walls is forced into a life of responsibility; having to be the one who looks after her siblings, as well as being the one to regulate what little money the Walls family had; this eventually drives her to head to New

Read More
258 Words | 2 Pages

The walls parents consider themselves to be their kids’ friend rather than a concerned parent. “’ Good for you, Mom said when she saw me cooking. You’ve got to get right back on the saddle”’ (15)… Friends tend to encourage you to do stupid things but in this situation Jeannette’s mother is the one encouraging her to do something not so bright. Rex and Rosemary do not expect their kids to become any greater than they are.

Read More
1812 Words | 8 Pages

In Walls’s Glass Castle, her father’s drinking problems and her mother’s selfish nature caused Jeannette to live a poor, unstable life that led her to start a new

Read More
611 Words | 3 Pages

Jeanette’s childhood was shameful due to her parents careless way of living. Throughout The Glass Castle Jeannette hides her childhood just like she from her mother because she is ashamed of what people might think. Jeannette Walls lived a tough childhood because of her parents. They were always moving around trying to find a place to build a glass castle. They never gave any of their children a set home while they were growing up.

Read More

More about The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document