The Glass Castle Dialogue

On page 155 of Jeanette Walls’ memoir, Glass Castle, Walls describes how after the family settles down in Welch, she and her brother Brian decide to make the best of the situation they are in. Ninety-three Little Hobart Street is a “dinky thing perched high up off the road on a hillside...painted white a long time ago, but...turned a dismal gray” (Walls 150). Jeanette and Brian scavenge a shovel and a pickaxe. Then, the two build the foundation for the the Glass Castle of their dreams behind the dingy home. After a month, their father orders the children to fill the foundation with garbage. because the family cannot afford the garbage collection fee. While Jeanette’s father assures her that this is a temporary measure, “the Glass Castle’s foundation slowly

Wells also employs dialogue in the scene. When building the foundation, Jeanette mentions her father’s words, “”No point in building a good house unless you put down the right foundation” (Walls 155). This use of dialogue shows how Jeanette admires her father, as she acts upon words he said. The dialogue also conveys a hopeful message. It shows Jeanette believes she and her father share the same dream. In later dialogue, Jeanette tells her father that the hole she and Brian built is for the Glass Castle, not garbage. Jeanette’s father responds by saying that the situation is temporary. Yet, the foundation disappears and becomes a garbage dump. Walls uses the dialogue to prove that young Jeanette’s faith in her father is continuously tested as her father fails her. The dialogue and mood provides the reader with insight into Jeanette’s feelings of disappointment and loss. This moment of loss helps the reader understand how dire and disappointing Jeanette’s circumstances are. From this understanding, Walls fully develops the idea that her perseverance stemmed from continual