The Glass Castle Jeannette's Success

The Success of a Child

The Glass Castle is a thrilling novel chock full of adventure, crisis, and experiences. A family moves around the country, with their highly intelligent father, who turns into a dangerous brute when he is drunk, a dysfunctional mother and three kids who must rely on one and other to survive. Watch as the children, particularly Jeannette, leave their chaotic life behind and build successful lives in New York. Unable to detach themselves from their children, the parents eventually follow them to New York. The success that Jeannette achieved was mostly due to her childhood, because her childhood taught her how to be determined, gave her strength, and made her fearless. These attributes were key to Jeannette’s success,

She faces many dangers, from school bullies to rapists. While these experiences are negative, they helped her develop a sense of what's wrong, and what's right. They also helped her develop mental and physical strength. For example: “The bullying continued every day for weeks. The tall girl, whose name was Dinitia Hewitt, watched me with her smile while we all waited on the asphalt playground for classes to start... I walked outside trying to hold my head high, and Dinitia and her gang surrounded me and it began.” (Walls 140) This quote shows the constant torment that Jeannette always faced. This kind of bullying happened on more than one occasion. Another occurrence of this is on page forty-five when the Mexican girls jump her. As these struggles continued, she became stronger and stronger, until she eventually became strong enough to leave Welch and her family behind. This resiliency she developed also helped Jeannette in New York. “Once, as I was getting on the train, some guy tried to grab my purse, but I jerked it back and the strap broke. He fell empty handed to the platform floor, and as the train pulled out.” (Walls 248) This quote shows how Jeannette uses strength gathered throughout her childhood to not only take back her purse, but also stand up to a criminal, and not worry if he had a weapon or not. Strength played a huge role in Jeannette’s success, but it was not the largest reason for her success. That title goes to her