Preview

Essay On The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
713 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls
In Jeannette Walls’ memoir “The Glass Castle” many of her family members and other people in the book display certain characteristics that make her story unique and intriguing. Often such characteristics can cause problems for the characters and sometimes their own downfall. In particular, Jeannette’s father displays irresponsibility that affects not only him, but the other people in the story as well. This ultimately ends up causing his downfall and his children losing faith in him.

Rex Walls was deeply described in this book, but the overall lingering point showed the reader that he was an irresponsible drunk. At many times during Jeannette’s childhood, he came home sloppy drunk and caused all sorts of problems for his family. For example,
…show more content…
But during her childhood, her father always promised to build her a big glass house or “The Glass Castle”. Once the family had moved to Welch Jeannette and her brother Brian began to dig a foundation for the Glass Castle. However, due to the lack of income and her father's drinking problem the family could not even afford the trash removal fee for their town. Therefore, all the families trash was beginning to pile up on their property. So, Rex decided to fill the foundation his kids had eagerly dug, expecting a “Glass Castle” to be built on it, with his family's garbage. Again letting his children down and destroying the fatherly image they once had of him.

All in all, Jeannette’s story shows how the irresponsibility of a person can lead to problems for the people around them. Rex Walls is certainly an example of irresponsibility and how it caused his wife and children to view him as a different person and loose all the faith they had in their husband and father. As well as how his abuse of alcohol affected his family and the things they could afford when lots of their cash went to buying alcohol. Certainly, Jeannette’s childhood would have been significantly different if her father would have been more responsible and not abused

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Glass Castle Essay

    • 1316 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The memoir entitled The Glass Castle, written by Jeannette Walls is a story of the eventful life Jeannette endured growing up with her three siblings and her parents. Jeannette lived a tough life, she was constantly moving, never had nice clothes to wear, and had to grow up faster than most children. The reason for the constant struggles in Jeannette’s life led back to her parents. Her father Rex Walls was outrageous, always making spur of the moment decisions which had taken a toll on the family as a whole. He was a severe alcoholic who made way too many promises he knew he couldn’t keep. Throughout the novel, the idea of the “Glass Castle” appears quite often. The Glass Castle is the house that Rex promised his kids he was going to build for them in the desert. He house was meant to be unlike any other, having glass walls, a glass staircase, and other technological advancements. The house is what kept Jeannette hoping that her life could turn around, that her father would finally give his children a stable life. Secretly Rex knew the Glass Castle would never be built, but he hoped that his children would still believe him, and keep giving him the reassurance he needed. To Jeannette the Glass Castle represents broken promises and to Rex is represents hope.…

    • 1316 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Glass Castle is for dad to act like he cares about something that will never mean anything to him. After the hole for the Glass Castle had been dug up, dad told the kids “…to dump it in the hole” and at the blink of an eye “the hole for the Glass Castle’s foundation slowly filled with garbage” (155). The family no longer has enough money to get rid of the garbage. Dad’s solution is to fill the foundation for the Glass Castle. If the Glass Castle truly meant something to dad, more consideration would have been put into what he did as an end result. Dad does not truly care about the Glass Castle at all. The only thing dad wants is for the rest of the family to think he cares, but he doesn’t truly care at all. The only thing he has done is created a façade to hide himself behind. Without what seems like a silly façade, everyone’s life would be completely and utterly different.…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What makes his broken promise even worse is that he assaults Rosemary, the mom, in a violent fit of anger involving damages to the interior house and various shouting that terrifies the kids. This causes Jeannette to not only be disappointed by Rex, but to also not trust anymore of his promises, including the Glass Castle that he has yet to build or even start. Similarly, Jeannette would also grow to expect failure and lying from Rex that would eventually become true for Rosemary as well. After never bringing up the mere name of the Glass Castle in their entirety of living in Phoenix, papa Walls suggests that Jeannette and Brian build a hole for the foundation of the glass castle while living in Welch, an idea that the two gladly bring to reality. Despite their hardwork and devotion to the dream, the hole for the foundation is used as a garbage pit by the family to the anguish of Brian and Jeannette. Therefore, Jeannette no longer has faith in Rex, losing her belief in their dream of the glass castle. Similarly, Jeannette also grows even more distrusting of Rex, finally giving up in trying to believe his false…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The book, Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, is an unbelievable memoir about a dysfunctional family. The author, Jeannette Walls, is also the main character in the book. Jeannette and each of her unique and interesting family members differ from any other character in a book you can imagine. Jeannette’s father teaches and inspires her each and everyday with new and interesting things. But when Jeannette’s father was not helping them embrace life, he was drinking alcohol, leaving his children with no one to take care of them. “In my mind, Dad was perfect, although he did have what Mom called a bit of a drinking situation.” (page 23). This quote describes how much Jeannette cares for her father, but sometimes his drinking problem got in the way. Jeannette’s mother was a very nice, sweet, and caring woman, but the whole idea of responsibility and being a parent wasn’t her cup of tea. Jeannette and her brother and sister are left to take care of themselves. Throughout the story Jeannette and her family persevere greatly, and prove to each other how…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what” - Harper Lee. The memoir, “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls, depicts the versatility and hardship of a deeply dysfunctional and unique family. Growing up with her brilliant yet alcoholic father and free spirited mother, Jeannette had no real option except to learn at a young age to fend for herself and kin, through poverty and misery. However, in spite of the difficulties, Walls managed to display a quality of courage, as John F. Kennedy mentioned in “Profiles In Courage”, “ A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures..” . Furthermore Walls was able to…

    • 216 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    People are often unprotected when they face a financial dilemma. Some people choose to deal with their dilemma rather than working to solve the dilemma. In Jeannettes Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle, Jeannette is unprotected because of her parents, environment, situations, and the conflicts that she is involved in. She is never safe; her life is full of dangers. She is unable to protect herself.…

    • 1203 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From his drinking problem, he was making very bad choices in life like stealing his daughter’s money from a piggy bank, which they named OZ, they have been saving for quite some time. He would wait till his wife, Rosemary, got paid for teaching, and take the money to go out and drink. Rex was so bad while drinking, he would not think or care if his family had food on the table or a roof over their head. His drinking would result in him loosing many good paying jobs. Many times when Rex was drinking heavily he would become very aggressive towards his family, especially his wife Rose Mary. As Rex’s drunkenness worsens his daughter Jeannette is losing hope in her father and even asks her mother to leave him in hope for a better…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The title of the book and a major theme within it, the Glass Castle represents Rex's hope for a magical, fantastic life in which he can provide for his family and please his children. Rex lays out plans for the Glass Castle, including detailed dimensions for each of the children's rooms, but he never actually builds the castle. For a long time Jeannette believes that he will but she gives up on the hope after the hole they dig for the foundation of the Glass Castle is filled with garbage. Though the physical structure is not erected, the symbol the Glass Castle represents remains with Jeannette in her childhood and helps her to believe that her father will do what he promises. When she discovers that this is not always true and realizes that…

    • 146 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Glass Castle, a memoir written by Jeannette Walls is an eye-opening look at the world of poverty that touches so many lives within in the United States. There are many reasons for poverty wheather they be out of consequence or one is simply born into it there are many reason for its occurance. The story of Jeannette Walls is not only inspiring but motivating as her climb from the depths poverty allow her to become the successful journalist and novelist she is today. Throughout her life there have been many struggles including her own father, Rex Walls, the finicial instability their family faces together, and the bullies Jeannette must face alone. She clearly outlines her own growth with her father throughout the novel and proves that with…

    • 1140 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Walls family did not exactly live what you would call an ideal life, but to their family it was as good as it could get. In the book The Glass Castle, the author Jeannette Walls explains her life story. Jeannette, being the main character in the book, lives with her family who is always moving to different cities whether it be Arizona, California, or even West Virginia. Being a kid at the time, Jeannette does not quite understand how irresponsible her parents are, but by the time she is an adult she understands how badly her parents have screwed up. Jeanette decides to leave her family and build a new and improved life for herself. Throughout the book, Jeanette Walls changes from an adventurous girl to a responsible woman.…

    • 783 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Traveling as a family should be one of the safest and most worry free times you experience as a child. You bestow all your trust upon your parents without even realizing it and you expect to be in good hands. You expect your family to keep you away from bad situations and keep you out of harm’s way. This is quite typical for most families, but for Jeannette she experiences things much different. In The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, the moving and traveling that her family partakes in on pages 48-50 reveals how irresponsible the parents are when it comes to their children and also how accustomed the children have become to a life full of bad situations.…

    • 1261 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One can say, for instance, that it is unfair to retroactively judge the Walls' based on today's standards for neglect, that there were neither laws established nor detailed studies that then existed to document its effects. This is highlighted in the memoir by the government’s lax response to the possibility of child neglect. The lack of persistence by child protective services—only once showing up at the Walls residence and leaving without conversing with any adults—can be seen as a testament to the infancy of anti-abuse measures in the United States. Nonetheless, there is a stark difference between an occasional lack of supervision and neglect. The Glass Castle is a stark rebuttal to an overabundance of safety precautions in society, and Rose’s approach to life can be summarized as follows: “Why spend the afternoon making a meal that will be gone in an hour…when in the same amount of time, I can do a painting that will last forever?" (56). This declaration evokes images of Jeannette scavenging for food at school, with Brian’s well-being and hunger at the forefront of her worries. The parents fail to lend themselves effectively to ameliorating the majority of tribulations that arise in their household…

    • 1898 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The Glass Castle” by Jeanette Walls is an extremely intriguing novel that really kept my attention throughout the whole story. The Walls family is definitely one that is unlike any I’ve ever come across, and the lessons that the children learned were ones that helped shaped their lives and made them who they are today. Jeanette obviously learned so much from her experience that she wrote a whole book about it, managing to hold the reader’s attention through all 281 pages. Jeanette Walls goes through many descriptions of situations that she faced that people normally should not face. For most of her childhood, she was traveling from place to place because her parents always thought that they would hit it big and never finding a steady job.…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Glass Castle

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “I was your cure. You were my disease. I was saving you, but you were killing me” (Unknown). In the novel The Glass castle written by written by Jeannette Walls, the middle child, the caretaker of the family, and also her father’s favorite. She brings him hope, joy and is the only one who really believes in him. Without her, Rex might just be an alcoholic more than he is now. Jeanette starts growing up realizing what is bad and what is good which helps her make better decisions in life. Over the course of the novel Jeannette gradually begins to distance herself farther and farther away from her beloved father.…

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Alcoholism, although thought mostly of its impact on the alcoholic themselves, it is also a very present problem in the ruining of his or her friends and their families lives. Someone who may be a fully functional, great person to his or her family may be extremely dangerous, dishonest, and destructive while they are under the influence of alcohol. This instance occurs in "The Glass Castle" with Rex Walls and also occurs regularly in our society today, such as abusive parents, and husbands. Without alcohol Rex was intelligent, responsible, honest, and a overall respectable father figure, but when under the influence he would bring his entire family down mentally and physically. Alcoholism's effects can indirectly abuse a family because of the immense change in behavior and discombobulate the family's daily life in many ways. When Rex promises Jeanette that he will quit drinking entirely for her birthday, Jeannette believes him. Sooner than later this promise is broken and Jeanette is mentally wounded from the let down she endured by Rex. "I couldn't believe he had gone back to the booze"(Walls 23), Jeanette says after being disgusted with her father's dishonest false claim of a complete withdrawal of any alcoholic beverage. Alcoholism will not only bring down yourself but will also bring your entire family on the rollercoaster of pain and suffering.…

    • 1581 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays