Preview

Poverty In The Glass Castle

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1028 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Poverty In The Glass Castle
Poverty modifies the rhythm of life and language (De Boeck 147). This is shown in Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle as we follow the impoverished Walls family through their life on the road. Poverty can impact several areas in a person’s life, such as learning disabilities, physical health, mental health, and personal safety. All of which can seriously affect a young child’s development into adulthood. The children of this novel go through some rather disturbing things that most people if effected by them would cause them to freak out, but these children are so used to this destitute state that the repercussions of living this way has little to no effect on them.
Research shows there is a direct correlation between learning disabilities and poverty. Poverty more often than not causes a person’s IQ to suffer or drop severely below the average and to delay a person’s ability to comprehend and develop
…show more content…
There is always something out there that can hurt them. Families that live in poverty contain high levels of domestic violence (Hamzelou 42). Some neighborhoods can be so bad that even the police cannot protect them and the citizens have to take matters in their own hands. The Sans Fil Neighborhood is so bad that even though the local police are stationed nearby, they have to create their own security team (De Boeck 151). In The Glass Castle the family had to face some serious safety issues, all of which were mainly at fault of the parents but the kids make the best of it. When Jeannette was almost raped by a stranger who just walked into her room they went “Pervert Hunting.” They did almost the exact same thing when there was a snake living in their trailer except they called it “Demon Hunting.” The house in West Virginia was falling apart while they were living inside it and yet the children did what they could to make the place feel like home. They knew how to make the best of every awful thing that came their

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 Symbolism

    • 1144 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Big, smooth, shiny, luxurious, polished. Comfortable, serene, extravagant - the glass castle. In the memoir, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, the image of the glass Castle was Jeannette’s symbol of trust in her dad that he would stop drinking and strike it rich to get them out of poverty, so that the family could live a better life. Jeannette’s father was an alcoholic and her mom was unmotivated. The family moved around frequently while living on their dad’s low paying series of odd jobs. While still believing in the glass castle and her father, Jeannette grapples with the struggles of a lower social class, such as hunger and bullying from other kids and her parents, which implements the mentality of shooting for bigger dreams despite…

    • 1144 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Glass Castle Analysis

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages

    normal life. In The Glass Castle, they slowly get fed up with their parents, and face many…

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book, The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls portrays her life searching for steady ground in a world of chaos, created by her alcoholic father and irresponsible mother. Lori, Jeannette’s oldest sister blazes the trail for her siblings escape from their whirlwind childhood into a stable adult life. Lori voices her feelings and emotions through sarcastic comments as well as providing emphasis or relief to the situations.…

    • 344 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The memoir “Glass Castle” covers a variety of serious concerns that affect any modern society. One of these concerns is child abuse. Child abuse is defined as any deliberate action taking against a child by an adult. These actions may be be physical violence, emotional or verbal abuse, refusal to meet a child's basic needs and even sexual molestation. There is much debate as to what exactly could turn someone, particularly a parent, to cause harm to child. However, a general consensus is that a few basic factors can increase the risk. Among these are mental health issues, substance abuse, lack of support and socioeconomic stress. Of all of these, socioeconomic stress is the most prominent cause of child abuse. This stress is often seen in a…

    • 1110 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The children in this book at times seem wise beyond their years. They are exposed to difficult issues that force them to grow up very quickly. Almost all of the struggles that the children face stem from the root problem of intense poverty. In Mott Haven, the typical family yearly income is about $10,000, "trying to sustain" is how the mothers generally express their situation. Kozol reports "All are very poor; statistics tell us that they are the poorest children in New York." (Kozol 4). The symptoms of the kind of poverty described are apparent in elevated crime rates, the absence of health care and the lack of funding for education.…

    • 2149 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Glass Castle Summary

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Even though, the authors all portray lives in poverty they explain it in unique ways. Jeannette Walls describes her life in poverty; however, she also teaches life lessons throughout her memoir. For instance, when the Walls family moves to Welch, West Virginia the brick buildings are crowding in close on both sides of the street. Welch is shabby and worn out with a film of black coal dust covering store signs, sidewalks, and cars (Walls 134). Regardless the fact that the town is dirty and needs some improvements, the family is just happy to have somewhere to live end enjoy life together. On the contrary, Mark R. Rank also depicts lifestyles in poverty, yet he clarifies the causes and effects of poverty. To illustrate, he informs that events like losing jobs, having work hours cut back, experiencing a family split, or developing a serious medical problem all have the potential to throw households into poverty (Rank 2 of 3). In spite of the fact Mark R. Rank describes poverty stricken families, he does it in a contradictory way than Jeannette Walls. Furthermore, Jade Walker’s purpose of writing this report is to describe the deprived people’s living conditions, but also to encourage ways to improve homelessness. In particular, she says remedies for child homelessness should include: an expansion of affordable housing, education and employment opportunities for homeless parents, and…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good 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

    No two childhoods are exactly alike. Some children are lucky to be born into wealthy families, while other families struggle to make ends meet. In the memoir, The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls she described the events in her childhood which lead her to become independent at a very young age, made an effort to make the most of the education offered to her, and learned to appreciate what she had. Her unusual upbringing and lifestyle as a young child shaped her into the successful woman she is today.…

    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At one point or another, whether we grew up poor or are living as poor college students now, many Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and the vast majority of us think we know very well what it means to be poor. And while many of us are fortunate never to know true poverty, we are rarely so fortunate to know true financial security. Many Americans are only a small medical emergency or moderate natural disasters away from extreme financial distress, or even bankruptcy. The authors of The Glass Castle and Being Poor extraordinarily impact their readers about the issue of poverty based on their own experiences, the time periods, and their specific childhoods.…

    • 1158 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The article explains how poor children usually have a harder time concentrating in class due to extreme stress and a bad home life: “According to author Eric Jensen, “children raised in poverty rarely choose to behave differently, poverty affects learning because they face challenges their affluent counterparts never see. Their brains have adapted to suboptimal conditions in ways that undermine good school performance,” (Leon) If a child’s primary needs are not met at a young age, formation of new brain cells will slow down and the neural circuitry will create emotional dysfunction, making it difficult for children living in poverty to do well in school.…

    • 1087 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better 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
  • Good Essays

    Disparities In Childhood

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Based on the information presented it is clear that disparities in wealth most definitely compromise both the independent welfare and developmental interests of children. As a nation Canada has signed a convention that includes many statements with regards to ending child poverty; if child poverty did not have negative effects on welfare and development it would not have been included in the convention in the first place (Covell, Howe, 2001: 37). There has been a negative correlation found between low incomes and lower IQ in children. Having a lower IQ based upon the limitations of living in poverty is unfair to the child…

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Skiba, R. J., Poloni-Staudinger, L., Simmons, A. B., Feggins-Azziz, L. R., & Chung, C. G. (2005). Unproven links: Can poverty explain ethnic disproportionality in special education? Journal of Special Education, 39, 130-144.…

    • 2023 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Specifically, child poverty results in gaps in cognitive skills in babies. As stated by Children’s Defense Fund, “Poor parents have fewer financial resources and often experience more stress, and as a result their young children are less likely to be read to, spend less time talking to adults, and hear many fewer words each week than children from more affluent families.” Research shows that by age 4, children raised in high-income families had heard 30 million more words than children raised in poor families (theatlantic.com). This disadvantage can be observed in babies as early as 9…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays