The Glass Castle Essay
The Power to Overcome
Sid Udayan
January 10, 2012
ENG4U1
Ms. Skakic
It still holds true that man is most uniquely human when he turns obstacles into opportunities. This is evident in Jeannette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, which reiterates the story of Jeannette who is raised within a family that is both deeply dysfunctional and distinctively vibrant. Jeannette is faced with numerous barriers throughout her life. Despite the many obstacles set forth by her parents during her childhood, Jeannette develops into a successful adult later in life. One of these obstacles is the lack of a stable home base moulds her into the woman she grows up to be. Throughout her life, Jeannette must cope with the carelessness of her mother, Rose Mary, while also dealing with the destructive nature of her father, Rex. During her childhood, Jeannette and the Walls family constantly move from one place to another, and as such, she does not experience the stability of a home base. This is the case when the family is faced with troubles concerning the law; “One night a policeman tapped on our window and said we had to leave... after he left, Dad called him the goddamn Gestapo and said that people like that got their jollies pushing people like us around. Dad was fed up with civilization. He and Mom decided we should move back to the desert and resume our hunt for gold without our starter money...” (Walls, pg. 34). It is important that Jeannette is continually forced to leave the places where she lives. She is denied stability in her life and only desires it more and more as she grows up. The culmination of this desire results in her decision to move to New York to pursue a career and a new life, away from her impractical and chaotic life with the Walls family. The Walls family travel to many different locations as Rex searches for gold, most of which are isolated and desolate. Safety becomes an issue with the absence of stability and Jeannette experiences
Sid Udayan
January 10, 2012
ENG4U1
Ms. Skakic
It still holds true that man is most uniquely human when he turns obstacles into opportunities. This is evident in Jeannette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, which reiterates the story of Jeannette who is raised within a family that is both deeply dysfunctional and distinctively vibrant. Jeannette is faced with numerous barriers throughout her life. Despite the many obstacles set forth by her parents during her childhood, Jeannette develops into a successful adult later in life. One of these obstacles is the lack of a stable home base moulds her into the woman she grows up to be. Throughout her life, Jeannette must cope with the carelessness of her mother, Rose Mary, while also dealing with the destructive nature of her father, Rex. During her childhood, Jeannette and the Walls family constantly move from one place to another, and as such, she does not experience the stability of a home base. This is the case when the family is faced with troubles concerning the law; “One night a policeman tapped on our window and said we had to leave... after he left, Dad called him the goddamn Gestapo and said that people like that got their jollies pushing people like us around. Dad was fed up with civilization. He and Mom decided we should move back to the desert and resume our hunt for gold without our starter money...” (Walls, pg. 34). It is important that Jeannette is continually forced to leave the places where she lives. She is denied stability in her life and only desires it more and more as she grows up. The culmination of this desire results in her decision to move to New York to pursue a career and a new life, away from her impractical and chaotic life with the Walls family. The Walls family travel to many different locations as Rex searches for gold, most of which are isolated and desolate. Safety becomes an issue with the absence of stability and Jeannette experiences
Cited: Walls, Jeannette. The glass castle: a memoir. New York: Scribner, 2006. Print.