Preview

The Glass Castle Literary Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
756 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Glass Castle Literary Analysis
Mothers are very important to every living person on this earth. They nurture, educate, and enthrall pupils from birth well into their adult life. According to many psychologists, women are born with nurturing tendencies that are used throughout the rest of our lives. Regardless of monetary and social status, a mother is someone caring and loving. In both ROOM and The Glass Castle, the mothers are nurturing and loving regardless of both above statuses. They also share resilience, creativity, and a dependency on others that can be at times overwhelming. In the book The Glass Castle, Rose Mary Wells seems to more often than not love her children. Of course, there are times in which she may become disgruntled, such as when Lori, Jeannette, and Brian are all teenagers. Obviously this will happen with all of the hormones throughout the house. In likliness, ROOM’s main character, Ma, loves Jack unconditionally despite the profound circumstances. Although trapped in a small room, Ma does everything she can to …show more content…
Although Ma is forced to rely on her captor, “Old Nick”, this similarity still applies. He is the messenger between her and the real world, bringing items that she and Jack need such as food, clothing, as well as hygienic items. It is obvious throughout the book that Ma does not want anything to do with the monster that keeps them locked in the room, but she does what she has to in order to keep Jack healthy until they escape. Correspondingly, Rose Mary Wells has a deep sense of longing. She feels as if she needs a man in her life in order to survive. Because of this, she relies on Rex. Although he is a horrible excuse of a man that does nothing but degrade her as well as the children, she refuses to leave him (Walls 143 ). Her children grow to despise their father and ultimately leave, but she stays behind because she cannot bear to lose

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • 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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Throughout the book The Glass Castle, the author uses specific wording that makes the book unique.…

    • 213 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory 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

    and she formed a loving relationship with Jack. Jack would view his mother as cold and…

    • 1506 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better 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

    What would it be like to grow up in a family where your dad is a drunk and your mom has the desperate urge to have no kids? Well, after reading The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, I can begin to comprehend. There are six members in the Walls family, Rex and Rosemary, parents, and Lori, Jeanette, Brain and Maureen, the children. Jeanette’s dad was an enormous player in the children’s childhood, when sober Rex was inspiring and charming, but when he drank he was very destructive. Therefore creating a terrible situation for the family to be in.…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Glass Castle Summary

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In addition, The Glass Castle, “Poverty in America Is Mainstream”, and “Number Of Homeless Children In America Surges To All-Time High: Report” all have a similar author’s purpose. Jeannette Walls’s purpose of writing her memoir is to teach readers to achieve their dreams and not let their past hold them back. Especially, she describes her house as a compact residence that is located on a steep hillside. The front of the house includes a drooping porch, which is supported by spindly cinder-block pillars. It has been a long time since someone has painted it (Walls 150). Evidently, Jeannette Walls has had many obstacles while growing, but she does not let them stop her from prospering throughout her life. She decides she would like to move to…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Glass Castle, written by Jeannette Walls, is a wonderful book full of many different…

    • 1751 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better 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

    In the poem “Momma” by Chrystal Meeker, the narrator shows the reader what the true meaning of being a mother is. It shows that it is not about what a mom can give to their child or what they buy for them, but what they will give up for their children. In this poem, a mother looks back on her own childhood and realizes what her mother was willing to sacrifice for her children. The poem expresses a mother struggling to raise her children amongst difficulties and the true meaning of motherhood.…

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Nothing has a stronger psychological influence on a child than the unlived life of a parent”-C G Jung. Parenting styles play an integral role in the development of an adolescent’s life. Therefore, children develop through a number of stimuli, interaction, exchange, and repetitive tendencies, which surrounds them. An adult figure molds a child’s personality and a gives them guidance to a life of success and fulfillment. Contradicting The Glass Castle a memoir by Jeannette Walls, research has revealed that parenting styles can influence a child’s social, cognitive, and psychological growth, which affects children both in the childhood years, and as an adult.…

    • 214 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This is the number one issue in The Glass Castle from Rex and Rose Mary’s failure to provide all four of those factors to their own children. An example of this is when Jeannette was 3 years old and cooking hot dogs by herself her dress then catches fire. After this incident the mother Rose Mary still allows Jeannette to cook for herself, this is an obvious sign of child neglect. Jeannette Walls writes those parts about her childhood a lot like a journal entry and not like a memoir. In Jeannette’s life, an event triggers her to have a thought about what happened when she was 3 years old she begins to think that fire is a recurring thing in her life. The quote also gives evidentiary support that in Jeannette’s writing she gives very little personal reflection and it is a very detailed piece of…

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the memoir, The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls presents the idea that being neglected can force one to look out for oneself even though one cannot eliminate hardships. Throughout the children's lives, their parents, who evaded their roles and responsibilities to their children by creating excuses, neglected the Walls siblings. The parents started neglecting the children from a young age where they would put their needs above their children. In one of these instances, three year old Jeannette caught on fire and was badly burned when she tried to cook for herself . “I was on fire … I could hear Mom in the next room singing while she worked on one of her paintings .” (Walls 9). Her Mother was more interested in painting rather than feeding…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Glass Castle Essay

    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the book “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls poverty goes deeper than just low income. Even while Jeannette’s parents had money coming in, they struggled to support their family properly. They went hungry, had no electricity, or even indoor plumbing, so this proposes the question can poverty be caused by more than just low income? Do people actually want to live in poverty? For Jeannette’s parents it sure seems that way.…

    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays