The Glass Castle Essay
“I WAS ON FIRE” (9, Walls). Is
just another day of living with two insufficient parents. A girl living
with three other siblings having to be on the run throughout her
childhood because the two people supporting her are being all willy
nilly and not taking much interest in their four children. Years later,
seeing the lady that was supposed to be there for her, is now on the
streets scavenging for food in a dumpster and then for Jeannette to
prevent eye contact with her mother, she had duck down. In the book,
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, living with two insufficient
parents and in poverty makes her more independent and responsible in
life.
Rose who wanted to be an artist, with not much self – motivation and Rex who wanted to make his children believe in him although, he was not being so faithful. The Mom, Rose Mary Walls and Father, Rex Walls the parents of the four children: Lori, Jeannette, Brian, and Maureen. Their Mother who was an artist and tried to bring in an income by being a teacher at schools for two of the places they had been living, “At least one morning a week, she’d throw a tantrum and refuse to go to work, and Lori, Brian and I would have to get her collected and down to the street…” (196). Walls tells that her mother is still being like a child and keeping up with her responsibilities. Now their father is a different situation he as his wife would say, “…a husband who soaks up booze like a sponge” (197). He drinks like no tomorrow; sometimes he doesn’t even come home, “Four days later, when Dad hadn’t come home” (181). He wouldn’t even get a job but yet he was wasting away the little income that they had. He also didn’t want his kids feeling like he was letting them down, but he was, the answer “No dad” was the only part helping him believe he wasn’t. Looking at all of this it’s pretty clear that she had to be independent because her parents were never actually there to help them.
Living in poverty made Jeannette realize how much more she needed to help herself instead of relying on her two careless parents. When there was no money to buy her lunch, so she’d would say “I had forgotten to bring my lunch” (173) but no one believed her so that’s when she hid in the bathroom and waited until lunch was over. There are children like Jeannette who days without eating and having to scavenge through the garbage. There was a plus side, some people threw out their lunches and then she would go and find them, “When other girls came in (the washroom) and threw away their lunch bags in the garbage pails, I’d go retrieve them” (173). At age thirteen she had to get job in order to support herself, to try and escape the way her life was. Then she decided to go to New York when her sister Lori had left already, “Lori, when I called her approved of my plan” (237). The plan of going to New York was to get a better establishment for herself and to get out of poverty to help her become more independent.
New city, new house, new people. By becoming independent she moved to New York, met new people and had new jobs. She created a life there with her and siblings also had met her husband, “My life with Eric was calm and predictable. I liked it that way, and four years after I moved into his apartment, we got married” (237). She also landed a job, “… became a full-time reporter for The Phoenix” (248). But after all of Walls’ siblings left, her parents had then moved to New York and brought along some worries for their children. Then Rex died which made her feel different like she always wanted to be on the run. “In months that followed, I found myself always wanting to be somewhere other than where I was” (280). Then a year later she had left Eric and didn’t feel like always being on the run. Walls’ experiences, just goes to show being on your own in a big city creates a whole bunch of new experiences that make you grow to become on your own.
It looks pretty clear that from Walls’ parents and living with financial problems makes her just want a better life later in life. In second thoughts what if Jeannette stayed with her parents and never moved out would she be in a better or the same place as she was before.
Bibliography
Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle. New York: Scribner, 2005. Print.
Rose who wanted to be an artist, with not much self – motivation and Rex who wanted to make his children believe in him although, he was not being so faithful. The Mom, Rose Mary Walls and Father, Rex Walls the parents of the four children: Lori, Jeannette, Brian, and Maureen. Their Mother who was an artist and tried to bring in an income by being a teacher at schools for two of the places they had been living, “At least one morning a week, she’d throw a tantrum and refuse to go to work, and Lori, Brian and I would have to get her collected and down to the street…” (196). Walls tells that her mother is still being like a child and keeping up with her responsibilities. Now their father is a different situation he as his wife would say, “…a husband who soaks up booze like a sponge” (197). He drinks like no tomorrow; sometimes he doesn’t even come home, “Four days later, when Dad hadn’t come home” (181). He wouldn’t even get a job but yet he was wasting away the little income that they had. He also didn’t want his kids feeling like he was letting them down, but he was, the answer “No dad” was the only part helping him believe he wasn’t. Looking at all of this it’s pretty clear that she had to be independent because her parents were never actually there to help them.
Living in poverty made Jeannette realize how much more she needed to help herself instead of relying on her two careless parents. When there was no money to buy her lunch, so she’d would say “I had forgotten to bring my lunch” (173) but no one believed her so that’s when she hid in the bathroom and waited until lunch was over. There are children like Jeannette who days without eating and having to scavenge through the garbage. There was a plus side, some people threw out their lunches and then she would go and find them, “When other girls came in (the washroom) and threw away their lunch bags in the garbage pails, I’d go retrieve them” (173). At age thirteen she had to get job in order to support herself, to try and escape the way her life was. Then she decided to go to New York when her sister Lori had left already, “Lori, when I called her approved of my plan” (237). The plan of going to New York was to get a better establishment for herself and to get out of poverty to help her become more independent.
New city, new house, new people. By becoming independent she moved to New York, met new people and had new jobs. She created a life there with her and siblings also had met her husband, “My life with Eric was calm and predictable. I liked it that way, and four years after I moved into his apartment, we got married” (237). She also landed a job, “… became a full-time reporter for The Phoenix” (248). But after all of Walls’ siblings left, her parents had then moved to New York and brought along some worries for their children. Then Rex died which made her feel different like she always wanted to be on the run. “In months that followed, I found myself always wanting to be somewhere other than where I was” (280). Then a year later she had left Eric and didn’t feel like always being on the run. Walls’ experiences, just goes to show being on your own in a big city creates a whole bunch of new experiences that make you grow to become on your own.
It looks pretty clear that from Walls’ parents and living with financial problems makes her just want a better life later in life. In second thoughts what if Jeannette stayed with her parents and never moved out would she be in a better or the same place as she was before.
Bibliography
Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle. New York: Scribner, 2005. Print.