Character Analysis Of Rex Walls In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

452 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Thematic essay on the glass castle

Rex Walls, a dynamic character, in the Memoir The Glass Castle written by Jeannette Walls was portrayed as drunk, lazy, pride stricken man. At first Rex started of as a hard working man but later as reality kicked in he realized the glass castle was only a figment of his imagination and he started to go down the hill and became and alcoholic. The Glass Castle was used as a symbol which represented prosperity and a safe haven. Rex used this glass castle as a means of hope for a better life but as, “The hole for the Glass Castle’s foundation slowly filled with garbage,” all hope was lost for both Rex and his family (Walls 155). Due to this incident Rex started to drink more and more which later broke his family apart. Personally I think that Rex Walls was irresponsible …show more content…

Even though her children are starving she, “Intended to quit her teaching job and devote herself to art,” (Walls 218). Not only does she not want to provide for her children but she also has the urge to steel food. “Self-esteem is even more vital than food,” said Rose Marry Walls while keeping the two carrot ring (Walls 186). By keeping the wedding ring it exemplifies that Rose Mary is a selfish person and would rather keep her self esteem up by a two carrot ring than feed her starving children. Rose Marry may have some horrid qualities but one quality that I especially admire is the fact that she has no concern about what others think about herself. Jeannette Walls the author and narrator of the memoir The Glass Castle was a hard working and responsible young girl. Making a budget Jeannette calculated that they would, “Squeak by if,” she, “Made extra money babysitting,” (Walls 209). As a 13 year old not only did Jeannette take care of her brother and sister but she created a whole budget for the summer. Even though she did not have to work and could have rationed some money she ask baby sat to feed her brother and

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Alcoholism In The Glass Castle

    459 Words  | 1 Pages

    Being more engaged in his drinking, and less engaged in his word was one thing Rex Walls was good at. After neglecting this promise Jeannette, his favorite daughter, who always believed in him, eventually sees how awful alcohol makes him. Leading her to draw a end with believing in her father's word saying, “you will never build the glass castle” (238). Which then causes Rex to go into an even bigger depression.

    Read More

  • The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls: Literary Analysis

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Glass Castle is a memoir of the writer Jeannette Walls life. Her family consists of her father Rex Walls, her mother Rose Mary Walls, her older sister Lori Walls, her younger brother Brian Walls and her younger sister Maureen Walls. Jeannette Walls grew up with a lot of hardships with her dad being an alcoholic and they never seemed to have any money. Throughout Jeanette’s childhood, there are three things that symbolize something to Jeannette, they are fire, New York City and the Glass Castle, which shows that symbolism gives meanings to writing.

    Read More

  • Forgiveness In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although most people would not be able to give someone so much forgiveness for such dishonorable acts, author Jeannette Walls and her siblings knew it was the only way out. Throughout the book The Glass Castle, Walls writes about hardship in life and overcoming most things through forgiveness and constant love for family. Therefore, it is evident that the memoir The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, makes it clear that being able to let go of things for the better is a tremendously important trait to possess when living with a dysfunctional family. These ideas that Walls shares throughout the novel heavily rely on the appeal of pathos and attaining sympathy from the reading through writing about all of the hardships she had to face at such

    Read More

  • Parenting Styles In The Glass Castle

    667 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book The Glass Castle the parents take a very laissez faire approach to parenting. Some people say that this is a good parenting style because it allows the children to find themselves and so they are not guided by their parents. This may work in some cases. But, in Jeannette Walls case she does not have resources to become what she wants to become. Her dad can not hold a job so they're constantly moving moving around. Also, this parenting style can be very dangerous Within the first page of of Jeannette talk about her childhood it already is a consequence of this Laissez Faire Parenting style “[Jeannette] was three years old… [She] was standing on a chair in front of the stove, wearing a pink dress…[she] was wearing the dress to cook hot dogs”(Walls 9). Already this shows a very Laissez Faire style she is cooking hot dogs in a dress. A few sentences later it talks about how her mom is in the other room singing not

    Read More

  • The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...d to share their deepest and most private moments with their audience members, and this in turn will create a genuine, quality story. When asked if Jeannette Walls has fulfilled the duty given to her by William Faulkner, one should not even come close to hesitating with their response. In The Glass Castle, Walls shares some of the most personal and emotion-evoking moments of her life, and they clearly include the essential characteristics of writing as defined by Faulkner. With the expert use of Walls rhetorical strategy, she makes the reader see, hear, feel, and sense the emotion as if it is occurring firsthand. So, to conclude, Jeannette Walls has most definitely fulfilled Faulkner’s expectations of a writer by crafting a memoir stuffed with superb rhetorical strategies that thoroughly translates the events in Walls’ life to the readers in a very detailed manner.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Glass Castle Walls By Jeannette Walls

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are so many similes in the book that Walls has used to show character traits or make things easier to comprehend. One she uses to describe her mother, shows the way that Rose Mary interacts and connects with people, specifically children. “Students who were considered problem kids or mentally slow started doing well. Some even followed Mom around like stray dogs” (Walls 73). This is said so we can see the truly free and accepting spirit of Rose Mary. She may not be ready to be tied down with the responsibility of raising children but she loves them anyway. Another simile used also doubles as a foil. On page 142 Jeannette comforts a boy attacked by a dog, “The dog’s teeth had not broken the skin, but his pant leg was torn and he was trembling like he had palsy.” This simile shows Jeannette’s level-headed compassion and the boy’s fear is a foil to her bravery. It ties in the theme of perseverance and bravery show throughout the novel. While similes show character, other devices are used to teach the reader a

    Read More

  • Jeannette Walls Research Paper

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Glass castle, which is about Jeannette Walls life, and how she grew up with her nomad family, though moving to New york with her sister. In New York her teachers directed her into a writing career, without her teachers in New York directing her into a writing career, she may never have written The Glass Castle. The Glass Castle is a great book about Jeannette Walls life which was greatly influenced by her parents nomad life, so what happens to you today may affect your choices for

    Read More

  • Changes in Tone Throughout the Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the Glass Castle there is a constant shift in Jeanettes tone through her use of diction. Her memoir is centered around her memories with her family, but mainly her father Rex Walls. Although it is obvious through the eyes of the reader that Rex is an unfit parent and takes no responsibility for his children, in her childhood years Jeanette continually portrays Rex as an intelligent and loving father, describing her younger memories with admiration in her tone. The capitalization of “Dad” reflects Jeannette’s overall admiration for her father and his exemplary valor. “Dad always fought harder, flew faster, and gambled smarter than everyone else in his stories”(Walls 24). Jeanette also uses simple diction to describe her father, by starting sentences with, “Dad said,” over and over. By choosing to use basic language instead of stronger verbs, she captures her experience in a pure and honest tone.

    Read More

  • The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls Analysis

    403 Words  | 1 Pages

    Jeannette Walls has lived a life that many of us probably never will, the life of a migrant. The majority of her developmental years were spent moving to new places, sometimes just picking up and skipping town overnight. Frugality was simply a way of life for the Walls. Their homes were not always in perfect condition but they continued with their lives. With a brazen alcoholic and chain-smoker of a father and a mother who is narcissistic and wishes her children were not born so that she could have been a successful artist, Jeannette did a better job of raising herself semi-autonomously than her parents did if they had tried. One thing that did not change through all that time was the love she had for her mother, father, brother and sisters. The message that I received from reading this memoir is that family has a strong bond that will stay strong in the face of adversity.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Glass Castle By Jeanette Walls

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    From being able to save up money to buy a car and move out to West Virginia and then leaving the responsibility of finances and income to her children, Rose Mary Wall’s helped put Jeanette and her siblings through a hard and tough childhood. Although, a debate could be made that with all the awful impacts that the mother had on her children, all she really did was actually positively influence them to be able to conquer any hardship that they may face in their life. In the end, Rose Mary Wall’s character of being independent, unreasonable, and stubborn did both positively and negatively impact her children’s lives through the hardships they all faced

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Education In The Glass Castle

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    Education plays a big role in our daily lives. Education is commonly defined as a process of learning and obtaining knowledge. The story takes place beginning in the late 1950s to the early 2000s. Jeannette Walls is the main character of the story and the narrator. She tells the events of her life living with careless and yet loving parents. This family of six lived in many cities and towns and went through tough states to stay alive. Her mother and father never kept a good steady job, but they had great intelligence. Jeannette and her siblings barely went to school to get the proper education they needed. In the book The Glass Castle, author Jeanette Walls discovers the idea that a conservative education may possibly not always be the best education due to the fact that the Walls children were taught more from the experiences their parents gave them than any regular school or textbook could give them. In this novel readers are able to get an indication of how the parents Rex and Rosemary Walls, choose to educate and give life lessons to their children to see the better side of their daily struggles.

    Read More

  • Removal from a Negligent Home in Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle

    586 Words  | 2 Pages

    Every day the safety and well-being of many children are threatened by neglect. Each child deserves the comfort of having parents whom provide for their children. Throughout the memoir, The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls explains the childhood from being born into the hands of parent who neglect their children. Many may argue that children need to grow with their parents; however, the removal of children is necessary if the parents disregard the kid’s needs and cannot provide a stable life for their children.

    Read More

  • Social Issues Presented in Jeannette Wall's Memoir, The Glass Castle

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are several different social issues presented in Jeannette Wall’s memoir “The Glass Castle.” These issues include neglect – medical and education. unsanitary living conditions, homelessness, unemployment, alcohol abuse, domestic violence. violence, discrimination, mental health issues, physical and sexual abuse, hunger and poverty. Poverty was one of the major key issues addressed in this memoir.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of The Glass Castle

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    When the family arrives in Welch, they notice that their newly purchased house is dull-looking and depressing, matching their moods when they first start living there. Jeannette notices that their glum house is contributing to their glum moods so she suggests painting the house yellow, a colour that is symbolic of happiness, to try and boost morale. Nobody in her family is willing to help so she paints by herself and notices an improvement in the look of their house. Unfortunately, she leaves the paint outside in the wintertime causing it to freeze, meaning that she is unable to finish painting the house. One day while playing outside, Jeannette and her brother stumble upon a diamond wedding ring lying on the ground. The wedding ring symbolizes hope to the children because they realize that it can be sold for a substantial amount of money. They bring the ring to their mother and tell her that, “it could get [them] a lot of food” (185), to which she replies, “but it could also improve my self-esteem. And at times like these, self-esteem is even more vital than food” (185). Rose Mary decides to keep the ring because she values her own selfish needs over the welfare of her children. Both the yellow paint and the ring represent positive changes for the family but neither of them ends up actually changing their

    Read More

  • The Roles of Parenting Style in The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

    1211 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a harrowing and heartbreaking yet an inspiring memoir of a young girl named Jeannette who was deprived of her childhood by her dysfunctional and unorthodox parents, Rex and Rose Mary Walls. Forced to grow up, Walls stumbled upon coping with of her impractical “free-spirited” mother and her intellectual but alcoholic father, which became her asylum from the real world, spinning her uncontrollably. Walls uses pathos, imagery, and narrative coherence to illustrate that sometimes one needs to go through the hardships of life in order to find the determination to become a better individual.

    Read More

More about Character Analysis Of Rex Walls In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

Open Document