Character Development In The Glass Castle

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The aspect of character development plays a prominent role in various works of literature, and no exceptions arose within this novel. Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle, uses detailed portions of the story to prominently display her character development and vibrantly show growth. The memoir follows the life of Jeannette and the struggles she faces along her journey. Living in a blue collar family, she faces many challenges that the average person may not deal with. Though the adventurous and wild-hearted Jeannette slowly begins to face reality and must adapt to her situations. Throughout the novel she matures and develops, altering her personality and thoughts. Several occurrences in the novel affect certain aspects of her personality and change certain beliefs that she once had. Her thoughts on her parents, the reality of the family's issues, and the beliefs of her future all begin to clear up and shift as she develops as a character. To begin, Jeannette’s view on her parents shifts exceptionally throughout the course of the novel. Towards the beginning of the story Jeannette greatly admires her parents, the illustrious Rex Walls and the delicate Rose Mary Walls. Though as she matures she realizes that the view of her parents was extremely inaccurate: “ ‘But Mom,’ I said, ‘that ring could get us a lot of food.’ ‘That’s true,’ Mom said, ‘but it could also improve my self esteem. And in times like these, self esteem is even more vital than food,’ ” (186). The Walls lived a lower class lifestyle; they could rarely afford a hefty meal to feed the family of six. When they could afford a meal, they evenly split it up to make sure the food reaches entire household. Though that is what Jeanette previously believed; after... ... middle of paper ... ...nette begins to think about her own needs and worry about her own future. All in all, Jeannette’s character development through the course of the novel is immense. Her personality begins to ripen, and she starts to discover the truth about her life and family. Numerous instances occurred in the novel; firstly she discovers the truth about her parents and realizes that she misperceived their personalities. To continue, Jeannette begins to learn a bit more about the issues the Walls face. The life of adventure began to seem dangerous and unstable. Lastly Jeannette starts to develop her own personality and focus on her future. She never had these thoughts previously; she always concerned herself with the dilemmas of others. Throughout Jeannette develops tremendously, she begins to see the world through her own eyes and no longer has a barrier of youth to protect her.

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