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Parent - child relationships
Parent - child relationships
Essay about autobiography
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The story of Jeannette Walls and her dysfunctional family gives insights of hope and growth. To get these points across, author, Jeannette Walls wrote her autobiography using many different literary devices to tell the story of her childhood. She used themes that were apparent her whole childhood. She used symbolism to say the things that needed to be said in a discrete way. And her similes gave her audience insight to the people around her. Devices like symbolism, similes and theme have been used in all great literature to convey information, as well as in this story in a refreshing, thought-provoking way. Webster’s definition of symbolism is, “The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.” In The Glass Castle Walls uses symbols to …show more content…
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 …show more content…
One of the occurring themes is of bravery. The Walls children face adversity when moving from place to place, dealing with bullies and their father goes into an alcohol induced rage. “Brian, Maureen, Lori and I got into more fights than most kids.” Walls tells the readers on page 164. The kids had to learn to stand up for themselves in a harsh community; they had to be brave. Walls also used the theme of forgiveness to teach about the importance of forgiving those who wronged you. Her parents constantly ignored their children’s needs and mistreated them, but in the end they were forgiven for all of that and they were a regular family. “We raised our glasses. I could almost hear Dad chuckling at Mom’s comment in the way he did when he was truly enjoying something.” (Walls 288). The purpose of this comment is to wrap up the story, but it also shows forgiveness and growth. By the end of the book all was forgiven, the neglect, the stealing, the cheating and the lying, and they were family. These themes in the book are an overarching device that is a great tool to show the moral or lesson of the certain story. Symbolism, similes and themes helped guide the reader to gather ideas and information about characters in this book about how you can amount to anything if you try hard enough. Walls shows you can come from any background and still make a name and a life for yourself. Jeannette
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.
The archetype of fire is used to represent destruction, while Jeannette embodies the qualities of a thoughtful hero. Additionally, Jeannette's goal of reaching New York serves as a quest throughout the memoir. Despite facing numerous challenges such as being bullied and enduring a difficult childhood, Jeannette perseveres and ultimately achieves her dream of becoming a writer in New York City. Through the skillful use of these archetypes, Walls effectively conveys the theme of perseverance.
The novel The Glass Castle, written by Jeannette Walls, brings to the surface many of the the struggles and darker aspects of American life through the perspective of a growing girl who is raised in a family with difficulties financially and otherwise. This book is written as a memoir. Jeannette begins as what she remembers as her first memory and fills in important details of her life up to around the present time. She tells stories about her family life that at times can seem to be exaggerated but seemed normal enough to her at the time. Her parents are portrayed to have raised Jeannette and her three siblings in an unconventional manner. She touches on aspects of poverty, family dynamics, alcoholism, mental illness, and sexual abuse from
In Jeannette Walls memoir The Glass Castle, the Walls show characteristics of good parents. They are imaginative, very smart, and caring.
Symbolism is used commonly in literature to reveal a deeper meaning through something indirectly. As defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, symbolism is “ the art or practice of using symbols especially by investing things with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the invisible or intangible by means of visible or sensuous representations” ("Symbolism."). From colors and emotions, such as red and romance, to animals, like doves and peace, symbols better a readers understanding of the text and make for an overall better story. Symbolism gives writer freedom to add double levels of meanings to his work: a literal one that is self-evident and the symbolic one whose meaning is far more profound than the literal one. The symbolism, therefore, gives universality to the characters and the themes of a piece of literature ("Literary Devices."). In the text, A Doll’s House, the author, Hendrik Ibsen, uses symbols of macaroons, the Tarantella, and money to reveal controversial topics between Nora and Torvad.
In “Half Broke Horses”, Jeannette Walls not only tells the story of her grandmother, but also introduces the reader to multiple themes.One of the most prominent themes that occours in this novel is that no matter what life throws at you, you have to be strong and keep going. Throughout the book, this theme is implicitly used many times, especially when Lily is faced with many struggles and hardships; such as finding out her husband’s married to someone else, or her sister’s
First, the poem “The Rose that Grew from concrete” uses Symbols and conflict to develop the theme of You have to rise above the obstacles. First, the author uses Symbols to develop the theme
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.
Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving those meanings that are different from their literal sense. Symbolism can take different forms, generally, it is an object representing something that gives an entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism is The Great Gatsby to show the true identity of his characters. It also gives more meaning to things that would be seen as ordinary objects throughout the novel. There are many more symbols used throughout The Great Gatsby, in fact there might too much to even list.
Throughout the story, Walker uses brilliant imagery in describing each detail of what the mother sees through the eyes of her world. This imagery in turn creates a more interesting and imaginative story, and allows the reader to experience what the narrator is experiencing. The theme of imagery is not within the story, but how the story is told. However, the theme of love of one's family heritage is within the heart and not on the wall.
Wall’s memoir The Glass Castle accurately portrays her horrifying life of growing up in extreme poverty. The memoir unravels a true story about Jeannette Walls’ brutal childhood as she grew up homeless and often lacked even basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter. Walls’ father Rex raised his children irresponsibly, leaving them with many mental and physical scars while compromising their safety. Similar to the way Walls was raised, human cruelty remains evident in the Mac Davis song “In The Ghetto,” where the lyrics describe an endless cycle of poverty and crime. However, the movie Les Miserables depicts the
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.
I’ve never heard of any childhood quite like yours. I was shocked by the personality and character of your parents and how they raised you and your sibilings, “The Glass Castle”. I understand why people call your parents monsters. I will admit that the thought crossed my own mind on multiple occasions. However, I have also never read a book or a memoir that required so much thinking . With every page I read I was able to learn about the struggles & hardships you dealt with as a child and I tried to see a deeper meaning. When I did that, I saw your parent’s intentions behind everything they did. I began to understand what you saw and still see in your parents.
Firstly, one’s identity is largely influenced by the dynamics of one’s relationship with their father throughout their childhood. These dynamics are often established through the various experiences that one shares with a father while growing up. In The Glass Castle and The Kite Runner, Jeannette and Amir have very different relationships with their fathers as children. However the experiences they share with these men undou...
There are several different social issues presented in Jeannette Wall’s memoir “The Glass Castle.” These issues included neglect – medical and education,