Jeannette Walls The Glass Castle: A Mother's Childhood

893 Words2 Pages

When has someone achieved maturity? They achieve it when they have fully developed their mind and are able to fend for themselves successfully. In The Glass Castle , Jeannette Walls illustrates her childhood with a mother who acted more like her children then a responsible adult. Rose Mary did not nurture her children in a typical way, but ultimately the children must fend for themselves. Fending for herself and her siblings affects Jeannette’s adult feelings regarding her mother because of how it taught her to not be dependent on others. The memoir begins when Jeannette is three years old and was cooking hot dogs by herself. Her mother allowed her at three to cook hot dogs with boiling water while she painted. Rose Mary was in another room …show more content…

She goes to Barnard, the female version of Columbia university. Jeannette's parents show up in New YOrk with style, they drive a van that breaks down and makes the news. Later on Jeanette has become magazine writer and marries a man named Eric. One day, Rose MAry shows up at Jeanette's shared apartment at Park Ave. and tells her that she needs 1 million dollars. Jeannette obviously befuddled asks what the one million is for, Rose mary responds with how her brother, JEanette's uncle died and now she had to buy the land that he owned. Jeannette makes the connection that since her uncle's land was worth one million dollars, her mother's land was worth the same. Jeannette tells her mother that she cannot give her one million dollars, and Rose MAry tells JEanette that she is disappointed in her. The immaturity that roseMAry possess within this scene is immense. Rose Mary had the audacity to ask her daughter for one million dollars, a very sizeable sum just so that she could keep land within the family. Even when JEanette declines because amassing that kind of money was very hard to do, her mother tells her that she is disappointed in her. Just because Jeanette did not have the funds to go along with Rise MAry;s crazy scheme, Rose Mary is disappointed for not letting things her way. Being disappointed or sad over not getting one’s way is a very childish trait, and proves how immature Rose Mary is. The childish attitude that rosemary has as an adult affects JEanette's lifestyle, it makes Jeannette able to live life responsibly and not spend tons of money on items just because she wants to have

Show More
Related

  • 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

  • Child And Childhood In Jeannee Castle's The Glass Castle

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Glass Castle is a memoir written by Jeannette Walls about her family. In this story she tells about her adventurous and dangerous childhood that shaped her to be the person she is today. Which is a strong, optimistic, responsible woman who knows how to roll with the burns and the punches literally. Brian, who is younger than Jeannette was her partner in crime in all her childhood memories. Maureen was the youngest she was not too close with the family and if I had one way to describe her it would be lost. Lori was oldest sibling and the total opposite. She was more reserved and very into her art. Which she took after their mother, RoseMary. RoseMary was a selfish woman, she would constantly put herself first. She was also, very weak and

    Read More

  • Alcoholism In Jeannee Walls's The Glass Castle

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    Just one become only two, which then leads to number three that will be the last… so they say and apparently so will the one after that, after that, and after that until they can physically drink no more. For some, this might happen on their twenty first birthday or only once, but for many people in the world this happens every month, every week, or even every day. “Alcohol is the most commonly used addictive substance in the U.S. 17.6 million people, or one in every 12 adults, suffer from alcohol abuse or dependence” (“Alcohol”). The need and overdose of alcohol is called alcoholism. This addiction causes pain, anger, and loss of control all over the world. One might say, “I can handle myself. I am just fine,” but we all know they are not fine because most of the time they are causing hurt around them. In Jeannette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, her father, Rex Walls, is an example of one of these 17.6 million alcoholics and this disease affects the family in multiple ways.

    Read More

  • The Glass Castle Maturity

    334 Words  | 1 Pages

        Whether some people say that maturity depends on age because as one grows so do responsibilities, but I say that maturity doesn’t depend on age because one can mature on how their surroundings are. For example, in a book called,” The Glass Castle”, there was a girl , Janet Walls, and her siblings who had to grow up at a young age. Janet’s mother and father hardly payed attention to their kids. Like when her mother doesn’t cook meals, or paying attention to them when they were in danger. Janet and her siblings had to

    Read More

  • Movie And Movie: The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    When books are very popular most of the time they are made into a movie. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a book that depicts the struggle of poverty and addiction. A movie then was made based on the book. The movie did not follow the book completely, but, that was to be expected. The movie did an excellent job with the cast. No one could have played Rex better than Woody Harrelson. The director did a respectable job of casting people who would have looked like the author described them in the book. Overall the movie did a fantastic job of portraying the major events and showing the overall theme of the book. Watching the movie, you notice a few differences. For example, Lori has glasses on and in the book, she did not get glasses until

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Empathy Quotes

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Maturity is when your world opens up and you realize that you are not the center of it.” –M.J. Croan. Maturity comes in steps, where we are always progressing and learning further about ourselves and how others perceive us. Scout gradually becomes more mature throughout the novel, leaving behind her innocence while also reconstructing her empathy and tolerance for others. Similarly Scout and I were both naïve to the world around us, but because of witnessing first-hand the inhumanity around us blatantly displayed a lack of empathy people contain within them. This was a learning experience for myself because it brought home racial discrimination in an event that will forever impact the way I treat others of a different race, color or religion.

    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

  • Summary Of Jeannette Wall's Memoir 'The Glass Castle'

    1643 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Children's Survival In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

    640 Words  | 2 Pages

    Is self reliance beneficial to children's survival? Self reliance is beneficial to survival for many children around the world. In the memoir The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls the parenting style of Rex and Rosemary Walls taught the children to have self reliance which is beneficial to the children's survival.

    Read More

  • Childhood Memories In The Glass Castle

    1069 Words  | 3 Pages

    When the topic of childhood memory pops up in a conversation the listeners would think the story teller is telling the truth right? Well, what if I said that the people telling the stories might not even know if they aren’t? When these stories are told most don’t realize the little bit of memory actually involved. So how much or it is true and how much it came from another inaccurate place? Where could something like that come from? Were Jennette Walls’ memories real? Does this affect you or is it not a big dilemma? Should these be considered There are several different debates within itself but the main one to focus on is are your memories even your memories?

    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 included neglect – medical and education,

    Read More

  • Compare & Contrast Essay

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jeannette Walls was born into a poor family who often had to live homeless and without food. The environment in which she grew up in is what gave her the characteristics she possesses. One trait that describes Jeannette is that she is very adventurous. Since she was constantly exposed to new surroundings, she became curious of them. While she was homeless in the desert, she would play a game with her father called Monster Hunting. She grew to not be afraid of anything, since she could fight off these so called “monsters.” Also, Jeannette is very decisive. To get away from Welch, a poor town in West Virginia, she made sure that she would get enough money to move to New York. She did this by getting a job to save up money for a bus ticket and for college. Along with this, Jeannette is very ambitious. She worked very hard to get accepted into college by working for the school newspaper, since she wanted to become a journalist. On the other hand, Melba Patillo was born into a middle class family who lived in Lit...

    Read More

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

    1211 Words  | 3 Pages

    A parent’s parenting styles are as diverse as the world we live in today. Nowadays, parents only want what is best for their children and their parenting styles plays a crucial role in the development of children which will in the long run, not only effect the child’s childhood years, but later prolong into their adult life as well.

    Read More

  • What Is Maturity Essay

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Age is just a number, maturiy is a choice.” (Harry Styles) Some people see this quote as true, while others view it as nonsense. Maturity is the state of being mature, but what does “being mature” really mean? In actuality, the definition of mature is defined by the person themselves. Some believe it is being “Fully physically developed; full grown” as stated in the Oxford English Dictionary. Others argue that one must attain a certain level of mental or emotional growth. Search engines and dictionaries also say that being mature is having reached an advanced stage of mental or emotional development characteristic of an adult. The definition of a word may seem like a small thing because, on the surface, it appears very matter of fact. But, for anyone who is actually striving to achieve maturity, or for one who is being judged or is judging the attained level of maturity of

    Read More

More about Jeannette Walls The Glass Castle: A Mother's Childhood

Open Document