Analysis Of The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

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The Glass Castle, a memoir written by Jeannette Walls is about a very peculiar family that worked together to overcome many obstacles that were thrown in their way. An alcoholic father and a free spirited mother leave four children to fend for themselves and find their own way through life. The Walls children are forced to find their own food and clothing and do everything in their power to protect one another. Rose Mary Walls is the mother of four children. She claims to be an “excitement addict” because she loves to be spontaneous and have as much fun as possible. Rose Mary dislikes rules which allows her kids to participate in any activity they see fit. This leads to many injuries and puts them in dangerous situations. She is most pleased when life is an adventure and this is why she decided to be homeless after all of the kids moved out. Rose Mary refused to take help from either of her grown daughters saying “I’m fine. You’re the one who needs help. Your values are all confused.” (pg.5) …show more content…

She would leave the kids to fend for themselves because she believed that by encouraging self-sufficiency, she was making her children stronger. One evening her daughter Jeannette and her son Brian were outside playing when they stumbled across a diamond ring. They returned home and showed it to Rose Mary hoping that she would sell it in order to buy groceries. However, Rose Mary surprised her starving children when she said that she wasn’t going to sell it because even though it was worth a lot of money “it could also improve my self-esteem. And at times like these, self-esteem is even more vital than food.”

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