The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

At the beginning of Jeanette Walls' memoir, The Glass Castle, she is in New York, having finally moved there with her sister, Lori, and landing an exceptional job. One day, she sees her homeless mother who was dumpster diving. She then looks back on her life, now realizing the harsh reality and how dysfunctional it really was.  Though her father was very intelligent man who had high hopes, he was really a drunken man who could never keep a job. That meant they had to move often, leaving Jeanette and her sibling's lives very inconsistent. They didn't attend school and were instead home schooled; the Walls-parents style. The behavior of her father, Rex, could be explained by the possibility of him being abused by his mother when he was younger, though it is no excuse. He also got very angry very easily, sometimes even enough to hurt his wife and even his kids. Because of his inability to keep a job, the family struggled financially. Sometimes, they wouldn't even had food for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. But like her dad, Jeannettes mom, Rosy Mary, was very merciless and free-spirited. Also, even though the Walls parents had very different was of acting and treating their family, they had some good values. For example, Jeannette once said about her mother, "She added that you should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies, 'Everyone has something good about them," she said. "You have to find the redeeming quality and love the person for that.'" (144). This shows that though her parents might come off as 'heartless', they have good ideas, maybe even intentions.

The book is in Jeanette's point of view, as the speaker. I think that the first-person perspective gives the book an effect of being even more realistic as well as even more sad terrifying. When she was younger and surrounded by all the chaos that happened in her life, she was completely naive. She had a sweet spirit and still saw the good in her parents, despite all the evil. She looked up to her father's hopes and dreams, because he dis sincerely want a better life for his family. Rex wanted to get a sufficient job, make money so he could build a glass house for the family- a glass castle. Jeannette was a very smart girl when she was younger, even though the only education she had was her homeschooling and that shows in the book how she reacted to certain situations and she thoughts about them. 

The occasion of the book is very non specific. It is a reflection on her childhood though, being written as an adult. Because of the inconsistency of her father's jobs, they are always on-the-go, going from place to place. As Jeannette recalls, "We were always doing the skedaddle, usually in the middle of the night. I sometimes I heard Mom and Dad discussing the people who were after us." (19). Sometimes they were in the city, sometimes in the desert, etc. Two specific places mentioned were Phoenix at their (abusive) Grandma's house, and Las Vegas. 

Personally, I thought that the appropriate audience for this book should be mature and older. It mentions some very emotionally heavy and sensitive things. At a high school level of maturity, it was manageable, but it is more-so directed to adults. 

One of the main purposes of this book in my eyes is hope. Jeanette always believed in the father, and hoped for a better life. Even though that never got achieved within her family life, she and her sister left and fulfilled that themselves. And she came to be very successful. She is also a good example to always see the best in situations and in people even if they seem only bad. 

I thought that style wise, it was interesting that she not only told her story from her own point of view, but as a flashback from when she saw her mom in New York. That, putting an interesting effect on the story, making you analyzing the stories and situations, not just reading them. The tone of this story gives a good sense of the sadness and fear of the situations. Also, knowing that it is realistic and it really happens in life, has a big affect of the reader. The way they think as well as they continue reading the book. 

Jeannette Walls wrote down her story very well. And it was one to be shared.  Overall as a reader, I would give this book an 8.5 out of 10. You never know what will happen next, because of the movement of the story. That's why the book The Glass Castle kept me interested and on my toes, wondering what will happen next. It was sad many times throughout the book, but there were times of happiness and it concluded with things falling into place- making it all worth it.


Source:
Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle. London: Virago, 2005. Print.