Why I Selected This
Memoir
I selected this memoir
because in some ways I can relate to the author. At points in my life I have also turned to
journalism as an outlet, when I needed an outlet to help me avoid certain
things that were happening within my own life. Until reading this memoir and
analyzing it so thoroughly I never thought that it could be a common pattern of
journalists. Although it does make sense that a journalist, someone whose job
revolves around documenting lives and events that you are in no way a part of,
would choose this profession because they are trying to distance himself or
herself from something in his or her own life. I think that for Walls writing
her column on the New York
Summary
The Glass Castle is memoir written by Jeannette Walls
that gives readers a look inside the lives of an unconventional family of who
face hardships beyond what most families are forced to bear. It is the story of
Jeannette Walls overcoming these hardships and making a better life for
herself. This story was Jeannette Walls’ way of publically unveiling the truth
about her upbringing and coming to terms with her past and her parent’s
choices.
Walls begins her story
as an adult living in New
York City
Her story portrays her
mother and father as eccentric but loving parents. Growing up Jeannette remains
optimistic even during the toughest times in Welch, Virginia. She and her
siblings create a plan to escape to New
York New
York City
In The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls takes a depressing
reality and puts an optimistic spin on it so that readers can truly see into
the lives of each character. Readers are able to understand the motives of Rex
and Rose Mary Walls, while cheering on their children in this tale of optimism
and determination overcoming the odds.
Brief Essay
The life events that
Jeannette Walls describes in her memoir “The Glass Castle” are not only
interesting, they also serve to drive home the points that Walls makes about
poverty and these qualities make it a memoir that will be reread decades from
now. Poverty is something that is often misconstrued. Some people believe that
homelessness is “a result of drug abuse and misguided entitlement programs,”
while others feel that it is a result of “cuts in social-service programs and
the failure to create economic opportunity for the poor” (305). However Walls
would say that the causes of poverty in some cases, is that “sometimes people
get the lives they want” (305). She describes this in her memoir by
recollecting a discussion she had with her favorite professor at Barnard University .
I believe that in some cases this is true. After reading “The Glass Castle” I
am able to better wrap my head around the reality that some people are truly
happier living on the street than they are working 9-5 jobs, paying a mortgage
and utilities, as was and is the case for Rex and Rose Mary Walls.
Walls understands the
reality of living in poverty because for the first quarter of her life Walls’
family lived in poverty. She understands what it is like to try to stretch $5
to feed a family of four for days (250). She knows what it’s like to go to
sleep hungry, rummage through cafeteria garbage cans for lunch, and to nearly
freeze to death in the winter living in a shack without any heat. She also
knows what it’s like to have her life transformed completely after much hard
work and persistence. She lived the American dream and as fellow classmates,
Steven and Meshell note in Discussion Post #2, Jeannette embodies the
“optimism” and resourcefulness that fuels the American Dream. She manages to
remain optimistic and finds ways to get through even the dreariest of times and
overcome obstacles that most children are never forced to endure.
Walls can attribute
her accomplishments in life to the struggles that she endured growing up. She
uses symbolism to describe this in the first part of her memoir when she
compares her own life to the Joshua tree. “It’s the Joshua tree’s struggle that
gives it its beauty” (45), Jeannette’s mother tells her, as is true with the
Walls’ family story. Their struggles as depicted in the memoir are what make
their family’s story beautiful. Jeannette, Lori, and Brian’s optimism, ambition
and determination helps them move from their childhood stricken by poverty to
their thriving adult lives. Yet they are able to appreciate their lives so much
more after having experienced the struggles that they did growing up.
Although the same
determination can be seen in their parent’s lives, which is demonstrated by the
choices that they make. Walls’ parents, Rex and Rose Mary Walls, are determined
to live their lives the way they choose. They refuse to conform to society
norms and would prefer to live in poverty and be homeless, than to live
traditional lives. For years Rose Mary struggled trying to make ends meet to
support her family. She worked as a teacher but her heart was never in it.
“It’s time I did something for myself,” she said. “It’s time I started living
my life for me” (260). So when her kids moved to New
York City New
York City New
York City New
York City
Walls describes her
parents in a way that is neither good or bad. She touches on why they are the
way they are. Perhaps eccentric Rose Mary never truly grew up; perhaps Rex’s
addiction and his past haunted him to the point where he was unable to function
well in society. Regardless, Walls demonstrates in her memoir that even those
living in extreme poverty can be happy and for many it is a choice, but for
those who choose to overcome the obstacles in front of them, with determination
and optimism is can be done.
References
