Literature

The Glass Castle, a memoir by Jeannette Walls, is a shocking exploration of the formidable years of the Walls children, and the dynamic between them, particularly that of Jeannette and her parents.  From the beginning of the book, where we see three-year-old Jeannette horribly burned while cooking hotdogs on the stove by herself, it becomes clear that Rex and Rose Mary Walls are not your average parents.  Jeannettes burns conjure no guilt or serious emotional distress for either parent.  Rather, the reader sees right off that Rex and Rose Marys involvement with their children seems to consist of little raising and nurturing, and more tough love and trial-by-fire.  They teach that life is full of lessons to be learned, experiences to be had, and the consequences that result belong to the children alone.  There is no stability in the life of the Walls family, few necessities such as food, clothing or acceptable shelter, and an abundance of hardship.

The relationship between Jeannette and her mother is complex.  Rose Mary Walls is a free spirit, artistic and flighty.  She shows little maternal instinct and is painfully uncaring of the effect that this has upon her children.  Relying solely on her husband to provide for the family, Rose Mary allows her children to go without food for days or even weeks at a time when the family has no money to purchase groceries.  The children are left to starve, rely on the kindness of others, or forage to feed themselves.  Jeannette, as a sixth grader, begins taking food from the trash cans at school when other students discard bits of his or her lunch.  When food is available at home, it is often spoiled, which also does not seem to trouble Rose Mary, as seen when she is caught by Jeannette and Jeannettes brother, Brian, eating a slice of ham that has long gone bad.  When Jeannette points out to her mother that the meant is full of maggots, Rose Mary responds with, Dont be so picky.  Just slice off the maggoty parts.

As the memoir reveals one incident after another, it becomes apparent that Rose Mary is not only free-spirited and non-maternal, but also self-centered and terribly impractical.  On one occasion, Jeannette and Brian, who have been literally starving for weeks, catch their mother with a stash of Hershey bars that she has hidden from the children and secretly eats when they are not around.  At another time, starving yet again, the children can find nothing to eat in the house except a stick of margarine.  When Rose Mary comes home, she becomes wildly angry that the children ate the margarine because she claimed to be saving it to butter bread.  The children point out that they have no bread, at which point Rose Mary responds that she was thinking of baking some bread if a neighbor would loan us some flour.  When it is mentioned that the gas has been turned off, Rose Mary is still insistent that the margarine should have been saved, stating, Miracles happen, you know.  Throughout it all, Jeannette takes her mother in stride, with a begrudging, if embarrassed, acceptance.  Jeannette and her siblings are just as much parents as their mother is, and that is a reality that they have come to terms with, even if they do not enjoy it.

The relationship between Jeannette and her father is just as complicated and tumultuous as her relationship with her mother.  As a child, Jeannette puts her father on a pedestal, saying in my mind, Dad was perfect,  believing that Rex is a brilliant man just one step away from making a fortune and saving them all, as he constantly claims will be the case.  Though an irresponsible alcoholic who allows his children to go without most of what they need for much of the time, Rex is also, when sober, an upbeat dreamer who teaches his children to treat hardships as adventures.  When Rex skedaddles yet again and the family is left without a home, Jeannette takes after her father and waxes poetic about how lucky they are to be able to sleep under the stars.  During this time, Rex claims that someday he will build his family a Glass Castle and all their worries will be gone.  The idea of this Glass Castle becomes a metaphor for hope to Jeannette, as she tries hone the optimism and self-preservation that seem to be the main qualities that Rex attempts to instill in his children.  Even as Rex abandons the family cat, Quixote, offers Jeannette no protection when she is beaten by a group of Mexican girl, has one raging alcoholic episode after another, or abandons the family repeatedly to fend for themselves, Jeannettes eternal worship of her father never wavers.

The magnitude of Jeannettes adoration of her father is especially obvious when the children are left with their grandmother, Erma.  Erma is described as cantankerous (146), a mean-spirited woman who mistreats the children in a number of ways.  One evening Jeannette catches Erma molesting Brian, and calls for her sister Lori who rushes to the room.  Lori and Erma engage in a physical altercation.  A couple of weeks later, Rex and Rose Mary reappear at Ermas house to collect the children and Rex verbally assaults them for causing Erma grief.  When they protest and mention the molestation, Rex says, Brians a man, he can take it.  Yet even after this incident, Jeannette still respects and admires her father.

The Glass Castle is a moving book full of complicated emotions.  Walls manages to relay her childhood to the reader without giving the impression that she wants anyone to pity her for the way that she was raised, and the struggles that she encountered.  Though Rex never gave his family a literal glass castle, Walls still took what she had and made the best of it, becoming not only one who survived, but also one who thrived.