Personal Review

The Glass Castle was an oddly heartwarming memoir for me, because it revealed the true memory of Jeanette Walls and regardless of how members of the family treated each other at various points in the novel, they consistently had an undeniable love for each other. For me it was ironic that the family kept stressing their love for the openness of the desert, yet they eventually end up in New York City, one of the most populated and busiest places on earth. It revealed, for me, the imperfections of life and how people change and adapt to what must fit them.

            Throughout the novel I was shocked and appalled with Rex, Jeanette’s father, and despite this I loved him. I enjoy that Jeanette not only writes her life exactly how she remembers it, but she writes it to reflect the emotions and feelings she felt towards her life and the people in it. It is hard to deny the love shared between Jeanette and her father, though unconventional, it is unconditional. The literal actions of Rex Walls could easily make any outsider learn to hate him because he may seem selfish or eccentric. However, I believe that is what caused Jeanette to love him, as a child she did not understand the drinking and vulgarity of his nature, this not only reveals the innocence in her but it also gives an outlook that people like Rex Walls are doing the best they can and although at times they screw up, they do what they can in the moment. The moments that Rex was strong he taught his kids and gave them all he could.

Character

In the memoir, The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls, each character plays a distinct role in the narrator’s life; however, Rex Walls, her father, plays an especially significant role in the development of the story as well as the in the life of Jeanette herself. All readers may not particularly like his character, however his “layers” become revealed as Jeanette tells the story of her family.

            Rex Walls’ layers represent his outer tough-guy shell, an image that he feels suits the male role in a family, similar to gender roles, Rex would fit the male gender role of his generation perfectly.  He is the sole-breadwinner in the family as revealed because he literally is the one constantly looking for jobs in the family. Rose will do what she can, however, the literal diction reveals the stress felt by Rex to keep up a life for his family.

            As Jeanette goes more in depth into her life we witness a softer side of Rex Walls through his daughter’s point of view. The event that probably stands out the most is the Christmas in which Rex gave each of his kids a star. At first this seems very unconventional and rude that he feels it is an appropriate gift for his dearly loved children. However, Jeanette reveals that this is merely his way of showing affection, and you being to understand that the kids do not know any better and in fact this may be more heartfelt because he is sharing with them his time and knowledge so that they may feel a special bond with him that no one else shares, this night under the stars.

            Rex Walls’ character can be easily looked down upon because he copes with his stress by drinking and often yells at his wife and even his children. However, as his “layers” are revealed through Jeanette’s hopeful tone of him, readers understand that he is doing his best, and that is acceptable.

Rhetorical Strategies

The following rhetorical strategies are some examples of rhetorical strategies that Walls uses to develop her story and purpose:

·      Historical allusion- “…like that dago fellow Columbus claimed America for Queen Isabella,” (Walls, 40).

·      Simile- “…eyes wide like a hunted animal’s,” (Walls, 43).

·      Irony- “I was in the first grade…four Mexican girls followed me home and jumped me,” (Walls, 44).

·      Situational Irony- “A big green Dumpster stood in the parking lot. When no one was looking, Brian and I pushed open the lid, climbed up, and dived inside,” (Walls, 110). Ironic to the shame Jeanette felt when her mom had done the same thing in the future, in the beginning of the novel.

Throughout the novel, Jeanette avoids much flowery diction, which reveals a great deal of figurative language and rhetorical strategies. However, the story builds with irony to better reveal how the characters in the novel are trying their best. This irony illustrates how people’s situation changes and their actions regarding those situations can be very much alike and very different, an example being the dumpster diving. When necessary, Jeanette participated in the event, however, later on in her life, her mother partaking in the same action when faced with the same hunger shamed Jeanette.

Themes and Motifs

Jeanette Walls wrote The Glass Castle to convey a message of family importance and self-indulgence. Self-indulgence meaning the way in which one exposes themselves to the rest of the world and the dangers and assists one exposes themselves to. Walls introduces her story at a time in which family reliance one each other is low. In context, this flash-forward in the beginning of the text illustrates a family that has grown greatly apart. Jeanette worries that someone will “spot [them] together and Mom would introduce herself and [her] secret would be out,” (Walls, 3). However, as Jeanette’s life develops as a child, readers can recognize the love felt within the Walls family and this feeling of protection when together. A family is strong together as long as their deep emotions are expressed to each other because it is then that emotions such as unconditional love and will to protect one another are felt.

            The desert becomes home to Jeanette and her family because it gives them open space to learn and grow. They are not cluttered by everyday life in a city in which they must adhere to certain social standards. Through their openness to grow, the Walls family becomes very intelligent and interested in knowledge. Jeanette wants readers to understand this central theme that people cannot be given enough room to grow in the chaos of a city because people are less true to themselves, a belief that is paralleled by symbolizing the many layers of stars which are not revealed in the city because of the many city lights; similarly, people in the city are not open to themselves and others.

Symbols

In Jeanette Walls’, The Glass Castle, there is a reoccurring theme revolving around stars and empty space. The stars symbolize the complexity of life itself and also the people within it. As she watches the stars Jeanette witnesses “layer after layer” unfold to her (Walls, 40). Walls uses this symbol to reveal more in depth, the nature of humans in having many layers. These layers are so deep that they are only revealed to a certain group of peers. Jeanette learns later in the story that it is important to only reveal oneself and the layers deep within to the people that can be most easily trusted; Walls recognizes that she must hide herself from kids outside her family because she is different by means of intelligence and by revealing that to her peers she puts her physical health at risk.

            The symbol of starts and space itself also begin to develop a theme within the story because it is symbolizing this open space in which people find themselves forced to learn and grow. In the desert where people can see the stars it is easier for them to learn and become intelligent about the unknown by reading and the sharing of knowledge, like Rex Walls does with his kids. However, in the city, where the stars cannot be seen easily, it is rather simple to find oneself sheltered by the busyness of everyday life presented in a city of chaos. This is why Jeanette’s parents feel as if they do not belong in a cluttered city, such as one of California, because it will deteriorate their ability to interact with the one’s close to them, the one’s which they can safely reveal their layers of stars to. Thus, people living in open space have more ability to become individualized and intelligent.