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The parents through out the book seem to be living in a fantasy of their own. They never really saw the reality until the children left for New York and were alone with only themselves in Welch. Jeannette also mentioned it one or two times that it is an unspoken rule in the Walls family to just pretend life is one big adventure. Rose Mary even describes squatting in New York as such. The picture relates to fantasy vs reality because every mental image of a perfect day at the beach is alone on a sunny day with no one else there. We all know that the reality is that it will be cloudy or it will be crowded, but we imagine anyways like how Rex and Rose Mary imagine about their lives.

"You can't just live like this, I said. Why not? Mom said. Being homeless is an adventure."
page 225

“Mom gave me a startled look. I’d broken one of our unspoken rules: We were always supposed to pretend our life was one long and incredibly fun adventure.” page 69

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The children from a young age were taught to fend for themselves and for each other. The book starts off with Jeannette cooking for herself at the age of three. The children also get candy and toys by recycling bottles when they are little. They have to dumpster dive to eat most of the time. In Welch the kids eventually get jobs even though they aren't old enough to legally work. The picture relates because the kids recycled bottles when they were little for coin and as they grew like the plant they could start to support themselves as their financial roots became a little stronger. Their quality of life also grows as their financial situation also improves and grows.

"None of us kids got allowances. When we wanted money, we walked along the roadside picking up beer cans and bottle that we redeemed for two cents each. Brian and I also collected scrap metal that we sold to the junk dealer for a penny a pound- three cents a pound for copper. After we redeemed the bottles or sold the scrap metal, we walked into town, to the drug store." page 62

"We were about to run out of grocery money; and my babysitting income wasn't making up the difference. I had seen a help wanted sign in the window of a jewelry store on McDowell Street called Becker's Jewel box. I put on a lot of makeup, my best dress and a pair of Mom's high heels. then I walked around the mountain to apply for the job." page 214

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The Rex and Rose Mary never tried to conform to society. Both loved to travel all of the time and they think of themselves as exceptions to the rules. Being nonconformity made it harder for their lives, but it was also a great point of pride within the family sometimes. Of course at the time it was embarrassing for the kids, but Jeannette saw that it made their childhood different. The picture relates to nonconformity because Rose and Rex Wall also saw themselves and their family as special exceptions and that everyone else were "sticks in the mud." Rex and Rose Mary also refused any financial or physical support during their life which caused the children to have difficult childhoods.

"Mom and Dad liked to make a big point about never surrendering to fear or to prejudice or to the narrow-minded conformist sticks-in-the-mud who tried to tell everyone else what was proper." Page 103-104

"One day Mom went with us kids to the library at the Civic Center. Since the Weather was sweltering, she suggested we cool off by jumping into the fountain in the front of the building. The water was too shallow to swim in, but we paddled around pretending to be crocodiles until we attracted a small crowd of people who kept insisting Mom that swimming was forbidden in the fountain. Mind your own beeswax Mom replied." page 104

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The kids tried to bring order in their house even if the parents brought chaos. Even if this is not the most chaotic quote in the book everyone had lost interest and there was no order in the house as everyone left to do their own thing. Earlier in the book Rex and Rose Mary fought and a few times Rex was close to seriously harming or killing Rose Mary. Once Battle Mountain, during an argument that got the attraction of the neighborhood, Rose Mary was hanging by the window and in the end Rex pulled her in. Rex never admit to pushing her out. Another time before Battle Mountain Rex and Rose argued over how long she had been carrying Maureen. Rose got out of their car and Rex threatened to run over Rose and chased her through the desert. The order came later in life as the kids finally had good jobs and stable housing in New York City. The picture relates to the theme since the children's childhood were all over the place moving all the time. One they all met and connected back together in New York things get better.

"If everyone else helped, we could paint all the areas I couldn't reach, and in no time we would have a cheerful yellow house. But neither Mom nor Dad nor Brian nor Lori nor Maureen was impressed. So part of the house is yellow now, Lori said. That's really going to turn things around for us. -instead of a freshly painted yellow house, or even a dingy gray one, we now have a weird-looking half-finished patch job--one that announced ti the world that the people inside the house wanted to fix it up but lacked the gumption to get the work done." page 158

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Acceptance is a big theme of The Glass Castle. The kids were raised to accept others no matter their skin color. The picture relates to the theme since it is Jeannette and her mother. Jeannette was also very accepting of her mother. She doesn't forgive her mother as forgiving and accepting is two different things, but she knew that her mom will stay the same. She accepted her mother enough to make a cottage on her own property for her mother Lori also feels acceptance when she goes to her summer camp and everyone assumed she was a normal girl.

For example, "I surely wanted to get back in that water, but I couldn't help but feel that if I took Dinitia up on her offer, I'd be violating some sort of taboo. Wouldn't anybody get mad? I asked. 'Cause you're white? she asked. Your own kind might, but we won't. And your own kind won't be there." page 191

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The biggest theme of the story is the title itself. The glass castle was a promise Rex made to Jeannette and the rest of the kids when she was about three. Rex had made blueprints with calculations about a glass house they would make one day in a desert somewhere in California. He would let the kids design their rooms from time to time and that would help them buy into the imagination. Rex is quick to break his promises due to  to all of his drinking. All of his drinking leads to him not having any money to support his family. The picture relates to the theme of broken promises because Rex wanted to build a glass castle for the family and each kid would design their room. The picture is a glass bedroom in a mostly glass house.

“One day Dad told us to dump it (their garbage) in the hole. But that’s for the Glass Castle, I said. It's a temporary measure, Dad told me. He explained that he was going to hire a truck to cart the garbage to the dump all at once. But he never got around to that, either, and Brian and I watched, the hole for the Glass Castle’s foundation slowly filled with garbage.” -page 155

Rose Mary also broke promises, but while they are not as big as Rex's they were also important to their welfare. At least two times in the book the kids ask Rose Marry to get a teaching job so they could have money for food. Even if Rose Mary never made a promise directly it is a unspoken promise for a mother to provide for her children.

"Its time I did something for myself, It's time I started living my life for me. Why do I always have to be the one who earns money? Mom asked. You have a job. You can earn money, Lori can earn money, too. I've got more important things to do."
page 218

Jeannette herself breaks a promise because she promised to Maureen when the family came home from the hospital that she would protect her. Later when the family is in New York Maureen is tipped over the edge and tries to stab their mother. Maureen gets arrested and once she is out she got a one way ticket to California.

"I'd always had mixed feelings about bringing her to New York, but I'd agreed to let her come. Once she arrived, I'd been too busy taking care of myself to look after her. I'm sorry, Maureen, I said when the time came, sorry for everything."