Themes in The Glass Castle by

Hypocrisy

soto07diego — 2025-03-03 06:28:32 UTC

In the book, The Glass Castle, Jeannette states that her "Dad was a very optimistic person, but he could also be incredibly pessimistic. He'd go from one extreme to the other, sometimes within the same conversation". This quote depicts how her father, Rex, was a very contradictory person which shows the theme of hypocrisy because it shows how his words and actions could be different. This image of Rex drinking backs up this claim of his hypocrisy because he told his kids that he'd quit drinking, but he never did.

Broken Promises

soto07diego — 2025-03-03 06:28:51 UTC

In the book, The Glass Castle, Jeannette says "Dad's promises had become meaningless...it was better not to expect anything from him, that way I wouldn't be disappointed". This quote follows the theme of broken promises because it shows how Rex let her down so many times that she didn't expect anything from him because she didn't want to be let down by him anymore. This image is an example of a broken promise from Rex to Jeannette, Rex promised Jeannette a glass castle he instead had her dig the foundation and used it to dump trash.

Overcoming Challenges

soto07diego — 2025-03-03 06:29:15 UTC

In the book, The Glass Castle, Jeannette says "I realized that I didn't have to be limited by my circumstances.", This quote illustrates Jeannette's optimism to escape her poor living conditions with her parents and overcome this challenge of trying to better her living conditions for herself. This image of Jeannette shows her success in overcoming these challenges by leaving her parents and taking a risk going to Barnard College and improving her living conditions by herself.

Independence and Responsibility

soto07diego — 2025-03-03 06:29:29 UTC

In the book, The Glass Castle, Jeannette says "I was determined to take care of myself, to not need anyone else", this quote shows Jeannette's realization that she couldn't rely on her parents; she needed to be independent and responsible for herself if she wanted her living conditions to make anything of her life. This quote follows the theme of Independence and Responsibility because she is taking care of herself and claiming it is her responsibility to do this. This picture of a newspaper by The Phoenix symbolizes Jeannette's independence and responsibility because she left her parents in Welch for New York by herself to seek a better future.

Appearance vs. Reality

soto07diego — 2025-03-03 06:29:44 UTC

In the book, The Glass Castle, Jeannette says "The whole town looked like a dump, but Dad said it was a gem, that we just had to look at it from the right angle". This quote shows how her parents were always optimistic and tried to spin off their living conditions as good, so all appeared to be good, but in reality, they were not. This follows the theme of Appearance vs. Reality because it shows how they were living in the way Rex says this all appears to be well but in reality all is not well. This image of a country farmhouse depicts where Jeannette lived, and her parents spun reality to make it seem as if things were fine when in reality they were not.

Unconditional Love

soto07diego — 2025-03-03 06:30:16 UTC

In the book, The Glass Castle, Jeannette says "I loved them, they loved me...", referring to her parents and how they loved each other unconditionally, unfortunately, her parents just didn't have ways to show it. This quote follows the theme of unconditional love because it illustrates the love Jeannette and her parents had towards each other. This image of Jeannette and her mother also shows how Jeannette loves her mother unconditionally because she allows her to stay at a cottage on her farm that she made for her even after all she was put through in her childhood because of her.