The Glass Castle by Evan Fowler

Fantasy vs Reality

evanf06 — 2023-12-05 20:34:44 UTC

A quote that represents the theme of Fantasy vs Reality well is "I stared at the plans. Dad I said, you'll never build the Glass castle." Rex has a fantasy of building a whole castle made out of glass. He was going to achieve this through finding gold in the mountains and getting rich. However in reality this was never achievable and he never found any gold. This shows Rex and how he lived in his fantasy with his Glass Castle and not in reality with his poor living situation. (page 238)

Self-sufficiency

evanf06 — 2023-12-05 20:37:30 UTC

A quote that represents Self-sufficiency is "I stabbed one of the hotdogs with a fork and bent over and offered it to him. The Weiner was hot, so Juju licked it tentatively, but when I stood up and started stirring the hotdogs again, I felt a blaze of heat on my right slide." This quote, considering that the character was only three years old at the time, shows the theme of self-sufficiency in The Glass Castle. The act of a toddler preparing and sharing hotdogs shows the remarkable resilience and resourcefulness of Jeannette from a very young age. In the crazy house where she constantly faces adversity and instability, her initiative to meet basic needs shows self-sufficiency. (page 9)

Resilience

evanf06 — 2023-12-05 20:39:12 UTC

A quote that strongly represents the theme of resilience is "Lori was working as a freelance artist specializing in fantasy, illustrating calendars and game boards and book jackets. Brian had joined the police force as soon as he turned twenty... Meanwhile, Maureen had graduated from high school and enrolled in one of the city colleges." Throughout the Novel, the children display great amounts of resilience, especially throughout all the hardships their parents put them through. They had enough resilience to push through their struggles and make a life worth living. (page 274)

Alcoholism

evanf06 — 2023-12-07 19:28:56 UTC

A quote that can represent the theme of alcoholism in The Glass Castle is. "He came home in such a drunken fury that mom usually hid while we kids tried to calm him down. He broke windows and smashed dishes and furniture until he'd spent all his anger." The need to calm their father down became a common routine, forcing them into the roles of peacemakers at an age when they should have been shielded from such responsibilities. The destructive aftermath of his binges not only left a physical toll on the home but also took an emotional toll on the family's well-being. (page 112)

Chaos and Order

evanf06 — 2023-12-07 19:29:32 UTC

A quote that represents the theme of chaos and order is "We were always doing the skedaddle, usually in the middle of the night." This shows the struggle between chaos and order in the Walls family's life. In the face of instability and unpredictability, the family always does the skedaddle, an impromptu escape, symbolizing the chaos of there lives. The frequent recurrence of these midnight departures reflects the family's ongoing battle against the chaos that looms over their lives, portraying a narrative of resilience and adaptability in the face of adversity. (page 19)

Achievement

evanf06 — 2023-12-07 19:30:23 UTC

A quote that represents the theme of achievement is "I would work ninety-hour work weeks, my telephone rang constantly, I was always hurrying off to interviews and checking the ten dollar Rolex I'd bought on the street to make sure I want running late, rushing back to file my copy and staying up until four a.m to set type when the typesetter quit. And I was bringing home $125 a week." Jeannette was doing everything to not end up back in her old situation with her mother and father. She pushed herself and was scared to end up like her mom, because of this she was able to be very successful. (page 248)