The Glass Castle by diana

Sibling loyalty is key for children.

dianaadalid15 — 2025-03-03 17:04:12 UTC

Rex and Rose Mary were not much help when it came to sticking up for their children. Therefore, throughout the book there were many occasions when the children had to stick up for each other. Sadly, on page 146, Erma, the children's grandma took Brian to her room to fix his pants. However Jeannette began to hear some weak protesting, this is when Jeannette saw what Erma was doing. Jeanette and Lori defended Brian. They screamed and said, “Erma, you leave him alone”, “I know what I saw. She's a pervert!” Jeanette shouted. Lori came in a got into a physical fight with Erma. After they were sent to the basement their parents arrived and were furious. They said "Brians a man, he can take it." Unfortunately, their parents did not protect them and after this, the children were more attentive. This example supports the theme, sibling loyalty is key for children because no one else would help them. Throughout the book they always helped each other no matter what.

The power of hopes and dreams can truly get one far.

dianaadalid15 — 2025-03-03 17:05:29 UTC

Jeanette disliked Welch. She didn't want to stay in a small little village. Jeanette was inspired to go to Welch by two filmmakers who came to Welch. On page 221, Jeannette realizes that her parents will never be able to get them out, and she takes initiative. She then said "I decided the next day I'd go to G.C. Murphy and buy a pink plastic piggy bank I've seen there. I'd put 75 dollars I had managed to save while working at Becker's Jewel Box. It would be the beginning of my escape fund." One day after many days of saving up, her father, Rex, had found the piggy bank and took all of her savings. This step-back made Jeannette feel like she would truly never be able to escape Welch. However, a great opportunity came up for Jeanette. The child she has been babysitting was going on a family trip, and Jeanette was offered to join. She wanted to go, since after the trip she wanted to go to New York afterwards. Jeanette felt like this opportunity was better suited for Lori and gave it to her! Not much longer, Jeanette was able to join her and both had a stable job with a home for both of them. Ever since Jeanette, Lori, and Brian never starved. This example supports the theme that the power of hopes and dreams can truly get one far because after many unfortunate obstacles, Jeanette was able to leave and make a better life for herself.

Through forgiveness and understanding, one can heal wounds and grow stronger relationships

dianaadalid15 — 2025-03-03 18:03:11 UTC

Throughout the book Rose Mary makes lots of unforgiveable choice. One example is on page 173 and 174. Jeannette was looking through the wastebasket scraping for food and actually found extra food! Which was uncommon for her, she stuffed the food in her purse to bring back home to Brian. When she got home, she noticed Rose Mary getting heavier. One day Brian noticed that his mom kept disappearing under the blanket. finally, he yanked the blanket off and next to Rose Mary as a family-sized Hershey. "I can't help it" she cried " I'm a sugar addict." Rose Mary has been eating tons of snacks while her children were scraping for food. Another example can be on page 272 when Jeanette found out that for their whole life's Rose Mary had land worth 1 million dollars that she could've sold to feed her family. These examples support the theme through forgiveness and understanding, one can heal wounds and grow stronger relationships. I believe this because later in the book even after all their trauma Rose Mary was invited to Brian's house for Thanksgiving, and beyond the Glass Castle, Rose Mary even lived with Jeannette. Jeannette became a bigger person.

Parental neglect can severely impact a child's emotional, psychological and physical well-being.

dianaadalid15 — 2025-03-03 18:04:09 UTC

Due to parental neglect, Jeanette caught on fire when she was 3 years old and was taken to the hospital. Once she arrived, the doctors said she was lucky even to be alive. Jeanette then told the nurses, “Mom says I’m mature for my age, and she lets me cook for myself a lot.” (page 11) Then the “Two nurses looked at each other, and one of them wrote something down on a clipboard.” This example shows how neglect can harm a child physically. Jeannette was hospitalized for 6 weeks due to neglect. Throughout the book, Lori, Jeannette, Brain, and Marueen were neglected not only physically, but emotionally and psychologically too. They could never rely on their parents growing up. This example supports the theme, parental neglect can severely impact a child's emotional, psychological, and physical well-being because emotional trauma does lead to a lack of trust, and many more unhealthy habits.

The pursuit of freedom and independence can completely turn one's life around.

dianaadalid15 — 2025-03-03 19:49:06 UTC

When Jeannette was finally able to leave Welch, she started her own life in New York. In page 247 she talks about how many opportunities there is in New York. "I had spent a lot of time imagining what New York would be like, but the one thing that had never occurred to me was that the opportunities would come so easily." She fell in love with the city and never went a day without food. After working at Hamburger job for a while she quit and worked at a newspaper, The Phoenix. There is her boss advise her to go to college for a better job. These examples support the theme the pursuit of freedom and independence can completely turn one's life around. This is shown throughout the book because Jeannette kept advancing and became very successful. Even though she once believed she would never make it out, she kept working and finally was able to leave for a better life.

One's childhood can shape their adulthood in both negatives and positives.

dianaadalid15 — 2025-03-03 21:11:13 UTC

Growing up none of the children had any helpful. One pro Jeanette had was her ability to persevere even through her difficult circumstances. This helped her in a way long term because she was able to overcome challenges as an adult. One con that affected Jeannette was the instability and insecurity of her childhood. On page 256 Jeannette gives some change to a homeless person and her friend Carol tells her she shouldn't do that because they're "scamming artist." Jeannette wanted to say something but just thought, "What do you know? I felt like telling Carol that my parents were out there, too, that she had no idea what it was like to be down on you luck with nowhere to go and nothing to eat. This example supports the theme that one's childhood can shape their adulthood in both negatives and positives. This is shown in this example because it shows how empathetic and compassionate Jeannete became even with a difficult childhood. This shows how both positive and negative aspects of one's upbringing can influence their behavior and worldview.