Author Information
Who is Jeannette Walls?
Jeanette Walls is an American author and journalist who is best known for her memoir The Glass Castle.
When was The Glass Castle written?
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls was published in 2005. It is a very interesting memoir about Jeannettes unstable and crazy childhood as well as her family struggles. The book was wrtitten over the course of multiple years though as it was drafted in 6 weeks and then Jeannette spent the next 5 years quietly developing it into a finished book.
What is the Exposition of the memoir?
Jeannette sees her mom searching through a dumpster and meets with her for coffee to discuss the matter. Then a flashback happens to Jeanette's childhood introducing her family and their very unstable life. Then we see a flashback to her childhoos, beginning when she is three years old and she catches on fire while cooking hotdogs. This opens the book with establishing the idea of her possibly being neglected and having a poverty filled life.
What is the theme of The Glass Castle?
The central theme of The Glass Castle is that resilience and determination can help people overcome a difficult upbringing and build their own futures. Despite Jeannette going through poverty and parental neglect almost her whole entire childhood she learns how to rely on herself and become knowledgeful on how to build a stable life. The memoir also shows the idea that loving and accepting your family doesn’t always mean that you have to excuse their harmful choices or let those choices they made define your future or who you are as a person.
What is the most prominent social issue that arises in the book?
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What do you know about the time period Jeanette lived in?
Jeannette Walls lived through the 1960s and 1970s as a child who grew up in a very nomadic family. She moved around the American Southwest as a child and later found herself settled in Welch West Virginia. Poverty was a very prominent issue during this historical period supporting the craziness of her nomadic and unstable life.
What was happening in the world during the time period the book takes place?
In the world during this time(1960-80s) there was a lot of social change and shift in rights. The civil rights movement was arising and there was a fight in racial segragation as well as discrimination. There was also a change in womens rights and other groups rights into the 1970s. These changes all challanged the worlds traditional views but overall changed society. The government was also starting to work to reduce poverty in America, looking to expand the support for housing, education, and health care for those who couldn’t support those needs themselves.
How does Jeannettes relationship with her parents support how she was shaped as an individual?
Jeannettes relationship with her parents shapes her into an independent, resilient, and compassionate person. Rex(her father) encourages her curiostities and confidence throughout the book but his alcoholism and broken promises lead her to know that she cannot depend on him. Her mother on the other hand doesn’t care for Jeanette much either and demonstrates it through focusing on her own intrests forcing Jeannette to take on mature responsibilities at a very young age. Their neglect motivates Jeannette to take on challenges at a young age causing her to want to seek a more stable life, wile her continued love for them shows that she learns to recognize peoles flaws without entirely rejecting them.
What does the theme mean?
The theme means that resilience, the ability to keep going through difficulties, can help you build a better future even when your past might be painful. Jeannettes story shows that even though both of her parents where neglectful and gave her an unstable childhood her consistant resiliance and power to push through let her determine who she wants to be. She learns to choose a new path for herself while still deciding to love her family.
What message is the author trying to protray through this social issue?
Jeannette Walls is trying to relay many messages to the reader in the book The Glass Castle but the main social issue she is trying to convey to the audience is the idea of poverty. Jeannette shows that children suffer when adults fail to do the basic provisions for children like food, saftey, and support. Her experiences suggest that love alone does not replace responsible parenting and that being forced to become independent is not an excuse for neglect. At the same time her journey shows that a difficult upbringing does not have to define a persons future, as we see that she is now a very successful writer.
What connections can you make between the authors writing and her background?
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What social/societal trends took place during this time period?
During this time period lots of trends occurred but one that stuck out was the trend of counterculture which worked to challenge authority and traditional lifestyles. Movements for racial equality and womens independence struck as hot topics. These trends connect to The Glass Castle because they provide clarity of the parents rejection of the ”expectations of society” and the families struggles with poverty showing the tension between personal freedom and family responsibility.
What was the main event that finally pushed Jeanette and her siblings to finally move to New York?
dad stole money and jeanette was almost sexually assulted
How does the theme develop throughout the book?
The theme of resilience develops through the book as Jeannette chnages from being an inocent child to a young women who takes control of her life and her future. She went through so much in her childhood as she experience hunger, neglect, and broken promises, leading her to learn independence and how to create her own stability. She and Lori(her sister) work and save money to leave home, and even though Rex stole it setting them back quite a bit they both continue to push through and persue there plan. They both end up moving to New York attending college and Jeannette became a journalist. This shows that even though she had a difficult childhood and upbringing she used resilience and didn‘t let it effect her future and who she wanted to become.
What connections can you make between the social issue and the historical time period?
It would make sense that the social issue in this book is very well connected to the social issue that was arising in the historical time period since this is a memoir, in this case the social issue seems to be poverty. Poverty connects to the books historical setting because inflation in the 1970s made basic necessities harder to afford, while shortages of affordable housing contributed to rising homelessness in the 1980s. These conditions provide context for the Walls families hunger, unstable housing, and parents later homelessness.
How did the time period Jeanette lived in effect her writing?
Because her childhood was primarly lived in the 1960-70s her writing was given a nomadic setting allowing her to focus on resilience, poverty, and her struggles with her family instability. In The Glass Castle her memories of hunger and poor housing environmental show what growing up is like when your family doesn’t have financial support. Her work in journalism in her future job influenced her to be able to use direct storytelling as she retells her childhood to the millions of readers of her memior. The time period seems to have perfectly provided “a backdrop” to her personal experiences and how they shape the story.
What connections can you make between the historical context and the elements in the book?
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In the end of the book how is Jeannettes relationship with her parents perceived?
By the end of The Glass Castle, Jeannettes relationship with her parents is thought of through the action of acceptance. Rather than complete approval or rehection she recognizes the harm of her parents constant neglect but she also still feels there love for her. At the final Thanksgiving gathering she wwelcomes her mother and shares the memories of Rex(her father) with the family. This suggests that she has made peace with her past and accepts what has happened in a sense that yes maybe she wished her parents would have treated her better she is grateful for the lessons they taught her as it lead to to build a successful independent life.
What major plot events do we see primarly shape the theme?
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How does the most prominent social issue found in the book compare to the most prominent one in our society today?
The most prominent social issue in The Glass Castle is poverty, which connects closely to todays concerns about affordability and economic inequality. Like the Walls family, many families today struggles to meet the basic needs of living like food and stable housing. Although todays is viewed in a broader discussion both focus on housing costs, wages, and access to assistance. Poverty is therefore a major continuing issue, while there is no single agreed upon “most prominent” problem in society.
After reading the book it is very clear that Jeanettes siblings play a major role in her life, how do you think the book would be if she didn’t have her siblings by her side?
Without her siblings I think that The Glass Castle would have felt much lonelier and less hopeful because she doesnt have their support. In the book there is many circumstances where Jeannette experiences neglect from her parents and her siblings support her. Brian helps her find food and face dangers while Lori helps move her to New York. These little moments that her siblings help her through show how much they mean to her and eachother. I feel like the hardships she struggled through would have been a lot harder on her if she would have faced them alone, we cannot know exactly how her life would be without them but we cannot assume it would have probably turned out very different.
How do you think the book would be if it took place in modern day?
If The Glass Castle took place in modern day it would be very different as technology would strongly shift how the family experiences poverty. The children might use the internet to find help, educational resources, or jobs but their parents frequent moves and irresponsible financial desicions could limit that access. Social media might also make their struggles more visible while increasing their embarrassment when cmpaing themselves to others. Although the circumstances would change, i do believe the central themes of resilience, neglect and complicated family love would likely remain the same.
What is the turning point of The Glass Castle?
When they move to Welch
After thinking about the theme and learning about Jeanettes personal life, how does it compare to your life and daily morals?
Jeannettes story reminds me that although i may not face the exact same hardships and challanges she did i can still practice my own resilience in my life. Her determination shows me that even though there might be a bump in the road its not the end. Jeannette is a hard, empowering worker who took responsiblity and never gave up when things got hard, showing me that becuase she can do tha so can I. Luckily, I have a very strong relationship with my parents so I cannot relate on the neglected terms but she reminds me that i can care about others while setting boundaries and make choices that are right for my future.
If poverty wasn’t the most overlying social issue in the book what would be?
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