Welcome to The Glass Castle blog! The Glass Castle is a non-fiction story about the life of an American author named Jeannette Walls who had a very hard childhood. I recommend this book to anyone because it taught me powerful lessons and was very interesting. I found three important topics to write about including the significance of the title, the parent's beliefs, and the theme of fire.
The Glass Castle was a huge solar powered house made entirely of glass that Rex planned to build for his family. It symbolised hope and happiness because that is what the family would attain by living in it. Glass, however, can shatter easily and plans don't always follow through because problems get in the way. Rex's alcoholic and unstable lifestyle was the issue. Building the Glass Castle was Rex's promise that was never fulfilled. When Jeannette was younger, I think that she had a high level of faith in her father, but as she grew older, she realized that he was unreliable and the Glass Castle would never be built. She even stood up to him by saying "Dad, you'll never build the Glass Castle. Even if you do, I'll be gone. In less than three months, I'm leaving for New York City" (238). To conclude, although the Glass Castle was never built it still has much significance to the novel.
This is an image of a blueprint for a building. A blueprint is a sketch or an idea that is made before a structure is built. The blueprint for the Glass Castle was simply an idea that was never completed.
Throughout The Glass Castle, Jeannette's parents had somewhat abnormal beliefs that were different from other families. I would describe Rose Mary Walls as a free-spirited artist whose standards and beliefs included self dependency and letting nature take its course. She didn't worry too much about any of her children, but instead devoted herself to her life. On the other hand, Rex Walls was a very intelligent father who cared deeply about his kids and always spoke his mind. A very severe problem that tore his family apart was his drinking. In fact, he didn't always finish what he planned to because of this problem. Rex's intelligence had the power to make his family rich, but he put it to waste by never getting jobs and spending all his money at bars. Although he had these many issues, I felt very sorrowful when he passed away because he always tried his hardest to make his children happy.
Rex and Rose Mary's beliefs grew to ultimately change their children's lives. Dealing with their dysfunctional family, Lori, Brian, and Jeannette helped each other out and raised money to buy food. Maureen, who just spent her time at friend's houses, never experienced any teamwork or self-sufficiency. I think that is why she became upset and confused and ended up stabbing her mother towards the end of the novel. To conclude, Rex and Rose Mary's beliefs have changed the lives of their children.
A song that reminded me of how Rex and Rose Mary's beliefs have changed Jeannette and her siblings lives is "Innocent" by Taylor Swift. Jeannette, Laurie, Maureen, and Brian were all born into an environment that they couldn't control, but still had control over who they would become. Some siblings made their choices better than others, but at the end of the day it was themselves who decided their fate.
While reading The Glass Castle I saw many reoccurring themes, but the one I thought was the most important was the theme of fire. Towards the beginning of the novel, Jeannette explained her first encounter with fire when she nearly burned to death while cooking hot dogs at the age of three. After this incident she became fascinated with fires. I think this addiction occurred because she could relate her life to fire. For instance, one thing Jeannette liked to do with fire was swipe her finger through it to see how much heat she could endure before she was unable to take it anymore. This relates to her life because it can resemble how many hardships she was willing to endure with her unproductive parents. To escape the burning sensation of a finger when it is swiped through fire, it can be moved away. Likewise, to escape from her parents, Jeannette moved to New York with her other two siblings. All in all, I thought that fire was a vital theme shown many times in The Glass Castle.
Above, is a commercial for the Microsoft Windows Phone 7 that shows people who are addicted to their phones. This reminded me of how Jeannette was addicted to fire. Being addicted to your phone leads to problems like running into people or disappointing your date. Likewise, Jeannette's addiction to fire caused her problems, such as burning her doll's face.
