The Glass Castle
Jeanette Walls
Megan Lamb
English 10
Ms. Leclaire
Quick Summary of The Glass Castle
 The Glass Castle was written by Jeanette Walls. It’s about her
childhood and Jeanette’s dysfunctional family. Her dad, Rex, was
an alcoholic and was unemployed. On the other hand, her mom,
Rose Mary, had a college degree and a teaching degree; but, she
never took the opportunity to use them. Rose Mary would rather
spend her time painting for fun. The Walls family was poor and
moved around a lot. Jeanette had 3 siblings who got tired of not
staying at the same school and having to make
new friends. Jeanette was neglected as a child
and took care of herself. Jeanette and her
siblings were very independent and didn’t ask
for anything. As she grew older she realized
she didn’t want to live like this for the rest of
her life. Jeanette’s goal as a young girl was to
move to New York and become a writer.
Quotes
 The memoir starts out with, “"I was
sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had
overdressed for the evening,
when I looked out the window
and saw Mom rooting through a
Dumpster" (Walls 3).
 This symbolizes the different
lifestyles Jeanette and her mom
have. Jeanette is dressed nice and
in a taxi going somewhere. While her
mom, Rose Mary, is homeless on the streets of New York searching
through a dumpster; maybe looking for something to eat.
Quotes continued
 The earliest memory Jeanette remembers is when she got burned
from cooking hot dogs for her family at a young age. “I screamed. I
smelled the burning and heard a horrible crackling as the fire singed
my hair and eyelashes…” “When we got to the hospital, nurses put
me on a stretcher…One of them squeezed my hand and told me I
was going to be okay.” “I know, I said, “but if I’m not, that’s okay
too.” “The doctors told me I was lucky to be alive…I would have
been happy staying in the hospital forever” (Walls 11-12).
 First of all, why is a young girl cooking hot dogs? When I was young
I wasn’t allowed to be near anything that was hot. Jeanette loves
the hospital because she’s being taken care of. She gets fed three
times a day, she’s clean, and feels wanted. It’s weird because
normally people today dislike staying at hospitals recovering; they
would rather be in their warm home snuggled up in their bed.
Jeanette is humble and believes if it’s her time to go; then, she
should go.
Quotes continued
 Even though Jeanette’s father was an
alcoholic; he was a dramatic storyteller. “When
dad wasn’t telling us about all the amazing
things he had already done, he was telling us
about the wondrous things he was going to do.
Like build the Glass Castle…it was one special
project: a great big house he was going to
build for us in the desert…I would have a glass
ceiling, thick glass walls, and even a glass
staircase…he carried around the blueprints
wherever he went…All we had to do was find
gold” (Walls 25).
 Jeanette mentions the Glass Castle frequently throughout the book. I
think the Glass Castle is a symbol of hope and brings light to the Walls
family. They want to strive to get somewhere in life; it’s just at a
different pace then they imagined.
Quotes continued
 At a young age Jeanette never
believed in Santa Claus. “None of us kids did.
Mom and dad refused to let us. They couldn’t
afford expensive presents, and they didn’t want
us to think we weren’t as good as the other kids...”Pick out your
favorite star,” Dad said that night. He told me I could have it for
keeps...I wanted Venus, and he gave it to me…We laughed about all
the kids who believed in the Santa myth and got nothing for
Christmas but a bunch of cheap plastic toys. “Years from now, when
all the junk they got is broken and long forgotten,” Dad said, “you’ll
still have your stars” (Walls 40-41).
 Jeanette mentions the star she chose that night a lot. Even though
she didn’t get a lot of gifts from her parents; she appreciated the
thought her dad put into it.
Quotes continued
 The Walls family had just moved to 93 Little
Hobart Street; the house was a dump and a rat live
in their house. “The rat was beside Maureen’s
(Jeanette’s little sister) bed and our dog, Tinkle, caught the rat in his
jaws and banged it on the floor until it was dead. Mom ran into the
room and she said she felt sorry for the rat...she said it deserved a
name, she went on, so she christened it Rufus.” The Walls family
also had a garbage pit on the side of their house, “What are we
going to do about the garbage pit?” I asked. “It’s almost filled up.”
“Enlarge it,” mom said.” “What are people going to think of us?”
“Life is too short to worry about what other people think, mom said.
“Anyway, they should accept us for who we are” (Walls 157-158).
 This scene reveals that Jeanette’s mother wouldn’t hurt a fly. Rose
Mary believes every living animal deserves a place to live and eat.
Yet, why doesn’t she think this about her own children? Jeanette
knows her house is a dump, but wants to make it look normal, so
she isn’t classified as “trash”. Her mom could care less what there
house looks like or what is in it. Once again, this illustrates the
differences Jeanette and Rose Mary have.
“Don’t Stop Believin’”
This song relates to The Glass Castle
because it’s talking about a small town girl
who has to keep believing that some day
her life will change and she can do
something with it. The “girl” in the song is
similar to Jeanette who keeps trying to
help out her family. Both of the girls seem
lonely and independent. Some day
Jeanette will win or lose, but she doesn’t
care which one.