Jeannette saying Good-Bye

I chose the song You can let go now Daddy by Crystal Shawanda, at first to describe Jeannette leaving for New York. After listening to the song again, I realized that last few verses about the dad dying in a hospital bed, goes perfectly with when Rex Walls dies. Jeannette could not stand to see her father, the big, strong, Rex Walls hooked up to a bunch of machines that were breathing for him, knowing he would hate that. Jeannette felt that he would have much rather have died in the wilderness, not in a hospital bed. The same thing goes in the song, the daughter couldn't stand to see her father like that.  In the chorus, it repeatedly says, "You can let go now, Daddy. You can let go. Oh, I think I'm ready to do this on my own." That is why I initally chose this song, because Jeannette said good-bye to her dad in Welch. But when Rex dies in a hospital room, Jeannette wished they could check out Rex Walls style one more time.

Shattering of Hope

The name of this book is The Glass Castle. Throughout the story, Rex Walls is constantly "working out" ways to build and perfect the Glass Castle. Rex never starts to build it, and as we progress through the story, the odds of him building the Glass Castle grow slimmer and slimmer. I feel the Glass Castle is a symbol of hope and faith. When all of the kids move into a house in Welch, Jeannette and Brian were the only two that still beleived the Glass Castle would be built. Pretty soon, none of the kids believed the Glass Castle would ever be built. They had all given up on that idea. They had all lost hope and faith.  Everyone knew that they were stuck in Welch and that

it wasn't going to get better. In order to believe that something good will come out of your life, you must have both hope and faith. To me, that is what the Glass Castle meant to the Walls children. But I think to Rex it was a goal. A goal that he never tried to accomplish so it became a distant dream. Before going to New York, Jeannette told her father to build the Glass Castle, but don't do it for her. Without the idea of the Glass Castle, I think the Walls would have lived a different life. I don't know if it would have been better, but I am sure it would be one without faith and hope.

Above are the blueprints the Walls family made for the Glass Castle.

I Loved Her First

The song I loved her First by Heartland, to me helps to describe Jeannette and Rex's relationship. This song is about a father finding it hard to give his daughter away when she is getting married. During the scene where Jeannette is getting ready to leave Welch and go to New York, Rex goes to see her off. To me, this says something since he did not go to see Lori off. Rex was very protective of Jeannette, and before she left, he gave her his knife with the blue handle, and this is the knife he carried everywhere. When Jeannette was going to college, Rex was so proud of her, he even paid the $1,000 that she was unable to come up wtih for her last year of tuition. Rex was definitely the first one to love his daughter, and through The Glass Castle, we were able to see how much he loved her.

Father-Daughter Relationship

The strongest, and most dramatic, ever changing relationships in this book is that of Rex and Jeannette Walls. In the beginning of Jeannette's life, her dad was practically her whole world. She believed that her dad would follow through on all of his plans, and had 110% hope in him. While Lori and Brian knew their father had let them down and failed to keep promises, getting drunk instead of working, Jeannette believed he was working on projects to help make them rich. When the kids moved to Welch, that is when the relationship gets a little shaky. Jeannette constantly tells herself that she can't give up on her father, because she is the only person who still believes in him. As Jeannette grows up in Welch, the relationship changes. As soon as Rex hits Jeannette with a belt, as she says, he knew he would lose her. But we learn she is still his biggest supporter. We really see how much Rex loves his daughter when he takes her to the bus station that will take her to New York. It is obvious throughout the story that Jeannette is Rex's favorite child. From being in the hospital at 3 years old, to when she was visiting him in the hospital, from when he died. Rex was also proud of his daughter for going to college and being who she was. The relationship between Rex Walls, father, and Jeannette Walls, daughter, was the strongest, ever changing relationship, aside from that of Brian and Jeannette, in the book. It showed just how much they loved and cared for one another.

Best Father, or Not

While Rex Walls was not the best father, he came through for his kids when it counted. I was most shocked by this when he came up with $1,000.00 to help Jeannette pay for her last year in college. The strange thing is, the Walls were always trying to come up with money for food, but somehow he always came up with money. How Rex came up with the money is a mystery to me, and I don't even think the rest of the Walls know. In the beginning, when Jeannette and Brian were in elementary school, they had no food in the house. Rex heard this, as if for the first time, and brought in a whole grocery bag filled with food for their lunch. Rex had his bad side also. He would spend a lot of grocery money on alcohol, or just waste it. He was also always taking money that was not his, from the whole family, since he was in charge of the finances. Rex let his kids down in many ways, but when it was least expected, he pulled through and provided the kids with what they needed.

Walls Parenting

The Walls family is extremely different, yet similar, to other families in the United States and the world. Rex and Rose Mary Walls are an interesting set of parents, to put it lightly. They allow for their kids to run around and take care of themselves, barely paying attention to them. Jeannette, Brian, and Lori all became independent from their parents and other people. While the youngest Walls child, Maureen, never really became independant. Maureen depended on her neighbors and friends, but that was okay because she was just a kid. Maureen depending on other people did not become a problem until she was an adult, and could not do anything for herself. I think that moving around a lot actually helped them in life, even though it was not the best situations that they lived in.While both Rex and Rose Mary had their flaws, allowing their children to be independant wasn't such a bad thing. While they could have provided a better living environment for their kids, they did make some good decisions with them. Rex and Rose Mary also had some crazy views on living in the city and eating processed foods, but at least, from what I read, they tried their best to raise and teach their children.

Sibling Relationships

     Out of all the Walls children, Jeannette and Brian, in my opinion were the closest. Jeannette and Brian were always going exploring together. They would go around on their bikes and explore whatever neighborhood they were in. When they were in school, they would sit together so neither of them would have to explain why they weren't eating lunch. Throughout their lives, they were just really close and did almost everything together.
     While Jeannette and Brian were close, Jeannette and Lori were close also. Lori would confide in Jeannette, and it was Lori and Jeannette that originally came up with the plan to go to New York. Jeannette even told a woman that she babysat for to take Lori on vacation and then give her a ticket to New York after Rex stole all the money they had saved up. Jeannette and Lori did not let Brian in on the plan to move to New York until they were both their already.
     Out of all the Wall children, Maureen was the one not close to any of her siblings. This is do to the fact that she practically lived with her friends her whole life. Lori, Jeannette, and Brian finally decided to bring Maureen up to New York when they decided it was to dangerous for her to live in Welch.
     The Walls children had great relationships with one another though. They supported one another, and were always there for one another. The Walls siblings helped each other survive, and thrive, always helping one another out. They were each others support system, and without one another, I don't know if they would have turned out as well as they did.

Summary

     The Glass Castle, is a non-fiction book based on the childhood and early adult life of Jeannette Walls. The earliest memory Jeannette has, or one of the earliest, is of her cooking hot dogs. She was cooking hot dogs in a pink dress when she was three years old, and her dress caught on fire. Jeannette ended up in the hospital with severe burns, and stayed there for a while. One day when her dad came to visit, they checked out Rex Walls style. Jeannette, Brian, Lori, Rose Mary, and Rex moved around a lot. Many of the places they lived were trailer parks. Even though they moved around a lot, the one thing that they always took with them were the blueprints to the Glass Castle. Rex was always saying that he needed money in order to build the Glass Castle, so the money they had always went to "research." When the youngest Walls child is born, Maureen, they check out Rex Walls style once again, but they continue to move around. The first place that Jeannette considers to be home is the house her mom inherited from her mother. They lived in this house for a while, but one day, they left. The Walls moved to Welch, and stayed there, not moving around at all.

    When they first moved to Welch, everyone lived with Rex's mother and father. When Rex and Rose Mary go back to their old house to collect some of their belongings, Brian, Lori, and Jeannette get into an argument with their grandmother. Jeannette accuses her grandmother of touching Brian inappropriately and Lori gets into an argument and smacks her grandmother. When Rex and Rose Mary get back, Rex's mother tells them that they have to leave. This is when they buy a house in Welch. When the Walls move to Welch, all hopes of the Glass Castle being built disappears. Everybody pretty much forgets about it. Rex continues to drink and drink, spending all the money they have on alcohol, while Maureen practically lives with the neighbors. Jeannette, Brian, and Lori convince their mom to get a job as a teacher. Even with their mom having a job, they still never have money. When Rose Mary goes away to renew her teaching degree, and Lori is at camp, Jeannette is in charge of providing food for her, Brian, and Maureen for a month. One day, Rex asked Jeannette for money, knowing Jeannette will give it to him since she has a soft spot for her dad. Then he takes her out to a bar so she can help him win a pool game. This is the summer that Jeannette gets a job at a jewerly store. When school starts up again, Lori and Jeannette make a plan to move to New York. They start saving all the money they can and putting it in a piggy bank. Brian helps with the savings, but he's not included in the plan. When it is almost time for Lori to go to New York, Rex steals all the money that they saved up, and he denied it. But, Jeannette is able to get Lori to New York by giving up a babysitting job that pays $200.00 and a bus ticket.  During Jeannette's junior year in highschool, she moves to New York with Lori. With her dad seeing her off, she leaves Welch.

     Lori and Jeannette live in a New York apartment, with both of them having a job, and Jeannette going to school. Lori and Jeannette bring Brian to New York to live with them, since things in Welch are not looking up. Jeannette applies to Barnard College, and she gets in. But since she has to pay tuition, she isn't able to live with Lori anymore and finds a place she can stay if she babysits. Three years later,Lori, Brian, and Jeannette decide to move Maureen up to New York to, where she will live with Lori. Rex and Rose Mary move to New York soon after that. When they got kicked out of their apartment, they moved in with Lori. But Lori could not handle her dad, so Rex moved in with Brian. When Lori has to kick her mom out of the apartment, Rex and Rose Mary become homeless. But Rose Mary says it is an adventure. In her final year at Barnard, Rex came through for her by coming up with the extra $1,000.00 she needed for tuition at school. Rex and Rose Mary finally get off of the streets by moving into an abandoned apartment building with a bunch of other people, around the same time that Jeannette not only graduates, but moves in with the guy she has been dating for a couple of years. Jeannette gets married to Eric and they continue to live in New York. Lori has a job as a freelance artist in New York and Brian became a police officer but Maureen is dependant upon her parents. When Rose Mary told Maureen she would have to make her own way in the world, Maureen stabbed her mother. Rose Mary didn't die, but Maureen did go to a hospital. Later, Maureen moved to California. Jeannette finds out that her father is dying, and while talking they bring up the Glass Castle. They said how they never did get to build it, but had a good time planning. Rex later died in the hospital. Jeannette and Eric get divorced, but she marries a guy names John. The book ends with Jeannette inviting everyone over for Thanksgiving. Lori comes with their mom,and Brian with his daughter. The Thanksgiving went smoothly, even though it was one of the first times they had gotten together since Rex died.