Seminar Handout

Seminar Handout
Author: Jeannette Walls
Novel: The Glass Castle

Biography
     Jeannette Walls was born on April 21st 1960 in Phoenix, Arizona and currently lives in Virginia with her family. A world known journalist, author and blogger best known for her gossip columns and novels The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses. Walls grew up with unconventional parents that let their children raise themselves; as expected violence and desperation ensured. The second child of four, Walls struggled to keep her family together and her perseverance shows in her work, she is up front and real. While her parents self taught her when they felt the need, Walls latched onto certain academic figures in her life, Miss Jeanette Bivens is an example of the few adults that saw how hard working and real Walls was and that encouraged her to pick up the pen and start working for the wave, to give the people what they want without hiding from the truth.

     For two decades Walls hid her past with many reasons of her own and with the release of this novel came the release of her secrets; at least those written. Walls was born in Arizona and moved around to more places than she could count until the names of the cities and towns became one long blur. "The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant" and has emotionally educated individuals for years now. This novel illustrates the different sides of humankind, and exactly what kind of strength is required to accept and love them all.

Jeannette Walls Biography | List of Works, Study Guides & Essays (Jeannette Walls Biography)

Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle. Simon and Schuster, 2006. 288. Print.

The Glass Castle Paperback – Jan 17 2006 (The Glass Castle: Jeannette Walls: 9780743247542: Books)

Inside Me (extra poem but done)

I know you can’t believe

I want the part of you that you refuse to See

Of the things unknown

But longed for still,

The caged bird sings

With fearful trill,

Love is just a word

And his tune is heard

The world’s a stage

Won’t you come out to play?

Kayne West – Heartless

Ellen Hopkins – Crank

Maya Angelou – Caged Bird

Anonymous – April 02,2015 (found on tumblr)

Shakespeare – The World’s a Stage

The Beatles – Dear Prudence

Independent Study Part B

A Walk Among Broken Glass

An Independent Study into The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Part B

Courtney Cutts

Mr. Pierce

EWC 4U1

2. Describe two or three incidents, scenes or moments in the novel that you remember most vividly. Use exact words from the text and explain how they are striking.

This novel has many striking parts in it because Walls has a story to tell and doesn't shy away from displaying humanity in its entirety. When illustrating the downfalls of humans authors walk a very fine line between making the reader understand and connect with the situation without the reader feeling as vile about themselves as they do towards certain characters; that's what makes certain situations that Jeannette faces circle around in my head. One of the instances that I remember the most vivdly is what happens after Jeannette's uncle begins to grope her while pleasuring himself and Jeannette tells her mother about it. Jeannette was consoled with a lowly, "Sexual assault was a crime of perception, if you don't think you're hurt, then you aren't. So many women make such a big deal out of these things" (Page 184). Those words to me were like a whip, I can't imagine someone that I was supposed to look up to and depend on saying these types of things to someone in Jeannette's situation. It made me furious and also extremely depressed; how long did Jeannette have to live and depend on people like this? How many situations like this happened to her siblings or herself that she chose not to write about? How can you say that you love someone and have that same mentality regarding their safety and well being? I suppose that it is the thought process of her parents that really stuck with me throughout this novel; how they treated Jeannette and the ways that she was blind to the truth of what they are. What her mother told her was disgusting within itself but her words pale in comparison of Rex's actions and blackmail. After blackmailing and intimidating Jeannette to give him the majority of their grocery money for beer and the like, he drags her into another money making scheme. Most of Rex's money making theories didn't hurt the family directly but he dragged Jeannette into one unlike any other; she was to be the payout for Rex besting a drunk in several gambling pool games. His intentions were clear the entire time, as he wins more and more money from the drunk Rex allows him to take Jeannette upstairs, only pausing to say, "Just don't do anything I wouldn't do" (Page 212). with a wink. When Jeannette escapes the drunk and confides in her father about what the man had tried to do, he dismisses it with a quick "I'm sure he just pawed you some, I knew you could handle yourself" (Page 213). The entire novel Rex has been telling his daughter that if anyone laid a hand on her he would kill them but that was a false persona. It is in these moments that Jeannette experiences the truth behind her parents

 4. Did you learn anything from the story that you did not know before? Explain. (This question could relate to the facts or even to seeing something in a different way)

The story that this novel portrays is one of despair, delight, disappointment and enlightenment. As you turn the pages you are taken from the view of interacting with a charismatic father that is eager to teach about the desert and survival to one that is intimating you for your family's money. The main thing that I learned while reading this novel is that someone can come out of that and hopefully be a half decent human being. While reading this novel there were countless times that I just wanted Jeannette's to realize what her parents were doing to her and stand up for herself; but that wasn't the right thing to do in that situation. After certain events I can't believe she ever went back to them, that she could continue to love to the extent she did however it wasn't really like she had much of a choice. Barely a teenager and already she's been molested by family and strangers, hit, starved and abused; all with her parents blind eye upon her. How many nights can you hear "You ungrateful little shit. I'll be damned if you're eating my food tonight" (Page 143). before you begin to hate those that provide for you at that age?  I learned that Jeannette is the one of the very few good things that happened in this novel, even when I didn't agree with her submissions at the time. This novel took an edge of hatred off the idea of parents doing these types of things to their children; because some of us can live through it an prosper. More than any of the astrology or geology classes that Jeannette speaks of in the novel, the most overlooked lesson is the one best learnt.

5. Does this story interest you, irritate you, or both? Explain.

While reading this novel I was enthralled, it was a great view into the human mind which has always interested me; it's part of the reason I love reading fiction so much. Human nature, when presented correctly can evoke a whole spectrum of emotions and I found that Walls did this very well in her novel. I enjoy how the book was written, I'm not normally one to enjoy a bibliography, Walls was able to present it in a way that readers can connect with the characters, even at their worst; which is an extremely fine line when it comes to writing. On the one hand, you want your readers to feel an emotional connection to the characters but when you expose your readers to the true darkness of humankind they sometimes do not like how that makes them feel. Jeannette's personality was definitely a point of conflict for me, her character interested me and I could feel connections to her; however her weakness and submission would infuriate me. She loved her family in a way that interested me greatly but that also irritated and disgusted me. Jeannette loved each of them in a different way that accommodated their dualities, she took the good with the bad. Jeannette loved her mother, respected her spirit but "it was hard for me to believe this woman with her head under the blankets, feeling sorry for herself and boohooing like a five year old, was my mother" (Page 208). This novel illustrates the different sides of human nature that I have always been interested in but as it may seem, the truth is at times hard to swallow.

6. If you could be any character in the novel, who would you most like to be and who would you least like to be? Why?
This novel is definitely filled with a number of extremely diverse and violitale characters and they all make me have different emotional reactions depending on the situation and growth of the character. Desiring to be someone else is infeasable, how would I ever know a fictional character enough to ever make that type of decision and for that matter, why would you want to? Who would you be, you or the character?  That being said however, with the mindsets displayed in this novel, I do connect the most with Jeannette and that's whom I would choose to embody if required, she has a strength that I respect and the moral conflictions that I can relate to. Jeannette is also the character that I would most detest being, she lives in a way that I could never imagine myself; I could never be a part of her family. Jeannette got her first serious job when she was thirteen at a jewelry store because her father was taking the money needed to feed her siblings and her. I could never live like that, I would never be able to swallow that much hurt and still have some love left for Rex. I wouldn't have been able to ever speak with him on a realistic level after telling him that a man tried to basically rape me, with my father's permission and the only response given was a distracted "I'm sure he just pawed you some, I knew you could handle yourself" (Page 213). What kind of person do you have to be? Amazingly strong or incomprehensibly weak? What really defines Jeannette's character? Is it her weak and submissive years as a child, or an independent rising journalist? I picked Jeannette because she is the one character that changes the most throughout this novel, but she is the one to experience the majority of the darkness and to smile when she sees it in her father.

8. Arguably, good novels are ones that make their readers feel something. What emotions did this novel raise in you? How emotionally involved did you feel throughout your reading?

By that definition of a "good novel" I feel as though The Glass Castle does indeed fall into that category, it made me feel a rather wide range of emotions as I read through it. The sheer number of emotions and their depth are a consequence of the novel bringing me in and involving me emotionally almost the entire story. The story that Walls tells is one both told artfully and abrasively, she is able to portray the disgrace of humanity without her readers feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders. Those are the parts of the story that struck me the most, that evoked the most feeling; scattered throughout the novel like my thoughts while reading them. I became more involved during the second chapter, when Jeannette almost gets burnt alive. What struck me most about that set of passages while reading it was that her family didn't really seem to be that concerned about her safety, not only that but her mother scolds her because a nurse gave her gum. Those couple lines were where I begun to become more fixiated on the interaction on Jeannette and her mother because my morals were insulted. Reading back on that passage now, there is one line that strikes me more than most, " After all, I am your mother, and I should have a say in how you're raised" (Page 12) I couldn't help but almost laugh. Almost as soon as they leave Arizona where Jeannette was in the hospital, her mother negates any type of responsibility and berates her children for it. As the years go by Jeannette begins to see the weakness in her mother, she can no longer ignore it when "Mom layed wrapped up in blankets on the sofa bed, sobbing about how much she hated her life" (Page 207). I could draw parallels with both Jeannette and her mother but I am glad that Jeannette listened to herself when she said, "I swore to myself that my life would never be like Mom's," (Page 208). The different relationships portrayed in this novel really got to me emotionally and evoked a wide range of emotions including anger, sadness, irritation, interest, disgust, insulted and confused.

Independent Study Part A

Bio
Jeannette Walls, the author of The Glass Castle was born on April 21st 1960 in Phoenix, Arizona. As the third child of Rex and Rose Mary Walls her first memory is of being burned making hot dogs as a child. Her family live consisted of constant movement, unconventional parents and the violence found in desperation. This novel outlines the basis of her experiences growing up, from a toddler to a teenager to a thriving adult. Jeannette currently lives in Virginia with her second husband and fellow writer John Taylor.  I would give you a much more lengthy ideal on the life that Jeannette has had, however I believe that would negate the entire point of The Glass Castle.

Sources:
http://www.gradesaver.com/author/jeannette-walls
 Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle. Simon and Schuster, 2006. 288. Print.

Setting
The beginning of this novel takes place in a little desert town in Southern Arizona in 1963, three years after Jeannette was born. The landscape of this novel is forever changing from small town to small town until Jeanette follows her sister to New York City after graduating from high school. The entire family follows Lori to New York one by one and that is where they live for a time until Maureen moves to Califorina and Jeannette settles down with her second family in a little country cottage.

Characters
Jeannette: 
The main character in this story and the second child, Jeannette grew up tall, pale and with the characteristic shock of red hair of the Walls family. Jeannette grows up strong but thin and more like a boy than the majority of children she grew up with. Forever adventuring with her little brother Brian and trying the very hardest to help her family survive. The term daddy's little girl could never have been more true than with Jeannette and Rex, she was forever his dearest supporter, even when he wronged her grotesquely. As you read this novel you get to see Jeannette grow into a strong young woman, learning the ins and outs of keeping house when she wasn't even a teenager yet; her morals and loyalty to her family stayed solid, even when she learned enough was enough and to start protecting herself. As she ages, she begins to see that although she may love her father with her entirety, he is not always right and should not always be followed.

Lori:
The eldest Walls child, she immediately took to her mothers writing and paintings. The meek and shy one out of the lot, Lori was never one for adventuring for reasons unbeknownst to her family until later in life; her eyesight was terrible. As the novel progresses you are able to watch as Lori truly finds herself as an artist and finally steps out from the shadow of her mother. Terrified of her fathers wrath Lori grows to find the inner strength she needs to speak up for herself without the blind love of Jeannette in her childhood. Lori may have been blind in sight but she had always witness the darkness in her father and how they lived; she loved him, but she didn't believe him.

Grandma Smith:
Grandma Smith was Mary's mother, she may not be one of the most focused on characters in the novel but I believe her importance in Jeannette's childhood makes her a superior selection to most. She lived in Phoenix and had helped her husband rear a ranch  until he passed away. Grandma Smith never turned Mary and her family away, even though she despised Rex and would constantly get into shouting matches, being called a "castrating banshee bitch" by a "flea-bitten drunk" (Page 20). She would never turn down her daughter and was always lending the family money but always pushed Mary to come and stay with her, to not let that drunk bastard take her grandchildren from her. She was a teacher after she had children, she didn't trust their educations to anyone else and pushed her daughter to get a degree to fall back on if her artistic capability didn't pan out. Mary grew to dislike her mother, but Jeannette loved her rules and order, her sense of purpose and stability. I believe that Grandma Smith was the strongest character in young Jeannette's life and her biggest inspiration to want more than the disorder, the disgusting conditions and the hunger.

Mary Rose:
The mother of the family, or at least the one that officially carried that title. Mary was forever a free spirit, never to be tethered to the responsibilities of having children; she believed that the best thing for them is to raise themselves. The very beginning of the novel is evidence enough of this; Jeannette at the age of three cooking herself hot dogs until she caught on fire. Her baby was lucky to be alive, and the night after coming home from the hospital she was making hot dogs herself once more. A self appointed "excitement addict" she never looked at the bad part of things, even when that was the only part to see. A devote catholic with extremely questionable morals, she allowed for perverts, drunks and the homeless to come in and out of her mothers house because it was so hot and they couldn't afford air conditioning. An ill fit mother with a mountain of mental issues, she never surrendered to fear apart from her husband and throughout her ages never faltered from her beliefs.

Rex Walls:
The man of the house who never really earned the title of a father, brilliant and charismatic when sober he always inspired his children with his far fetched tales of the night. He did his best to educate his children when they were on his good side and always had the dream of creating a castle made completely of glass and self sufficient. He cares deeply about his family, but more about the inability to think as the years pass. He always seems to get the family out of the stickiest situations and uses his intelligence to outsmart the "man". He prided himself on the ability to care for his children, was blind to when he hurt them and broke promise after promise. He tried to be the savior of his family, but often became very violent and dishonest with alcohol, he would allow for his daughter to be raped in order to make a bit of cash. No matter how dire things got however, he would never leave his family and even when they were afraid of him.

6. Is the central problem resolved or unresolved?
The central problem in this novel in not resolved, in my mind the central problem in this story is people who think they should be parents and why they probably shouldn't be. Mary and Rex Walls were young and in love, but the most unstable pair up I've come across in a while. I feel like neither of them even wanted children, and Lori, Jeannette, Brian and Maureen felt that more times I'm sure than she wrote. Mary was a free spirit that yearned more to paint and write than look after her children, Rex cared more about drowning in booze than putting food on the table. As the story progresses and their children grow older, none of that changes to the very day they die. They wouldn't accept help and preferred to be homeless than feel obligated to their children, that they owed them anything. Even as Rex is dying, he asks Jeannette, "Have I ever let you down?' (page 279) and the only response she has is to smile.

7. Can you imagine yourself reading the book again in 10 years? Would you suggest that a friend read it? Explain.
   I find that I can definitely picture myself reading this novel again in a number of years, I found that it really refreshed some of my morals about the value of life and family. I would suggest this to a friend, it really makes you look at your life subjectively, it shows just how unique certain relationship can be. The main character in this novel walks a very thin line with her family, she's definitely Daddy's little girl but that's not always in her best interest; Daddy gets quite interesting when he's been drinking. However to me it really illustrates the strength and willpower that is needed to separate yourself from all the harshness from one owns past. It truly shows that you can love someone with all of your heart, however you still need to look out for yourself; you can love something that's not in your best interest but you need to be able to draw a line to protect yourself.