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.