The Glass Castle: Homelessness and Neglect

Introduction

"The Glass Castle" directly grabs you with an unfastening view in which Jeanette Walls, as the mature individual in New York City, sees from window of her cab her mother 'Rose' scrounging through dumpster. Her mother is homeless - one of those bag females that all of us glimpse - but now you abruptly have to marvel what it would seem like if that was your mother hanging at edge of our society. Walls father 'Rex,' is a careless alcoholic always dreaming of things with a poor attitude. Walls lived through a miserable childhood along with two sisters, Lori and Maureen, and one brother, 'Brain'. All of the children spend a troubling, homeless, and poverty stricken childhood. Their mother slowly unravels into a sort of child like existence. It's a story that makes you appreciate what you have, and marvel at how little some children can expect from the world, yet this memoir is full of love and forgiveness (Walls, p. 78). Jeanette's childhood of homelessness and neglect only strengthens her desire to survive and become a productive member of society.

Discussion

It amazes me how some people survive chaotic, poor, dysfunctional childhoods and emerge as successful and forgiving adults. This is that kind of true story. It opens with the narrator observing her homeless mother searching for food in a NYC rubbish bin, as she passes in a cab. A sad family story emerges of neglect, promises not kept and endless hunger. Of a family who 'skiddadle' from town to town, while their alcoholic father filled them with dreams of the Glass Castle he would build for them when he hit it big (Clapsaddle, p. 26). Child welfare definitely could have investigated the parents for neglect, but the book is great at illustrating the point that removing the children probably would not have helped the situation. The father is an alcoholic unable to hold a job and the mother is a selfish artist that wastes her time dreaming of the day when her art will be appreciated. As a result, the children grow up often without food, electricity, running water, heat, and basically good sanitation (Walls, p. 34). Walls provides how they lived in 93 Little Hobart Street. Mr. Walls bought a “dinky” three-room shack with no bathroom, running water, or electricity for $1,000.  The mortgage was $50/month.  Mr. Walls planned to build his Glass Castle on the property.  In the winter: “It got so cold in the house that icicles hung from the kitchen ceiling, the water in the sink turned into a solid block of ice, and the dirty dishes were stuck. . .no matter how many blankets I piled on top of myself, I still felt cold. . .We fought over who got to sleep with the dogs. . .they kept us warm. . .” (Walls, p. 56). The family subsisted on the income from Ms. Walls' babysitting, Brian's weed cutting, and Lori's paper route.  After a man from child welfare showed up, ...