Peyton Holloway

Often times, the finger of blame is virtuously pointed at a parent if he has failed his obligation in raising his child. If he compromises their safety, abuses his child, and disregards their needs, society immediately condemns him. As the child grows up, they will begin to realize what is going on and gain hatred toward their parents. However, no matter how many times a parent messes up, the child will forgive in a heartbeat. In The Glass Castle, Jeanette Walls is that child, delineating her favorite childhood memories spent with her father, Rex Walls as some of the best moments of her life, despite Rex’s blatant irresponsibility and destruction wrought onto other aspects of her life. Even with the many instances in which Jeanette’s father failed to protect his children, refused to take responsibility for them, and even stole from them, Jeanette still cared and loved him until the day he passed for two reasons: one, he is a never-ending source of inspiration, and two, for his constant ability to make her feel special.
Through Jeanette’s memoir, she is constantly repeating the topic, the “Glass Castle.” Rex always promised his children that once everything settled down, they could build a glass castle in the desert. Walls uses symbolism through the chapters by symbolizing The Glass Castle as the “American Dream”, though, there is a deeper meaning. Walls juxtaposed the Glass Castle in a couple different ways as well. Glass is breakable, and a castle is used for isolation or protection. Rex was basically saying the family is going to be isolated from the truth, and his promise is breakable and mainly for protection.
A child who is constantly running from “henchman, bloodsucking, Gestapos”, who lives in a family with barely any money can cause destruction to their life. Rex is always running away from the FBI because he has “done wrong”, but moving around will not keep them away forever. Jeanette Walls uses an enormous amount of logical appeals. Rex could easily