The Glass Castle Analysis
Kyle Scott
Reading 96
Journal # 2
The Glass Castle #2
After the Walls had been in Welch a while, Rex and Rose-Mary decided to leave the children with Rex’s mother Erma, and make a road trip back to Phoenix. Their excuse for leaving them was that it was only going to be a short trip, all business, and to retrieve anything they had left behind. A week after the parents had left Erma was hammered, she had been drinking since before breakfast, and told Brian that his pants needed sewed up. She said she didn’t want Brian running around in his underpants so he had to keep them on while she fixed the seam of his crotch. “I went into Grandpa’s bedroom and saw Erma kneeling on the floor in front of Brian, grabbing at the crotch of his pants, squeezing and …show more content…
kneading while mumbling to herself and telling Brian to hold still, goddammit. Brian, his cheeks wet with tears, was holding his pants protectively between his legs” (Page 146).
While the Walls now had their own house, if you could call it that, they still didn’t have any plumbing. So on the weekends the kids would go to Grandpa and Uncle Stanley’s house to bathe. One weekend while Lori was taking her bath, Rose-Mary was in the other room doing a puzzle, Jeanette was waiting for her turn in the bath. She was watching the television with her Uncle Stanley, “I felt Stanley’s hand creeping onto my thigh. I looked at him, but he was staring at the Hee Haw Honeys so intently that I couldn’t be sure he was doing it on purpose, so I knocked his hand away without saying anything. A few minutes later, the hand came creeping back. I looked down and saw that Uncle Stanley’s pants were unzipped and he was playing with himself” (Page 183-184). The worst part was that when Jeanette told her mother who was in the other room about what happened, she simply shrugged it off. “Mom, Uncle Stanley is behaving inappropriately,” I said. “Oh your probably imagining it,” she said. “He groped me! And he’s wanking off!” Mom cocked her head and looked concern. “Poor Stanley, she said. “He’s so lonely” (Page 184).
One day while Jeanette and her younger brother Brian were out scrounging around their dump of a house in Welch, they miraculously came across a diamond ring under a piece of wood. After determining it was real, scratching a piece of glass like their father had shown them, they thought this was a way to get ahead! They decided to take it in the house and show their mother and figure out a way to find out what it was worth. Rose-Mary took the bus to a town nearby to get the ring appraised. When Rose-Mary had returned the kids were anxious to hear how much the diamond ring was worth. Their mother told them it was a two-carat diamond ring. “What’s it worth?” I asked. “Doesn’t matter,” mom said. “She was keeping it, she explained, to replace the wedding ring her mother had given her, the one Dad had pawned shortly after they got married.” (Page 186).
1. Moonshine: “Under the chest of drawers were jugs of genuine moonshine.”132
Definition: Illicitly distilled or smuggled liquor.
The cowboy’s drank moonshine, and they were three sheets to the wind. 2. Monochromatic: “The stores, the signs, the sidewalks, the cars were all covered with a film of black coal dust, giving the town almost a monochromatic look, like an old hand-tinted photograph.” 134
Definition: Containing or using only one color.
One of the artist’s theme was monochromatic, it was my favorite.
3. Malicious: “Holding up the sharp pencil she had jabbed into my back, she smiled the same malicious smile I’d seen on the playground.” 138
Definition: Characterized by malice; intending or intended to do harm.
The boy’s parents told him the other boys were just being kids, but he could sence the maliciousness. 4. Contemplative: “She unscrewed the cap from her bottle of hooch and took a long, contemplative swallow.” 143
Definition: Expressing or involving prolonged thought.
The man had a very contemplative look, as he tried to decide whos side to take. 5. Hypocrites: “Situations like these, I realized, were what turned people into hypocrites.” 144
Definition: A person who indulges in hypocrisy.
He was being a hypocrite, taking side against drinking and driving, and then ending up being arrested for a DUI. 6. Flouted: “There were rules that had to be followed, and people didn’t take kindly when you flouted them.” 145
Definition: Openly disregard (a rule, law or convention).
The clerk flouted the underage looking man back in the beer section. 7. Cantankerous: “After Mom and Dad left, Erma became even more cantankerous.”
146
Definition: Bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative.
The student was cantankerous, the teacher just couldn’t handle him, so he was sent to detention. 8. Shabbier: “The houses up here were shabbier than the brick houses lower down in the valley.” 150
Definition: In poor condition through long use or lack of care.
The house was the shabbiest house in the whole town, no wonder it was cheap. 9. Triumphant: “I didn’t look at her, but I could see from the corner of my eye her triumphant expression.” 220
Definition: Having won a battle or contest; victorious.
The men were triumphant in the battle, and they cheered throughout the night. 10. Sentimental: “And those big farewells are so sentimental.” 240
Definition: Of or prompted by feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia.The photo was the last she had of her grandmother, it was very sentimental to her.
Reading 96
Journal # 2
The Glass Castle #2
After the Walls had been in Welch a while, Rex and Rose-Mary decided to leave the children with Rex’s mother Erma, and make a road trip back to Phoenix. Their excuse for leaving them was that it was only going to be a short trip, all business, and to retrieve anything they had left behind. A week after the parents had left Erma was hammered, she had been drinking since before breakfast, and told Brian that his pants needed sewed up. She said she didn’t want Brian running around in his underpants so he had to keep them on while she fixed the seam of his crotch. “I went into Grandpa’s bedroom and saw Erma kneeling on the floor in front of Brian, grabbing at the crotch of his pants, squeezing and …show more content…
kneading while mumbling to herself and telling Brian to hold still, goddammit. Brian, his cheeks wet with tears, was holding his pants protectively between his legs” (Page 146).
While the Walls now had their own house, if you could call it that, they still didn’t have any plumbing. So on the weekends the kids would go to Grandpa and Uncle Stanley’s house to bathe. One weekend while Lori was taking her bath, Rose-Mary was in the other room doing a puzzle, Jeanette was waiting for her turn in the bath. She was watching the television with her Uncle Stanley, “I felt Stanley’s hand creeping onto my thigh. I looked at him, but he was staring at the Hee Haw Honeys so intently that I couldn’t be sure he was doing it on purpose, so I knocked his hand away without saying anything. A few minutes later, the hand came creeping back. I looked down and saw that Uncle Stanley’s pants were unzipped and he was playing with himself” (Page 183-184). The worst part was that when Jeanette told her mother who was in the other room about what happened, she simply shrugged it off. “Mom, Uncle Stanley is behaving inappropriately,” I said. “Oh your probably imagining it,” she said. “He groped me! And he’s wanking off!” Mom cocked her head and looked concern. “Poor Stanley, she said. “He’s so lonely” (Page 184).
One day while Jeanette and her younger brother Brian were out scrounging around their dump of a house in Welch, they miraculously came across a diamond ring under a piece of wood. After determining it was real, scratching a piece of glass like their father had shown them, they thought this was a way to get ahead! They decided to take it in the house and show their mother and figure out a way to find out what it was worth. Rose-Mary took the bus to a town nearby to get the ring appraised. When Rose-Mary had returned the kids were anxious to hear how much the diamond ring was worth. Their mother told them it was a two-carat diamond ring. “What’s it worth?” I asked. “Doesn’t matter,” mom said. “She was keeping it, she explained, to replace the wedding ring her mother had given her, the one Dad had pawned shortly after they got married.” (Page 186).
1. Moonshine: “Under the chest of drawers were jugs of genuine moonshine.”132
Definition: Illicitly distilled or smuggled liquor.
The cowboy’s drank moonshine, and they were three sheets to the wind. 2. Monochromatic: “The stores, the signs, the sidewalks, the cars were all covered with a film of black coal dust, giving the town almost a monochromatic look, like an old hand-tinted photograph.” 134
Definition: Containing or using only one color.
One of the artist’s theme was monochromatic, it was my favorite.
3. Malicious: “Holding up the sharp pencil she had jabbed into my back, she smiled the same malicious smile I’d seen on the playground.” 138
Definition: Characterized by malice; intending or intended to do harm.
The boy’s parents told him the other boys were just being kids, but he could sence the maliciousness. 4. Contemplative: “She unscrewed the cap from her bottle of hooch and took a long, contemplative swallow.” 143
Definition: Expressing or involving prolonged thought.
The man had a very contemplative look, as he tried to decide whos side to take. 5. Hypocrites: “Situations like these, I realized, were what turned people into hypocrites.” 144
Definition: A person who indulges in hypocrisy.
He was being a hypocrite, taking side against drinking and driving, and then ending up being arrested for a DUI. 6. Flouted: “There were rules that had to be followed, and people didn’t take kindly when you flouted them.” 145
Definition: Openly disregard (a rule, law or convention).
The clerk flouted the underage looking man back in the beer section. 7. Cantankerous: “After Mom and Dad left, Erma became even more cantankerous.”
146
Definition: Bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative.
The student was cantankerous, the teacher just couldn’t handle him, so he was sent to detention. 8. Shabbier: “The houses up here were shabbier than the brick houses lower down in the valley.” 150
Definition: In poor condition through long use or lack of care.
The house was the shabbiest house in the whole town, no wonder it was cheap. 9. Triumphant: “I didn’t look at her, but I could see from the corner of my eye her triumphant expression.” 220
Definition: Having won a battle or contest; victorious.
The men were triumphant in the battle, and they cheered throughout the night. 10. Sentimental: “And those big farewells are so sentimental.” 240
Definition: Of or prompted by feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia.The photo was the last she had of her grandmother, it was very sentimental to her.