character

The character that undergoes the most critical growth and development in The Glass Castle is, of course, the main character, Jeannette Walls. Beginning as far back as she can remember, horrifying experiences and unusual situations were typical, daily basis experiences for Jeannette. Severely burned while cooking hotdogs at the age of three, tossed out of a speeding car during one of countless moves to new and unknown locations, shot by an eleven year old with a BB gun after being “raped” by him, and forced into a strange man’s apartment with the permission of her dad in order to win money; Jeannette was forced to grow up fast and develop the toughest skin one could possibly need. Surprisingly, Jeannette kept a positive and optimistic attitude despite the highly negative circumstances. As a child, Jeannette respected and admired her father for she saw him as the only one who always believed in her. In return, “[she] told him that [she] would never lose faith in him. And [she] promised [herself] [she] never would” (79). As she grew older, however, and the inexcusable behavior continued, it became increasingly difficult to view her father in the same light she had as a child. She was growing up and beginning to understand the ways of the world, but her parents were still the same as they had always been, wild and without boundaries, stealing money from their own daughter, and pushing Jeannette into countless dangerous situations. The tone of the narration turns from optimistic and adventurous to that of disappointment and unrest. After finishing her junior year of high school, Jeannette made the quick decision to venture off on her own and move to New York City. Within the year, her father died and Jeannette was starting to become more at peace with who she was. She realized that her husband “was a good man, but not the one for [her]” and her “compulsion to be always on the move began to fade” (281). Towards the end of the memoir, one can say that Jeannette was able to find acceptance. She accepted everything she had gone through as a child, she accepted how her parents had treated her, she accepted how her life was turning out, and she accepted the person that she had become. It is certain, however, that Jeannette is a strong woman who can handle anything that life throws at her.