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Hannah Adams
Ms. Gordon
English 101
12th September 2016
The Glass Castle Final Essay

In The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, many themes are introduced. One of the most
prominent themes is individual versus society. This theme is omnipresent throughout the whole
novel, as the audience is constantly reminded of the consistent state of dysfunction the Walls
family lives in. Raised by a family of non-conformists, Jeannette Walls has no choice but to
create her own views of what the world should be like. The novel shows the constant struggle
Jeannette faces with individual versus society, and the audience can see how Wallss chaotic
upbringing shaped her adult life.
The first segment of The Glass Castles tale immediately immerges the audience into the
tale of Jeannette Wallss troubled childhood. Many readers, like myself, find it extremely
difficult to understand how these things could have even happened, but for Jeanettes family,
these things were normal. In the beginning of the story, Jeannette recalls a time in which she was
merely three years of age and caught on fire. She was independently cooking hot dogs during
that moment, and when her mother saw that her daughters clothing had burst into flames, she
nonchalantly took her daughter to the neighbors to ask to have a ride to the hospital. Once she
arrived at the hospital, Jeannette was interrogated by the medical staff regarding her home life
and asked if her parents hurt her. This shocked Jeannette as she knew nothing outside of her
surroundings at home. Throughout Jeannettes six-week stay in the hospital, she was exposed to

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many elements of life that she did not know of or that her parents did not necessarily believe in.
The hospital was clean and shiny. Everything was white- the walls and sheets and nurses
uniforms- or silver- the beds and trays and medical instruments. Everyone spoke in polite, calm
voices. It was so hushed you could hear the nurses rubber-soled shoes squeaking all the way
down the hall. I wasnt used to quiet and order, and I liked it (Walls 6). She was even given
chewing gum by a nurse, something that does not seem significant, but to the three-year-old
Jeannette, chewing gum was a vulgar behavior as her mother had taught her (Walls 7). This
causes conflict in young Jeannettes individual views on what life should be like based on what
she has been taught by her family and what she has now been exposed to from her six-week life
as a resident in the hospital.
During Jeannettes life in Battle Mountain, she comes across more life struggles that
make her challenge life as she knew it. A new kid in town becomes interested in her, wishing for
her to be his girlfriend, and Jeannette is not pleased. Billy Deel is three years older than her, and
liked to cause trouble. One day in the midst of a game of hide and seek, Jeannette finds herself
hiding in the same shack as Billy. Although Jeannette was not aware of exactly what was going
on, she was being sexually assaulted, and the next day Billy tells her that he raped her. Jeannette
does not know what this word meant, and knowing of her fathers unpredictable behavior, she
decides to refrain from speaking to her father about the situation. At home I looked up the word
in the dictionary. Then I looked up the words that explained it, and though I still couldnt figure it
out completely, I knew it wasnt good. Usually, when I didnt understand a word, Id ask Dad
about it, and wed read over the definition together and discuss it. I didnt want to do that now. I
had a hunch it would cause problems (Walls 55). This excerpt shows Jeannette thinking as an

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individual rather than going along with the society she has known the entirety of her life. This
also shows Jeannettes knowledge of bad situations and how things can happen.
In the second segment of The Glass Castle, the Walls family has made the journey to
Welch, West Virginia where Rex had been raised. The Walls family comes across a whole new
world of complications and issues, and Jeannette continues to generate her own ideas of how life
should be. Jeannette finds out that Rose Mary must travel to Charleston for eight weeks, and is
told that she is to be the head of the household while her mother is away. At the young age of
thirteen, Jeannette was to manage two-hundred dollars and budget it for the next two months.
Jeannette shows her intelligence and hardworking persona as she determines how much money
the family would be allotted per week and per day while still paying the bills. Along with having
the full-time job of being the head of the house, Jeannette takes on babysitting to acquire a little
bit more money to help the family live more comfortably. The first week goes well, and
Jeannette cleans their home and disposes of any junk she can find. However, that week turns out
to be too good to be true, as soon after Rex requests that Jeannette give him some money. At
first, unable to fight, she gives him the five dollars he requests. It was upsetting Jeannette to be
put in this position, and she felt used. A couple of days later she finds herself standing up to her
father. He proclaims that having money for food and bills was his responsibility and asks if he
had ever let Jeannette down. She does not have the strength to tell him the truth and reluctantly
hands him the money. Rex tells his daughter that he should be able to earn the money to pay her
back, so he takes her along with him to a local bar. She is taken upstairs by a grimy man and
feels endangered. Afterwards, the Walls duo receives the money, and Jeannette feels highly
uncomfortable while her father seems proud. It was like that time I threw you into the sulfur
spring to teach you to swim, he said. You might have been convinced you were going to drown,

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but I knew youd do just fine (Walls 135). Jeannette is asked to accompany her father to a bar a
few days later, but this time she refuses. Although she has already figured out that her current
lifestyle is not the way she needs to live, this is a turning point in Jeannettes teenage years. She
sees that this truly is not a way to live, and this is not the society she wishes to be a part of. Upon
Rose Marys return to Welch, she is required to return to her job as a teacher to earn money for
the family. However, she refuses to return and Jeannette simply cannot take it any longer.
Jeannette proceeds to back-talk her mother in a conversation and is confronted by her father. She
tells him that her mother has to take her obligations more seriously and that she has to grow
up a little (Walls 139). Obviously surprised by his favorite daughters sassy actions, Rex raises
the belt. Although Jeannette was technically disrespecting her parents, I find it quite ridiculous
that her parents got that upset. That evening Jeannette makes the conscious decision that she is
going to find a way to escape Welch and her chaotic life associated with it. To me, Jeannette
back-talking Rose Mary should have been a wakeup call for her mother. If I had said that to my
mom, per say, she would have gone speechless and proceeded to tell me that I was right, while
my father would tell me that my actions were quite disrespectful, but silently agreeing with me.
In the third and final segment of The Glass Castle, Jeannette has established a life outside
of Welch and is finally living in New York City. At last she feels fine and satisfied with her life.
She goes to college at a prestigious university, and her life is decent for once. However, her
parents unexpectedly arrive in New York, bringing a whole new world of problems with them.
Jeannette faces a new level of internal conflict- she wonders how to handle her parents being
involved in her new, comfortable life, and she worries how her parents will view her structured
life with conformity. Her family accepts her and her new life while refusing to change
themselves. Eventually Rex passes away, leaving Jeannette in a state of loss and confusion. It

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took me a while to realize that just being on the move wasnt enough; that I needed to reconsider
everything (Walls 178). Eventually she is able to overcome her fathers death along with the
other struggles she had been facing. She had divorced her first husband and moved on.
Jeannette Wallss memoir resolves with her telling the audience of her new life with her
second husband. It is Thanksgiving and the family is visiting Jeannettes new home and meeting
John, her second husband, for what seems to be the first time. Jeanettes family is impressed by
the comfortable life she is living, and Jeannette finally feels at peace with her life. The story
concludes with, A wind picked up, rattling the windows, and the candle flames suddenly
shifted, dancing along the border between turbulence and order, showing how satisfied
Jeannette is with the life she created for herself (Walls 181).
Overall, in The Glass Castle, the audience is shown how any individual can overcome
their struggles and can find their place to fit in. Wallss novel shows how anyone can make
something out of their life regardless of the experiences they have had and the troubles they have
encountered. Jeannettes struggle with individual versus society shaped her as a human being and
helped her find herself to better her future.

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Works Cited
Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle: A Memoir. Ebook. Scribner, 2005.