Glass Castle Essay Essays

Glass Castle Essay Essays Glass Castle Essay Essay Glass Castle Essay Essay Essay Topic: The Glass Castle In the book â€Å"The Glass Castle† by Jeannette Walls poverty goes deeper than just low income. Even while Jeannette’s parents had money coming in, they struggled to support their family properly. They went hungry, had no electricity, or even indoor plumbing, so this proposes the question can poverty be caused by more than just low income? Do people actually want to live in poverty? For Jeannette’s parents it sure seems that way. Rex Walls had grown up in a poverty stricken town of Welch. He grew up in â€Å"big worn house† on the â€Å"downhill side of the street† (Walls 130). It smelled of â€Å"mold and cigarettes and unwashed laundry† (Walls 131). However Rose Mary Walls grew up in a very structured home in Texas where her mother made her follow rules and attend college classes to become a teacher. So when Rose Mary grew up and moved away she wanted to live a life opposite of what her mother wanted, she became a free spirit. When on the other hand poverty was all Rex had ever known. I believe this is the major factor that contributed to the Walls’ family being in poverty. Besides growing up in a poverty stricken home and town Rex also grew up with a mother who was an Alcoholic. We find this out when Jeannette tells us about the time she first met Erma and she â€Å" pulled a bottle of whiskey from the pocket of her housedress† (walls 131). She also talks about how she could smell whiskey on her Uncle Stanley’s breath the first time he hugged her. This was the life Rex Walls was accustomed to and so therefore he was comfortable with it. He saw nothing wrong with taking money from his family to go waste in on alcohol because he always some how pulled through for them. : The perfect example of this is when Rose Mary left for the summer for college courses and left Jeanette in charge of the money. The first few weeks went well and Jeanette had managed to make a budget and keep food on the table, then Rex had asked her for money. First it was just five dollars, then another five, and then it was twenty. Jeanette was outraged by this and asked him why he needed the twenty dollars to which he replied â€Å"Goddammit, since when do I have to explain myself to my children? I need money to make money. I’ll pay you back†¦ Have I ever left you down? (Walls 210), and then that Saturday after putting his daughter through torment of being around a drunk, he paid her back. Rex although an intelligent man was a drunk and didn’t know how to provide for his family correctly which meant he was constantly letting them down. On the other hand Rose Mary grew up with loving parents in a nice house with structure, but she hated that life and became a f ree spirit, addicted to the adrenaline Rex brought her. Rose Mary believed children should not be burdened with lots of rules and restrictions. She was a very selfish woman who would refuse to work because she wanted to become an artist. Rose Mary was a certified teacher and could easily receive a job in the towns which the Wall’s had lived because it was difficult to find teachers that had actually graduated from college. Even when Rose Mary would come around and take a teaching job â€Å"she had problems organizing paper work and disciplining her students†, and â€Å"at least one morning a week she’d throw a tantrum and refuse to go to work† (Walls 196). She’d eventually quit her job and the Wall’s once again would not have any money coming in except when Rex performed odd jobs. The life the Walls kids put up with was not the way the wanted to live. When Lori graduated high school she moved to New York City. Then Jeanette’s senior year she moved in with Lori. Brian followed Jeanette’s footsteps, and when Maureen was only twelve she moved in with Lori. While the kids were making better lives for themselves their parents had decided to move to New York as well but remain homeless and in poverty. They slept on park benches and in bushes. They refused to go to shelters because life was more interesting the way they lived it. They eventually moved into an abandoned apartment where others liked them lived, and Maureen moved in. After Rex died, Rose Mary still chose to live a life of poverty. Most people when they hear the word poverty they think of low income families, people who go to homeless shelters, people who work but do not make enough, or those who cannot find a job, but Rex and Rose Mary show us that there can be more to it than just low income. They liked to constantly be on their toes, they liked being completely independent and to always be on the run. Rex’s alcohol addiction and Rose Mary’s unwillingness to work, and her stubbornness to not sell anything she had inherited from her mother took away precious money that could have went to support their family. This book shows that poverty can be cause by more than just low income. Word Count: 881