Jeannette Walls Thesis

After she is done sewing it Rex says to her, “ I swear there are times I think you’re the only one around who still has any faith in me.” (The Glass Castle, 0:46:49-0:47:00) What comes off as an innocent moment between father and daughter when looked further into shows the emotional manipulation Rex inflicts. He is trying to make Jeannette feel bad for him, by acting like he has no-one in his corner, and only has her. They continue talking and Jeannette

In the memoir, The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls, the author, was most influenced by her time in Phoenix, as indicated by how she describes the living situation in her grandma's old house with the money, and the time they had to tie her dad down because he was going delusional. It is evident throughout the story that living in Phoenix had a great impact on Jeannette Walls, She had spent more time there than any other place and she even came back after leaving. The first time was just to visit Grandma Smith, but the second time they came back to stay for awhile in Grandma Smith’s old house. The family’s time in Phoenix is described mainly about the house there and what happened in or around that house.

Shame and guilt can go hand in hand, as seen in; Flight, The Glass Castle, and The Joy Luck Club. As the three novels progress, many of the characters suffer with inner shame and guilt. While the characters suffer with these things, it somehow seems to shape and change them. Through the characters hardships and struggles, the theme of shame and guilt emerges.

In the early 1900’s Jeannette Rankin stood up against everyone and used her platform to make her voice heard and by doing this she has empowered women today to stand up and make their voices heard. Rankin impacted American women significantly. She held campaigns for the women's rights movement, she fought her colleagues for the women's right to vote, she also ran to be the first ever woman in congress, lastly she voted no to the Great War although many people told her that was a bad idea and was “unpatriotic”. Without her determination us women would not have the voice and the power that we have today. To understand why Jeannette Rankin fought for what she fought for you must understand her background.

Her father is always out at night getting drunk, sometimes not coming home for days. When he comes home, he is always so drunk that he either just passes out or gets really mad and dangerous first, and then passes out. Her parents’ neglect for her and her family’s well-being really angers Jeannette, so she decides that she has to leave them. She tells her sister Lori about her plan to escape to New York, saying,

Jana Hensel was thirteen when the Berlin wall fell, and in her memoir, After the Wall, she laments her youth and the sudden disappearance of the German Democratic-Republic that occurred almost overnight, especially in her memories. While Hensel finds nothing wrong with her now Western life, this memoir is dedicated towards people like her, who even now are straddling the line between the East German past and the West German future, and she discusses her loss of identity through her nostalgia, her transitions, and her parents. In the first chapter, Hensel mentions a moment when she was hanging out with her friends. They had gotten a little drunk and euphoric and nostalgic, and her friends, who were from Italy and France and Austria, suddenly

Deviance is defined as "any violation of norms, whether the infraction is as minor as driving over the speed limit, as serious as murder, or as humorous as Chagnon 's encounter with the Yanomamo" (Henslin 194). One statement that stuck out to me was sociologist Howard S. Becker 's definition of deviance: "It is not the act itself, but the reactions to the act, that make something deviant" (Henslin 194). One reaction that acts as a punishment for a deviant or minor criminal is the criminal justice system. On page 211 in our book, it is stated that "the working class and those below them pose a special threat to the power elite" (Henslin). As a result of this threat, the law and punishment comes down harder on the lower class than it does on the upper class.

Success: An Escape from Privation Inevitably, the conflicts people face at multiple points in their life is a determining factor in shaping individuals into the person they will eventually become. Namely, these conflicts direct people 's behavior over the course of time; contributing to a person’s ability to achieve success. In particular, Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle is an honest depiction of her life and the conflicts that arise throughout her state of impoverishment, as well as the success that stems from her hardships.

Max Lerner an American Journalist stated “the turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt.” Throughout The Glass Castle a memoir by Jeannette Walls, Jeannette and her siblings, Lori, Brian and Maureen are faced with an unpleasant upbringing that they are put through by their parents Rex and Rose Mary Walls. Due to the terrible living conditions and bad parenting they had to endure for many years, they had to teach themselves and each other to be strong and survive on the very little food and necessities that they were given. Throughout the memoir, it is seen that Jeannette has a special connection with her father unlike any of the other siblings, but despite Jeannette believing in him Rex struggles to raise her and the kids in the normal life that they deserve due to his battle with mental illness. Bipolar disorder “is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks” (National).

As Jeannette matures her connection with her parents, particularly her father begins to diminish. Jeannette didn’t grasp that the way her parents raised them or viewed the world wasn’t normal and as she got older she recognized how selfish her parents were. Jeannette was constantly close with her father, and always showed compassion for him, but when they relocated to Welch it appeared as if her father had changed. Jeannette eventually obtained work and began to save up money so she and her siblings could survive, but her father didn’t approve and eventually sabotaged that plan. Eventually, Rex went to Jeannette and requested money from her, he did promise to pay her back.

In The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls faces harsh stuff through her childhood because of her parents. In the beginning of the book she finds her mother digging through trash. She feels embarrassed, so she turns around and goes home without saying hello. Jeanette then calls her mother and asks to have dinner with her. She offers her mother help because she feels guilty, but her mother rejects her help.

Jeannette described that this experience made her feel used by her father and gave her a sense of self-worthlessness. Rex knew that Jeannette had a soft spot for him and he took advantage of this. Jeannette has a psychological scar from this for the rest of her life, and it produced long-term effects of distrust and diminished self-worth. As a child she had been through more than most adults, and in one case she even wakes up in the middle of the night with a child molester in her bed. “One night when I was almost ten, I was awakened by someone running his hands over my private parts” (Walls 103).

A balance between a enriching intellectual environment and comfortable living conditions is what all families, especially parents want. This is a constant struggle in the Glass Castle because of the Walls poor living condition, but eagerness to explore and adventure the world. Rex and Rosemary Walls, parents of Lori, Jeannette, Brian, and Maureen, obviously take an exploratory and learning environment over a comforting living space. Although living in rough conditions, which leads to bullying, poverty, I believe that it was more important that the Walls created circumstances for most of the children to explore and enjoy learning. Jeannette Walls, the author and the narrator throughout the book, tells a story about her life from when she was

At the start of the novel, Jeannette’s maltreatment helps her stay a step ahead of other children her age. When Jeannette is only three years old, she cooks hot dogs for herself while her mother paints in a different room. As a result, she receives burns across her body once catching on fire, resulting in her hospitalization. At the hospital, Jeannette explains to the doctors and nurses, “‘Mom says I’m mature for my age … and she lets me cook for myself a lot’” (Walls, 11).

The emphasis of socioeconomic status in capital punishment cases plays a critical role in the evaluation of an inmate’s disposition and the biases that occur from the impacts of wealth. Economic standing impacts an individual to be drawn to or propelled from crime, dependent on the influence from the surrounding community. The initial socioeconomic influence on destitute areas provokes individuals to live a life of crime, which ultimately brings many crimes to be charged with capital punishment convictions. Occupational prestige and education stand amongst several other factors that account into the economic evaluation of death row inmates and the social impact left on an individual. In addition to the initial impact from socioeconomic upbringing, the decision-making in court can result in juror bias against the defendant.