Category: Drama

“Instead of worrying about what cannot be controlled, an individual must shift their energy into what can be created” (Roy T. Bennett). Jeannette Walls from The Glass Castle and Baby from Lullabies For Little Criminals have been trapped in a state of disillusionment their entire lives. Delusion runs in the Walls family, and the children lack a rational parental influence to look up to, whereas Baby is an exact reflection of the danger she is exposed to, partly due to there being no mother figure in her life. Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose strong-willed nonconformity was both their curse and their salvation and they were inhibited towards change. The non-conformity of the Walls family is a definite sign of intelligence and in an era of non-conformity, the non-conformity they presented was of unconditional love and strength of human spirit. The environment that Baby finds herself in is decrepit and damaging to the untrained eye, and Baby does not make an effort to change her ways and there becomes a point where she is doing the damage to herself. Baby’s conformity to her given environment leads her to a dangerous reality, her choice to conform leads her to believe it is the only way of living, and that drugs are the only escape. Jeanette is able to use her positive and negative experiences hand in hand to create a successful life. Although Baby’s future is unknown, without any structure in her life she will be destined to keep treading a troubled track. Individuals who do not learn to question their surroundings will not learn to reconstruct their lives into something greater.

Children sprout in the most wonderful ways when given the opportunity, and when childhood is precisely architected to ensure proper child development, most will flourish and succeed. Although sounding easy, the family dynamic and parental guidance in both novels is lacking, giving the reader a glimpse of what the foreshadowed futures of Jeanette and Baby are. In The Glass Castle, each character carries their own completely different “persona” in spite of being part of almost seemingly the exact same environments. They are a highly dysfunctional family, yet perfectly intertwined to always maintain clarity in their aspirations. Rex and Rose Mary do not want to be given the responsibility of taking care of a family, thus they typically leave their children to fend for themselves. In spite of Rex being a drunk, careless father, he is undoubtedly extremely intelligent., “If you don’t want to sink, you better figure out how to swim” (Walls 66). This quote can be directly applied to Rex’s way of guiding the children through life, Rex teaches his children literally to sink or swim. Rex puts Jeanette’s life at risk every time, but he places his confidence in her abilities to survive. Rex battles with the demons in his head, a struggle that persists throughout his whole life, impacting his relationships with his children. In return, Rex gives them the tools they need to battle their own demons. Primarily, it is the lessons of self-sufficiency and fearlessness taught which provide the necessary strength to fend for themselves and create something out of nothing. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Baby from Lullabies For Little Criminals is emotionally deprived due to the absence of a mother figure in her life. The lack of this figure causes her to feel isolated at times, unwanted, and unappreciated, “I’d grown up with men around the house, and there would never be anyone to help me match my clothes or fix my hair” (O’Neill, 148). The effect of this causes Baby to look for affection in places she should not. She dwells on thoughts of her mother, wondering what her life would be like if she was there to raise her. Perhaps Baby’s mother is what is missing from the puzzle piece to ensure Baby lives a normal life. Baby’s father, Jules, provides an environment for little criminals to thrive in, which is exactly what Baby does. Influenced by her father’s drug use, Baby begins to use heroin and dabbles in prostitution. Baby’s environment normalizes morally wrong situations, causing her to be unable to stray away from the negativity surrounding her. Baby does not know any better, this lifestyle seems normal due to the circumstances of her upbringing. Jules is seemingly more of a brother figure in Baby’s life, due to his inability to provide a stable, nurturing home for Baby. Although it is evident that Baby and Jules are typically in disagreement, he is somebody she can not live without, and experiences an abusive emotional attachment towards him. “Usually you get drugs from the crowd that you hung around with. But I was twelve and none of the people I hung around were into drugs. There were simply no cool kids my age” (74). Baby’s thoughts are justifiable because this way of living is natural to her. Baby’s delusion is apparent when she speaks about kids her age not being “cool” because they are not abusing drugs. She is running much ahead of her time due to it becoming her own responsibility to feed, clothe, and shelter herself at the age of 13, but never once makes an effort to change her ways and escape the rabbit hole Jules has effortlessly hopped into, dragging Baby down with him.

The actions of Rex and Rose Mary Walls in The Glass Castle reveal that they are non-conformist kind of people. This results in Jeannette being the exact opposite.

In Jeannette Walls’s memoir the glass castle she is able to convey a theme of lost dreams through the constant letdown caused by their father, Rex, and mother, Rosemary. Rex Walls always dreamed of the day when they would have enough money to build a glass castle.

The Glass Castle is symbolic of a dream that everyone knows will never come true but to which they cling anyway. It is only when Rex realizes he’s lost his children and that he’s dying that he can close up the blueprints for the last time and finally let them go. It is poignant and touching when the glass castle disappears from their minds but it is also a sign that the children at least have accepted that their lives are now going in different directions. we all have dreams we want to fruition before we die.

The glass castle is one of the best examples of dreams lost. all Jeanette’s life Rex has promised her he will build a glass home for the family. Of course, it is a dream that never has any chance of being a reality all of Rex’s life he has lived sad and disappointing he grew up in “a big worn house” (Walls 131) on “the downhill side of the street” (walls 130) the house smelled aggressively of “mold and cigarettes and unwashed laundry” (Walls 131). A weak character like Rex never comes to terms with their lost dreams while characters like Jeannette have the willpower to learn to replace impossible dreams with content. Even the dream of simply living in one place forever but when the Walls family does the “Skedaddle” (Walls 17). There’s another heartbreak and dream lost. while Rex and Rose Mary constantly let down their children there are times when they show their love and that can’t go unnoticed because without ever having a dream come true you can’t believe in future dreams. For example one of Jeanette’s favorite memories of her father was one Christmas while living in the desert they had no gifts and no money to give to their children. to lift their spirits up Rex took each one of his children out to watch the stars and told them they could pick any star they wanted for Christmas.

Jeanette picked her favorite planet Venus and although it was not a star Rex gave it to her. despite being poor and struggling financially her father showed his love and wanted to make them happy. Rex’s gift to Jeanette symbolizes how you don’t need materialistic objects to be happy. rex explains that a toy will last a few months or a year at most before it gets broken or forgotten whereas a star will be there forever. the perseverance of Jeanette and her siblings is special and rare for them to live such a turbulent childhood and turn it into a prosperous adult life is amazing Jeannette states “I’ve never been happier in my life,” (Walls 248) and I believe her.

While drinking every now and then is not a problem, excessive alcohol consumption can lead to extreme alcohol abuse and ultimately alcoholism. The society we live in is strongly prejudiced by alcohol and affects people of all ages and backgrounds. Alcohol has been manifested in millionaires to the homeless. History has shown that alcohol abuse is a severe problem and that it is a disease that has caused numerous people to be overcome with trouble, problems, and debts. According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, Alcoholism is, “a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations.” People who are fixated on alcohol pose a threat to others but most importantly themselves. The causes of alcoholism have internal and external factors that lead to life-threatening effects. In particular, I will focus on how alcoholism affects mortality rates, memory functions, and the effects it has on social and family relationships to prevent this disorder. Also, I will be using the book The Glass Castle to show how the main character Rex Walls becomes a heinous individual towards his family because of his addiction and dependency on alcohol.

Those who are fixated on alcohol impose many risks upon themselves and a significant concern is the mortality rate. Most people in society know how detrimental alcohol is to the body, especially how it can start from disease and ultimately lead to death. According to Parvarin, he states that “Cancers (except breast cancer), road accidents, suicide were the major causes of death in alcoholic men… infections, coronary heart disease, respiratory diseases, digestive diseases (including liver cirrhosis) were major causes of death in women” (187). The death of male alcoholics mainly stemmed from external factors. The death of female alcoholics stemmed from internal factors such as organ diseases. We can see that alcoholism itself does not kill a person, but it starts to pile up which leads to harmful effects that become life-threatening. Although men and women have different rates of mortality, this category can be dived deeper by age: young and old. Parvarin touches upon individuals that are 18-44 years old, external factors were a dominant effect compared to internal factors mentioned above (187). From seeing the effects alcoholism imposes upon different ages and genders, the comparison of the general population to alcoholics will give the audience a better grasp of the consequences of being an alcoholic. In Bologna, there was a study done in this journal from January 1997 to December 2013, where they tracked patients with alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence to see how long this would last. Eventually, those results indicated that patients suffering from these horrendous addictions had a two to five times higher risk of death compared to the general population. Since we can see how quickly alcohol is dispersed among the youth, we can expect an increase in the alcoholic population. It is extremely frightening to see how high the risk of mortality is for alcoholics since dependency is like a coping mechanism for the negative factors in life. There was a point made in this journal that said, “It is well known that being unemployed may play a crucial role as a risk factor for persistent heavy drinking and for alcohol relapses and for increased risk in developing some specific cancers” (190). In The Glass Castle, Rex Walls should be diagnosed to being an alcohol addict because he constantly uses alcohol as a coping mechanism. Drinking alcohol made him vulnerable to contracting tuberculosis, which made him weaker and weaker as the years went by. The mortality rate in the alcoholic community must be heavily considered with all the negative effects alcohol imposes upon them.

Memory is another tool that is heavily damaged when becoming an alcohol addict. After a fragmentary blackout, one may recall portions of the episode after cues for events are provided. Three primary phases form our memories: “encoding, or initial registration and interpretation of stimuli; storage, or consolidation and maintenance of encoded stimuli; and retrieval, or search and recovery of stored stimuli” (Hartzler 629). “Alcohol impairs encoding of complex material and limits the number of registered stimuli” (Hartzler 629. This informs us on how alcohol can mess with the way our brain works. This eventually makes it difficult to retrieve stored material in the brain. The executive cognition function is in the hands of the retrieval process, which has the job of organizing and planning. Alcohol abuse slows down the function of the brain and people demonstrate low executive cognition function. The potential effects on the Executive cognition function, “raises the possibility that similar premorbid differences in memory retrieval may exist” (Hartzler 629). People who possess front lobe pathology show disabilities in the executive cognition function. Alcohol has harmful effects on the original memory, which leads to short-term memory loss. Rex Walls demonstrates aggressive behavior toward the family, but he ends up forgetting the actions he caused because alcohol fades away those memories. “They said that drunks didn’t remember their rampages, so if you cleaned up after them, they’d think nothing happened” (112). If fragmentary blackouts are from deficient retrieval processes: spatial, temporal, and social contexts may be implicated. Hartzler categorizes alcohol expectancies into positive and negative expectancies. Positive expectancies from alcoholics must be a huge what the heck moment but let me explain. The initial feeling for person who is drinking shows a euphoric feeling which is followed by sedative effects. An alcoholic is more focused on the short-term effects rather than recalling their memory back. This is why view drinking as a positive thing. The negative expectancies occur mainly from a person’s past experience. These expectancies display that “greater perceived likelihood problems might sufficiently facilitate greater expectancies of their future recurrence” (Hartzler 634). This basically means that those who look at alcohol consumption in a negative way are more likely to be more cautious about their next drink. A similar incident unfolds in The Glass Castle when Brian drinks some alcohol for the first time and said it was the worst thing he ever tasted (113). Brian did not enjoy the taste of alcohol offered and will be more vigilant the next time he has a drink. Alcohol creates damage to the memory of an individual and not being able to have memory recollection could hurt the relationships you have with others.

Social relationships are vital to people’s daily lives and people need each other for support. However, alcoholism is the breaker when it comes to social relationships. For example, when there is a family member that is an alcoholic, the whole family becomes chaotic and turns into a big mess. As mentioned before, health problems and memory loss are factors that do not allow a family to become a true family. This can also be described as children of alcoholics (COA). High marital dissatisfaction is directly correlated with family climate. Because they are associated, constant tension within a family is more frequent. Alcoholism is the biggest factor when it comes to marital satisfaction and its causes. Marital dissatisfaction results in abandonment which can be detrimental to the child growing up. From The Glass Castle, we are able to see why the family is devastated by the father’s actions. The author states that “He found Mom in the bathroom, crouched in the tub…they fought their way into the dining room, and he knocked her to the floor” (122). The children in the story were shown how distorted of a father Rex Walls has become. Rex Walls is in denial about the dependency on alcohol because of how deformed the family has become. Ultimately, there was no real family and the children moved out. Family dysfunction and alcohol effects are measured simultaneously by researchers. Because of this, it is difficult to tell the order in which relationships got affected. In family cases, children begin to have their own roles and duties in order to handle dysfunction within the family. Alcohol dependence plays a huge negative role in the severity of family problems, which will affect how the next generation handles the people around them.

It is clear that alcoholism is an indicator of the destruction of family relations. Just like how fire causes physical destruction around the family, alcohol is an internal disruptor for the Walls. The health of the Rex Walls deteriorates over time causing him to eventually be hospitalized at the end of his life. The family does not handle his outrages and falls back allowing him to continue with this destructive behavior. Since his memory is always altered by the amount of alcohol he drinks, attacking his wife created a hostile environment leading to a falling out with every member of the family. By connecting the actions of Rex Walls throughout the book, we can conclude that these effects of alcoholism trickled down to the characters in the book in a negative way.

One stated by Bryant H. McGill, “There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.” People go through many things in their lifetime. At some point, they will come across obstacles. Some are caused by them, and the rest are caused by others. Forgiveness is a simple, yet complex concept. It can be done easily, or with much time. In The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, the main character, Janette, went through tough times with her family, however, she manages to forgive her parents repetitively and continues to love them; likewise, I found that forgiving someone allows you to move through life and grow as a person.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls has a variety of different ideas. Throughout the book, Jeanette and her siblings must learn to take care of themselves. Even though their parents love them, they are often negligent and not sympathizing. Jeannette’s Dad is an alcoholic and gets into several fights with mostly everyone. This causes the family to move homes every few weeks or months. Also, it is seen that there are quite a few fights between her parents. Jeanette’s Mom is often careless. She doesn’t understand her children and thinks they should do whatever they want. This sometimes led to some dangerous events happening such as ending up in the hospital. When Jeanette and her siblings were younger, they thought of their life as an adventure. However, as they grow up they realized it was far from that. They started to work hard to escape their parents and get a better life. Although, they are able to do that, they. Jeannette, despite the success and the time passed, still loves her parents and offers them help with anything they need.

Forgiveness is one of the highlighting themes of The Glass Castle. Jeanette forgiving her parents for their actions allowed her to thrive. In a person’s life, they are most likely going to come across a point in time where they have to forgive someone. Throughout my life, several opportunities have been presented to me to forgive someone. Some of those times, I didn’t forgive. One of the times I had to forgive someone was last year. My two best friends got into an argument. At first, I thought they would work it out since it didn’t seem that problematic. However, I came to find out that the argument was worse than I imagined and one of my friends kept accusing my other friend of things she didn’t do. This led my friend to go through a rough time due to the specific, harsh words used against her. I never fathomed why my friend said those specific words to her, but my views of her slowly changed. I tried to be there for both of them, however, I comforted my friend who had been hurt more. My other friend eventually got angry with me for hanging out with my friend. This was what caused my views on her to drastically change. I was upset that she made me indirectly choose between them and I was upset that she hurt one of my best friends. For months, I would barely talk to her. At times, it was hard, considering she has been my friend for four years. Months later, I couldn’t understand why I was truly mad at her. It occurred to me that I couldn’t judge her for that one moment. In The Glass Castle it states, “You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love the person for that.” (Walls, 144) At first, it seemed like I would never be able to forgive her, but with time I found, as the quote mentions, the best qualities that I missed in my friend. Somehow, these qualities overpowered the negative situations, and I’m glad they did.

Using the idea of forgiveness, I grew as a person. When I was younger, I would continuously hold on to the littlest arguments for months, or even years. Holding on to these little things made me feel angry and upset. In the future, these things would make me more prone to getting angry or upset easier. However, I find myself able to let go. When you can’t forgive someone, there are parts of you that feel like a prisoner. Forgiving the other person relieves you from your own pain. During the months that I was angry with my friend, I felt trapped in ways. When we became friends again, the prisoner inside of me was set free. As a result of this, I became a more positive person. I became less angry, less sad, and less upset. I redirected all the negative energy to contentedness and cheerfulness. Furthermore, in The Glass Castle, Jeannette states, “I wanted to let the world know that no one had a perfect life, that even the people who seemed to have it all had their secrets.” Through forgiveness, I understood that I’ve become a more understanding person. As Jeannette said, no one has a “perfect life” and can have a lot of things going on that no one knows about. It made me understand that people have their flaws and their own problems. People make mistakes throughout their lifetime, and I can’t judge a person for one moment or one mistake. Allowing the other person to be forgiven, allows them to understand the impact of their mistake and grow.

While some concepts can have temporary effects on you, forgiveness seems to have a more permanent one. With the obstacles I came into contact with in the past, I realize there are going to be several more in the future. I learned from the past that no matter what, I will always forgive someone. This can vary from person to person. Sometimes someone will never forgive and sometimes it will take a very long time. However, I am a very forgiving person, sometimes too forgiving. Using this, I think I can avoid certain obstacles in the future by knowing that I will end up forgiving the person anyway. I know that if I get angry at a person, it will be temporary, so there is no use putting unnecessary pain on myself. In the book The Glass Castle, there were times Jeanette was angry with her parents. However, she always ended up forgiving them and loving them the same. In addition, as mentioned in paragraph two, I now understand people have their own problems. This also can help me avoid future conflicts because the next time I want to be angry at someone, it will make me question their actions. The actions someone does can have a lot of underlying causes to it. As a friend or family member, I should respect that and help them rather than turn against them.

Jeanette had many difficulties with her family, however, she managed to forgive them. Similarly, I learned that forgiveness has transformed certain aspects of my life. Despite the situations being big or small, forgiving others has changed me for the better. A lot of the time, you forgive others with time because time heals the pain. Other times, forgiveness can happen immediately. In my opinion, Instead of judging the good rather than the bad in a situation can help relationships become stronger and last longer.

Literature Review

The primary basis of symbolic interaction theory is the assumption that people create their view of the world and interpersonal meanings jointly through the nature of their encounters (Leeds-Hurwitz, 2016). These respective views and opinions become a person’s new reality. Its key area of focus is gaining an understanding of the role people or communities play in the construction of such reality. According to Fairhurst and Grant (2010), the theory that has evolved over a long period draws its roots from the symbolic interactionist model. At the time, the major assumption was that as people construct their social and cultural worlds, the worlds have the same effect on such individuals. Furthermore, it is a consensus that the most insignificant of realities are products of longstanding but meaningful interaction between various social agents (Fairhurst & Grant, 2010). The theory incorporated and recognized the role that communication and language play, which, over time, has introduced a linguistic aspect into the model.

According to Fairhurst and Grant (2010), language and communication are critical tools in the creation of reality. During its evolution, the social construction theory became instrumental in demanding for change by rejecting the deeply rooted idea that categories and realities are natural (Marques, 2017). It has always been used to understand personality and initiate transformation among individuals. Currently, the theory has found applicability in a wide range of areas. One particular area of application is social work. The social work profession involves interacting with a wide variety of people and solving their problems (Navratil & Bajer, 2018). Social workers apply the theory in understanding the basis of these problems and formulating solutions as appropriate. It provides useful skills in understanding from the client’s standpoint, incorporating conscience, and recognizing the importance of customers’ experiences (Queiro-Taialli, 2017). Other current areas of application include educational psychology, systemic therapy, and even communication studies.

Application

The social construction theory can be used to understand the various experiences that Jeanette Walls faces in The Glass Castle: A Memoir. In the story, Jeanette encounters a sad adventure that characterizes her life. In her youth, Jeanette had low self-esteem and considered herself unattractive as she was extremely tall, thin, and frail, with big protruding teeth (Walls, 2005). From a social constructivist point of view, these feelings stem from Jeanette’s interaction with her peers. Her twisted reality and assumption about her looks originate from a common understanding of the world around her. In school, classmates criticized her looks, making her even more worried about a scar she picked from a burn at the age of three. The joint nature of social constructions is seen in the fact that both Jeanette and her classmates disapprove of her looks. Both of them are social agents, and their views affect each other. It is not clear whether Jeanette held a low perception of herself before she went to school and had her classmates point out her weaknesses.

The reciprocal nature of social constructionism is further seen when Jeanette’s view changes as soon as she meets her second husband. According to Walls (2005), he regarded her as an interesting and fine-textured person whose scars are a sign of massive strength. Unlike her mean classmates and anyone else who used the scars against her before, she has found someone who accepts and embraces all her flaws. According to Walls (2005), owing to the newly constructed view of herself, her spirits have been lifted, she has become more self-conscious and even loves herself more. She drastically changes from a case of self-hate to a self-loving woman as a result of her second husband’s attitude.

In application, social construction is critical in transforming people, helping them draw meaning out of their experiences, and formulating better-coping mechanisms for every situation. By learning from the behavior and character, she develops her own set of characteristics and takes responsibility. Rose Mary, her mother, is a painter. She spends most of her time painting while ignoring the welfare of her children, including Jeanette. Rose Mary is so selfish that she sometimes eats in secret despite her children going hungry for days. Raised in comfort, Rose Mary thinks she is encouraging her children to be sufficient and strong. Her husband, Rex, is a manipulative thief with a passion for gambling. The two parents were utterly negligent and absent. From their undesirable characters, Jeanette becomes an agent of change in her world. Unlike her parents, she loves and cares for her siblings, thus acting as a parental figure. Notably, in an attempt to cultivate opposite characters from her parents, she is committed, works hard, and brings home money for food. In fact, at the age of seventeen, she becomes independent by taking her sister Lori out and making their own lives. From a social constructivist point of view, her desirable characters are an unconscious campaign to make her current world better than the previous one.

Critique

In as much as the social construction theory explains, to no small extent, the reasons why Jeanette found her way out of the ways of her parents, including selfishness, alcoholism, gambling, and negligence, there are some drawbacks. For instance, the objectivity of the ideas formed cannot be ascertained. It is not possible to gauge the degree to which Jeanette’s experiences as a child contributed to her outlook on life. It is hard to determine whether the socially constructed knowledge Jeanette gathered in the course of her life is reliable. This doubt is further compounded by the fact that Jeannette’s siblings have entirely different outlooks on life despite being raised under similar conditions. Social construction, therefore offers a partial explanation of the outcome of Jeanette’s life.

However, Erickson’s theory could help to understand Jeanette’s actions and behavior better. Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development postulates that human beings undergo distinct transitions physically, cognitively, and mentally as they grow up. According to Erik Erikson, human beings develop in eight stages from birth through old age dealing with developmental tasks and resolving crises particular to each stage (Rogers, 2016). Based on this definition, Jeanette’s behavior in The Glass Castle can be better explained using Erikson’s theory than by symbolic interactionism. This is evidenced through Jeanette’s changing behavior as she grows, which is consistent with the provision of Erickson’s theory whereas symbolic interactionism only explains the meanings attached to the interaction between individuals in society. While Jeanette detests her father’s behavior of excessive drinking and her mother’s irresponsibility and selfishness, the rest of her siblings do not seem concerned by the problem. Consequently, Miss Walls quits the family and heads to New York, in search of a new life. Walls’ attempt at refreshing herself and rediscovering life is better explained by Erickson’s theory which provided that human beings move through the stages of psychosocial development despite unresolved crises experienced at earlier stages. This better explains the by explaining that Jeanette is more successful and negotiating the crises of each stage enabling her to maintain better control over her emotional state and environment enabling her to better adapt and adjust to her environment.

Conclusion

“The Glass Castle” is a story about siblings who must learn to care for themselves because their parents are irresponsible. Jeanette’s free-spirited parents inspire her while causing her immense pain. She admires her father, who, when sober, is a fountain of knowledge. When he drinks, however, he makes terrible decisions and is incapable of providing for his family. The social construction theory explains to a certain degree, how Jeannette uses her childhood experiences to form her reality. As an adult, she moves to New York after gathering all the money she owns and works hard to build a life free of pain and poverty.

Could you imagine being forced to make your own meals at the age of three? Well, that is exactly what Jeanette Walls experiences in The Glass Castle, a novel written about her life growing up. Throughout the book, she tells her readers about difficult times in her life that she experienced during her childhood. Rex, the author’s father, displays anger issues, and alcoholism, and shows a lack of empathy many times throughout just the first couple of chapters. Jeanette’s mom Rosemary also shows signs of unhealthy submission and abusive nature. The author’s portrayal of Rex and Rosemary leaves a feeling of dislike and hatred for the abusive, unstable, and unfit parents they are described to be.

Rex lacks empathy on many different occasions. On one particular occasion, Rex had just gathered Rosemary and their kids into the car and decided that he no longer wanted their pet cat, Quixote. The author states the following, “Dad stopped the car, grabbed Quixote by the scruff of the neck, and tossed him out the window”(Walls 18). Many families see their pets as family members and could never imagine throwing them away just like they were a piece of garbage. The absence of remorse in Rex’s following actions speaks to the opinion that he lacks empathy. Another example of this happens when the family takes on too many stray cats. The females end up having a lot of kittens and, instead of finding them a new home, Rex puts them in a trash bag and throws them away. The kittens were all still alive when this took place. While he is abusive and unempathetic while completely sober, alcohol augments the issue. For example, one night Rex went out and came home wasted. Jeanette gives us a few examples of the things that he would do, “He broke windows and smashed dishes and furniture until he’d spent all his anger…”(Walls 112). Not only does this show Rex’s problem with alcohol abuse but his anger issues shine through as well. While he tried to overcome his alcohol addiction on page 117, he quickly reverted back to his old abusive habits on page 122. All of this combined causes my opinion of him and his character to be harsh but justified. I feel as if Rex should never have brought children into this world knowing the bad habits and dangerous situations he could expose them to.

Rosemary Walls is a completely different character. While I do feel they both have problems of their own, I feel as if their struggles are completely different from one another. Rosemary shows signs of unhealthy submission as she follows whatever Rex tells her to do. One example of this is when Rosemary’s mother, Grandma Smith, gets into an argument with Rex while he and his family are staying at her house. They both make gibes at each other until finally, Grandma asks him to leave because he is under her roof. Rex tells Rosemary and their four kids to get their stuff and go to the car. While Grandma pleads with Rosemary, “not to let that worthless horse’s ass take her grandchildren,” Rosemary replied back telling her there is nothing she can do to stop him because he was her husband (Walls 20). Rosemary’s response to Rex could be out of fear, but whether that is the case or not, it is with the reluctant submission that Rosemary follows him. The reason this is so alarming is due to the fact that while her mother takes very good care of her children, like bathing, combing their hair, and feeding them, Rex puts her and their children in harm’s way without ever thinking twice about it. A mother should be there to protect her kids, and while Rosemary tries, staying in this relationship and household proves in the end to only be toxic to everyone involved. Contrary to that, however, she also shows signs of abusive behavior. On page 42, Rosemary and Rex get into an argument because she says she has been carrying their latest child, Maureen, for 10 months. Rex says that this is impossible to which Rosemary responds by jumping out of the car and running into traffic. Personally, I don’t believe she actually intended to harm herself, but in fact that this was a tactic used to hurt and scare her husband and children. I see this as abuse because she had the option to just give up and stop the conversation, but instead chose to play with her family’s emotions. That is unfair to punish her children by scaring them just because of their father’s argumentative nature. So while I believe Rex causes many harmful events, I think that Rosemary has just as much involvement in the psychological issues of her children.

Because of the author’s bold and negative portrayal of Rex and Rosemary Walls, their reputation in my mind is nothing short of unreliable, inhumane role models for their four young children.

For those unfortunate to have dealt with a near-death experience, combat exposure, childhood physical abuse, sexual violence, and physical assault have faced what is known as a traumatizing event. Many people are lucky enough to recover sooner than others; however, the rest often face at-risk exposure to ASD (Acute Stress Disorder), Adjustment Disorder, and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). According to Victoria Lemle Beckner and John B. Arden, Conquering Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, “Traumas have a much deeper impact on one’s well-being than a typical stressor and can take a long time to recover from” (Lemle 22). Generally speaking exposure to many of these disorders becomes the very reason why many people have difficulty living a stable or functional life. PTSD is the most common disorder that has been known as, “a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it” (Mayoclinic.org). In the memoir, The Glass Castle, the author Jeannette Walls describes the damaging and moody behavior of her father Rex Walls, in which he exhibits the very symptoms of PTSD. Unfortunately, carrying his depression, destructive behavior, difficulty maintaining close relationships, and issues with alcohol use throughout his life not only as a husband but as a father; therefore, it is clear that Rex Walls suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Depression is one of the factors known to be troubling to those affected by PTSD; ironically, a symptom that Rex suffers throughout his life. Depression is demonstrated as, “a mood disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration…” (Merriam-Webster.com). In particular, for Rex’s family, it was hard to bare witness to the emotional discomfort he expressed; unfortunately, throughout their lives what was given wasn’t much of a blessing. Jeannette’s willingness to speak the truth, “‘Do you think you could maybe stop drinking?’” (Walls 116). Devastating enough, Rex felt betrayed but questioned the life he had given his family. The discomposure and unsettling feeling placed Rex into a continuous black hole. Being alone and with nothing but silence brought Rex pleasure as if what Jeannette had said tore what was left of his dignity. Feeling worthless and guilty were just a few of the very symptoms of depression that Rex exhibited, “As soon as she dropped us off, [Rex] disappeared…but he didn’t come home” (Walls 121). His behavior reflected the emotions he had felt listening to the women, “‘Why, I can’t leave those poor people out there’” (Walls 121) considering the circumstances, Rex’s actions alone were spoken for after all most of the issues were due to Rex’s misjudgment. In addition, depression has been classified as a long-term treatment that isn’t easy to snap out of; instead, it’s a noticeable problem that affects those on a day-to-day basis. Rex’s affection toward his family became unstable as soon as his family broke apart; ideally, Jeannette’s opportunity to leave was the day Rex dreaded his whole life, “‘As soon as I finish classes, I’m getting on the next bus out of here’” (Walls 238). Many individuals have a difficult way of coping with their depression and some have it easier, but Rex’s so-called coping method was leaving for the night and not returning until the next day. Usually, drunk and unconscious, he’d involuntarily become very anti-social which is a very difficult period at which those who suffer from depression have to face. The anti-social factor of depression is an issue that becomes the reason why these individuals have a hard time keeping their close relationships with friends and family. Depression and its significance on these individuals who live with PTSD can be harmful to their mental and physical health; unfortunately, the server mood swings and changes in the mental state created an imbalance of anger and destructive behavior throughout the life of Rex Walls.

With this in mind, having destructive behavior has been known to be involved in the list of symptoms correlating to the diagnosis of PTSD, surely enough it is another symptom that Rex Walls suffers from. The destructive behavior of one who suffers from PTSD can simply be harmful to not only themselves but others as well. Most behavioral mood swings or changes in emotions can become more active when exposed to drugs and alcohol; therefore, the way to decrease the risk of this behavioral roller coaster is to suppress the outside variable which is drugs and alcohol. Rex’s inability to control his urges of keeping away from alcohol became the exact reason that Rex, “[thrust] the lighter into the Douglas fir. The dried-out needles caught fire immediately” (Walls 115). Because of his action and his bizarre reason the tree became the symbol that marked the end of a great evening. Substance abuse changes the view of one’s perspective that allows for the aggressive nature to reveal itself. Destructive behaviors can vary in several ways such as being uncooperative, refusing to follow rules, behaving angry, resentful, spiteful, and vindictive. Rex Walls has had constant cards at play that features the destruction he has caused which not only becomes the restfulness that each individual will express towards him but the constant lines and boundaries that are broken due to his actions. The symptoms itself is said to be, “It is seen as a symptom of other underlying dysfunction or psychological disorder that a person may be experiencing” as said in the article, Self-Destructive Behavior: The Causes, Traits, And Types, by Jack Nollan who continues to further explain that, “ It can be either an action, series of actions or a way of life that causes psychological or physical harm to the person engaging in the behavior”. Destructive behavior isn’t at all what it perceives to be as it is an effect of the mind and the psychological part which creates the frequent behavior outbursts. The destructive behavior is a roadblock for those who suffer from PTSD as it is what develops the fence that deprived them of their own happiness due to the traumatic event that might have caused the server temperamental outbursts; nonetheless, leads to difficulty in maintaining a close relationship with friends and family.

Furthermore, maintaining a close relationship can be very difficult for those with PTSD; surprisingly, it’s a symptom that Rex Wall definitely has a hard time managing. Jeannette and her coming of age were no sight for sore eyes as Rex, her father, took it upon himself to bring Jeannette to his workplace. His actions and poor ability to recognize the danger and the foolish thing he had done to obtain money, “‘Holler if you need me’, he said and winked at me as if…this was just a part of my job” (Walls 212). Rex purposely pimped out his daughter to repay the cash he had taken from her, which isn’t the exact way money should be earned. His intentions might not have been what he thought to be wrong or dangerous, but it isn’t the right kind of mindset that should be making decisions involving family or close relationships. For any individual, intentions that involve the endangerment of one’s well-being can be a matter of resentment that one might develop. Rex constantly made it difficult for many to keep a close relationship, “there were six stinging blows on the backs of my thighs” (Walls 220). The pain Jeannette endured wasn’t the fault of the six strings, but the fault of her father’s misjudgment. Resentment is a great fact that those who have PTSD must avoid. Maintaining a close relationship is a vastly important part that can easily be stripped because of his or her actions. Rex’s fatherly actions to improve the sculptor that her eldest daughter, Lori, had created wasn’t much help as, “[Rex] studied the sculpture, then suddenly reached over and smeared off Shakespeare’s mouth…” (Walls 227). His selfishness and complete disregard for Lori’s sculpture were the last straw that kept Lori from leaving. Rex had given his family nothing but trouble throughout their years growing up as if what he was doing was for their own good. The fatherly effect on his kids had worn off and couldn’t keep them from leaving any longer. Living with an individual suffering from PTSD, “Trauma memories, trauma reminders or flashbacks, and the attempt to avoid such memories or reminders, can make living with a survivor feel like living in a war zone or living in constant threat of vague but terrible danger” (Bressert).

In the memoir, The Glass Castle (2005), the author Jeanette Walls writes about her life, spanning from her troubled childhood to her future move to New York City. Throughout her early years, Jeanette consistently had a difficult relationship with her parents due to them spending money on useless items, which was why she left for New York City (NYC). The novel begins with a snapshot of Jeanette catching sight of her mother in NYC, ignoring her. A few days later, she felt guilty and invited her mother for dinner, but like always she is the same. For example, the mother says, “I could use an electrolysis treatment” (Walls 5). The mother is homeless but still asks for unnecessary things instead of taking care of her life.

The second part of the book named “The Desert” is about Jeanette growing up as a child. The plan was for the father to get rich and build his kids a “Glass Castle”. However, the plan does not go well due to an alcoholic father and the main problem arises when Jeanette had to go to the hospital because she burned her hand. The parents did not like the hospital treatment so he took Jeanette out of the hospital without contacting them. As a result, they did not pay the bill due to financial reasons, so they had to begin their journey of moving around to different states/cities.

Essentially, this would lead to the family living in impoverished conditions and having to move continuously because of the trouble the father had caused each time. The term the book used for the continuous movement is “Skedaddle”

The third part of the book called “Welch” is where the family moves to the next. The actions stay the same, the father gets drunk and continues to have financial problems. As these problems stay the same, Jeanette and Lori(her sister) plan their escape to NYC. Eventually, they would save a good amount of money but would end up being spent by their dad. However, the kids did not give up hope and tried again to save money for their escape but this time they succeeded.

During the last parts of the stories, the kids(now adults) moved to New York. Each one gets a job and starts their life with their spouse and kids. Additionally, the parents also move to New York but are homeless. Moreover, the dad eventually dies from health problems. As a result, the family gets together for Thanksgiving, including their mother, and talks about the good times they had together.

The story of Jeannette Walls is nothing short of what you could describe as nightmarish. From living in houses with caving walls to dealing with a narcissistic, alcoholic father, Walls endured a childhood of horrors. Through Walls’ traumatic childhood, we experience the constant turmoil, dysfunction, and broken promises that she lived with throughout these crucial years of her life. Walls’ story, although disturbing, teaches us the impact that true trauma can have on an individual, as well as how society reacts to it, and of course, how it can alter your life as a whole. Wall shares more than plenty of moments throughout her childhood that more than justify the reason her autobiography is traumatic. Wall’s relationship with her parents, her constant endure of abuse and neglect, and her motivation to escape her abnormal life, evokes unannounced emotion from the reader, showing us a truly traumatic childhood.

“I need money to make money. I’ll pay you back… Have I ever let you down?” (Walls 210), Rex Walls, Jeannette’s father says to her as he persuades her to give him her hard-earned money, in order to feed his alcohol addiction. Rex, although tremendously intelligent, was a raging drunk, putting the care of his family as a minimal priority. On another note, Rose Mary Walls, Jeannette’s mother, had a childhood filled with loving parents and stable living but felt trapped within her stable life and became easily addicted to the adrenaline Rex brought her. She became selfish in her mannerisms, having a certified teaching degree that could earn her and her family a better living, but refused to work in order to fulfill her hopeless dream of becoming an artist. When times would get extra desperate, Rose Mary would attempt to get a job as a teacher but, “she had problems organizing paperwork and disciplining her students”, and “at least one morning a week she’d throw a tantrum and refuse to go to work” (Walls 196). Eventually, Rose Mary would end up quitting, resulting in once again, a lack of income for the Walls aside from Rex’s odd job income. The consistent abuse and neglect that Jeannette experiences, although she does not yet view it that way, eventually leads to the involvement of Social Services with the Walls family; “He’d launch an investigation and end up sending me and Brian and Lori and Maureen off to live with different families, even though we all got good grades and knew Morse code. I couldn’t let that happen. No way was I going to lose Brian and Lori and Maureen.” (Walls 194). It is here that Jeannette shows how much she truly cares about her family, no matter what her relationship with her parents may be like. The neglect pursued by her parents forced Jeannette to become a somewhat motherly figure at an unfortunate age, a traumatic experience for a child to have to endure.

Unethical parenting is one of the main reasons for the dangerous and unnerving situations Jeannette finds herself in, many of which can be classified as abusive and neglectful. At as early as the young age of three, Jeannette is seen cooking hot dogs. The unimaginable scenario where a parent allows an infant to operate the stove is one with no excuse and leads to a predictable disaster. Jeannette shares this vivid memory, “as I stood up and started stirring the hot dogs again, I felt a blaze of heat on my right side. I watched the yellow-white flames make a ragged brown line up the pink fabric of my skirt and climb my stomach. I smelled the burning and heard a horrible crackling as the fire singed my hair and eyelashes” (Walls 9).

The clear and utter neglect of her parents resulted in Jeannette being rushed to the hospital, this situation alone undeniably shows how the abuse Jeannette endured not only started at a crucial age but altered the way she understood abuse and neglect as a whole. As a parent, your children’s safety and health should consistently be of the highest concern, something both Rex and Rosemary have no knowledge of. Both Rex and Rosemary continue to fail as parents throughout their children’s lives, with another example being when they rented a U-Haul truck. Jeannette shares the experience, “Mom explained that since only she and Dad could fit in the front of the U-Haul, Lori, Brian, Maureen, and I were in for a treat: We got to ride in the back. It would be fun, she said, a real adventure. Suddenly, with a bang, we hit a huge pothole, and the back doors on the U-Haul flew open” (Walls 48), leading to Brian almost flying out of the truck. The event clearly demonstrates just how unfit Rex and Rosemary were as parents, their credibility to raise children is seemingly non-existent. The many occasions where Rex and Rosemary place their personal values over the safety of their children could have completely altered Jeannette’s life or ended it completely. Although just two events, Jeannette’s memoir contains dozens more stories ranging from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse that she endured whilst living under her parent’s care, trauma someone no matter their age, should have to live with.

Amongst the abuse, neglect, and abnormal relationships Jeannette lived with, she always maintained the motivation to escape her life for something more meaningful. From an outsider’s perspective, it is a troubling, traumatic thought to want to escape your parents and the life you grew up living. Throughout Jeannette’s teen years, she found an escape from her home life through writing and quickly made a passion out of it. From realizing how reckless and problem stricken her life with her parents was, she made it her goal to move to New York to pursue a degree in writing and escape her parents once and for all. With as strong of a desire that Jeannette held to leave her life and family, confirms just how traumatic her life really was.

The life of Jeannette Walls was one of extreme hardship and undeniable trauma. From inconsistent, and considerably brutal living conditions, to an alcoholic, hopeless father, Jeannette shows us how a life filled with trauma and distress, can not only teach us the impact it can have on an individual, but open our eyes as a society to the fact that nothing is irreversible. With life as insane as the one Jeannette lived, anyone could assume that she was destined for failure. Jeannette’s traumatic autobiography is a true representation of how no matter what the circumstances may be if you set your mind to something, you can achieve anything. As an individual, we should view Jeannette’s story not as one of empathy and sorrow, but as hopeful and courageous. Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle, is most definitely a traumatic autobiography short of no factors indicating the fact, but looking at it from an educational perspective, teaches us how trauma can act on individuals and society in an ultimately positive light.

American Historian of Science, Michael Brant Shermer once stated, “Mammals are sentient beings that want to live and are afraid to die. Evolution vouchsafed us all with an instinct to survive, reproduce and flourish.” Identical characteristics are shown in humans no matter what period of time they are from. In Yann Martel’s Fictional Drama Novel, Life of Pi, the protagonist, Piscine Molitor Patel is a boy battling for his life with minuscule resources while globetrotting the Pacific Ocean after he lost his family in a shipwreck on the way to Canada. Pi is stranded in an unfamiliar environment along with a Bengal tiger: Richard Parker, a hyena and a zebra from his father’s zoo. A more desirable tomorrow is what Pi hopes for. Pi holds onto the skill of survivalism through his belief in religion, breaking his morals and forming a relation with nature. The idea the author develops regarding the human will to survive and endure the destructive forces surrounding them is that humans will take extreme measures.

All throughout the novel, there is a consistent repeat of the subject of religion. Pi pursues three religions making him see religion uniquely in contrast to every other person. He was conceived in an entirely Hindu family and rehearsed Hinduism for the greater part of his life. At fourteen years old, he meets a Christian priest, Father Martin, amid his family outing to Munnar. Demonstrating negligible intrigue while chatting, Pi tuned in to Father Martin when he clarified how Christ’s blood was sacrificed for human sins. Pi was convinced to become a Christian after the engaging conversation. ‘I said, “Father, I would like to be a Christian, please.” He smiled. “You already are, Piscine – in your heart. Whoever meets Christ in good faith is a Christian. Here in Munnar, you met Christ.” (Martel 63). Through this conversation, Pi takes in that the internal significance of religion is really about having a solid faith. After around a year, Pi had a comparable experience with the religion of Islam. We see proof of his enthusiasm for the religion when he says “I challenge anyone to understand Islam, its spirit, and not to love it. It is a beautiful religion of brotherhood and devotion.” (Martel 67). After this, his genuine interest for God had started. Pi began to have faith in all three religions. To begin with, in view of his belief in Hinduism, he perceived the colour orange as an indication of survival.’It seems orange-such a Hindu colour, the colour of survival’ (Martel 153). Furthermore, as a result of Pi’s belief in Christianity, he made a daily practice of praying each morning, midmorning, dusk and during the evening. ‘I kept myself busy. That was the key to my survival. Sunrise: wake up, prayers. Mid-morning: prayers, lunch. Sunset: prayers. Night: fitful sleeping, prayers.’ (Martel 210). Lastly, as a result of Pi’s belief in Islam, it is what kept him from killing Richard Parker. ‘The words ‘Plan Number six, Plan Number six, Plan Number six, Plan Number six’ repeated themselves in my mind like a mantra and brought me a small measure of comfort.’ (Martel 176). Pi used his comprehension of God to keep him inspired to remain alive in such brutal conditions. With no data about where he is, Pi remained full of faith amid his time on the life raft which helped him stay alive in an obscure situation for two-hundred and twenty-seven days.

Pi was on a life raft surrounded by the Pacific Ocean for a long time, so he needed to break his morals to support living. He needed to set his mind to a savage point of view in which he can get skills of survivalism and make it with a tiger while on the Ocean. Pi’s character was based on morality because of his association with the concept of religion. Pi was believed to be a vegetarian alongside the rest of his family. This was not shocking considering the fact that he lived in India where vegetarianism is ordinarily rehearsed because of the high strength of the Hindu religion. So as to make due on the life raft, Pi was compelled to break his vegetarianism and seek after carnivorism. “Lord, to think that I’m a strict vegetarian. To think that when I was a child I always shuddered when I snapped open a banana because it sounded to me like the breaking of an animal’s neck. I descended to a level of savagery I never imagined possible.” (Martel 218). Pi explains how he viewed vegetarianism as an imperative good to himself and that even stripping a banana peel makes him feel that he has killed the banana, taking into account that it is just an organic fruit. Since he has such a significant number of challenges doing that, it is considerably harder for him to think about eating meat or fish. The main food source Pi had was ocean animals like fish and turtles. “Tears flowing down my cheeks, I egged myself on until I heard a cracking sound and I no longer felt any life-fighting in my hands. I pulled back the folds of the blanket. The flying fish was dead. It was split open and bloody on one side of its head, at the level of the gills.” (Martel 203). While killing the fish, Pi was feeling horrible for it like it was somebody very dear to him. Through such extreme feelings, Pi demonstrates his regard towards life. Pi butchers a sea turtle by cutting the turtle’s neck and depleting the blood into a beaker, “bright red blood shot out. I grabbed the beaker and collected about three hundred milliliters,” (Martel 270). Pi drinks the turtle’s blood and says: “I drank the blood to the last drop.” (Martel 270). Pi can drink the turtle blood and scrape off the turtle’s shell with a knife. This can be seen when Pi states: “As confidently as if I had done it a thousand times, I jammed the knife just to the right of the turtle’s head, at an angle. I pushed the blade deep into the folds of skin and twisted it.” (Martel 269). Pi needed to break his morals because he was practically choosing between life and demise. If he wanted to survive, he realized he needed to become accustomed to slaughtering animals so as to keep himself and Richard Parker alive. By breaking his morals, Pi gave himself more motivation to live since he has made survival less demanding for himself, however not ethically. His new feeling of survivalism convinces him to view another day since Pi realizes he has enough abilities to support himself and Richard Parker.

Zoomorphism, as characterized by Pi, is an animal seeing an alternate animal as one of its own for the purpose of companionship. Pi figures out how to interface with animals by contrasting animal identity qualities and his own and makes an association with them. He is applying personification to the animals to create a connection. If he doesn’t partake in this then he will go mentally insane so this is healthy for him. “The poor dear looked so humanly sick! It is a particularly funny thing to read human traits in animals, especially in apes and monkeys, where it is so easy.” (Martel 134). Another instance is when Pi says “She came floating on an island of bananas in a halo of light, as lovely as the Virgin Mary. The rising sun behind her. Her flaming hair looked stunning…Let me say it plainly: I love you, I love you, I love you, I love, I love you…” (Martel 123). Pi was talking about the orangutan, Orange Juice. Orange juice was unaggressive and gentle with lovable qualities like a mother. The connections Pi made with his surroundings helped him appreciate them and was part of what gave him the will to survive.

Ultimately, Pi holds onto the skill of survivalism through the influences from his three notable religions, breaking morals and creating a sense of relationship with Mother Earth. The idea the author develops regarding the human will to survive and endure the destructive forces surrounding them is that humans will take extreme measures. Without such influences, Pi would not have survived. This is what got him through two-hundred and twenty-seven days on the Pacific Ocean. As American Dancer Twyla Tharp would say, “To survive, you’ve got to keep wheedling your way. You can’t just sit there and fight against odds when it’s not going to work. You have to turn a corner, dig a hole, go through a tunnel – and find a way to keep moving.”