In Jeannette Walls’ memoir “The Glass Castle” many of her family members and other people in the book display certain characteristics that make her story unique and intriguing. Often such characteristics can cause problems for the characters and sometimes their own downfall. In particular, Jeannette’s father displays irresponsibility that affects not only him, but the other people in the story as well. This ultimately ends up causing his downfall and his children losing faith in him.
Rex Walls was deeply described in this book, but the overall lingering point showed the reader that he was an irresponsible drunk. At many times during Jeannette’s childhood, he came home sloppy drunk and caused all sorts of problems for his family. For example,…
But during her childhood, her father always promised to build her a big glass house or “The Glass Castle”. Once the family had moved to Welch Jeannette and her brother Brian began to dig a foundation for the Glass Castle. However, due to the lack of income and her father’s drinking problem the family could not even afford the trash removal fee for their town. Therefore, all the families trash was beginning to pile up on their property. So, Rex decided to fill the foundation his kids had eagerly dug, expecting a “Glass Castle” to be built on it, with his family’s garbage. Again letting his children down and destroying the fatherly image they once had of him.
All in all, Jeannette’s story shows how the irresponsibility of a person can lead to problems for the people around them. Rex Walls is certainly an example of irresponsibility and how it caused his wife and children to view him as a different person and loose all the faith they had in their husband and father. As well as how his abuse of alcohol affected his family and the things they could afford when lots of their cash went to buying alcohol. Certainly, Jeannette’s childhood would have been significantly different if her father would have been more responsible and not abused…
