THE GLASS CASTLE
The glass castle, written by Jeannette Walls, is a great memoir and book. Along with being made wonderfully and truly honest, it does not blame people; it shows the good and bad in everyone.
Jeannette Walls grew up in a poor, harsh environment: her father was an alcoholic, her mother irresponsible, and many of the people she encountered were unfriendly in many ways. They almost always didn’t have enough money for food or water, it would all be spent on alcohol and cigarettes for the father, and paint supplies and candy for the mother. Despite the obvious failings of her parents, she still continued to find the good in them, loving her fathers intelligence, spirit, and humor, and admiring her mothers art skill and knowledge. She never outrightly blames her parents for their poverty, almost always purposely turning the blind eye every time they had a failing.
Although she avoids personally blaming anyone, she does not lie to cover up their failings. the book is truthful about her experiences, not covering for her parents of siblings, and most importantly, not covering up her own failings. She does not avoid writing about the times she made a bad choice or hurt someone, opting to tell the truth even when it is inconvenient for her. She also tells the truth even when it was a particularly unpleasant experience for her, one she most like would not want to remember. However, she does not go into such graphic details as to make it unenjoyable for the reader.
This book is also wonderfully made, both being in chronological order as well as having fluid, smooth transitions from one event to the next. It is not cluttered with unnecessary stories, but has enough events as so that you can accurately imagine what her life was like. It tells enough about each character that you can get a sense of their personalities, but not too much so that you get bored of them. The writing is both elegant and easy to understand, and the dialogue is well written.
I like your view. For example, the point that this book are very truthful is very innovative. In addition, you gave enough evidence and examples to support your statement, which is desirable writing habit. However , personally, I think you should write topic sentences at the beginning of every paragraph, which is a good way to make your statement clearer and more direct.
ReplyDeleteYou identify two aspects of a good memoir in your thesis: that it's honest and doesn't blame others. You can be a little more specific though. Your last idea (that the memoir is well-constructed) doesn't show up in your thesis, when it should. You organize your paragraphs well, but as David says, you can be little more specific with TS to assert your argument more persuasively. You make some valid points about the memoir, but details from the memoir--and even specific episodes--would be helpful in your second paragraph.
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