The Glass Castle: A Memoir

The Glass Castle, written by Jeanette Walls, was a great memoir because it was well constructed, honest, and it allowed the reader to gain a sense of the experiences she went through during her life, and how her life was shaped because of them.

The Glass Castle was very well constructed throughout the book. The events in the book were put into a chronological order, starting from when she was was very young to her adulthood. However, throughout the book Jeanette was able to weave brief, interesting memories or events, either past or future, into her story, enhancing the plot line and engaging the reader more. The first page of her story is an event that happened a couple of decades before the description of her earliest memory, and her whole childhood. This story, on page 3, is well placed, triggering the reader’s interest as she describes her shame about her parents, and gives the reader the sense of what the problem was during her childhood, such as her parents. It makes the reader want to continue, and read through her childhood to learn what her specific situation was.

Jeanette wrote The Glass Castle very honestly. She did not write it for the purpose of complaining about how difficult her childhood was. She did not exaggerate her situation to make it seem worse, nor did she whine and blame all of her situations on her parents. In fact, throughout the story, she wrote of how she cared for her mother, and her deep admiration for her father. She did not make her entire life seem desolate and hopeless as one might expect. Instead, along with the difficulties, she described the positive aspects of her experiences. She described many experiences that seemed fun, at the time, such as exploring the desert and the “adventures” she would take with her family as they hopped from town to town. She wrote the story to convey to the reader that, even if she was in an extremely bad situation, it can get better if she tried hard enough and is determined.

Jeanette describes how the experiences she went through, both good and bad, shaped her. Throughout the story, from being a child to growing into adulthood, Jeanette’s perspective grows and changes. Her experiences and the hardships that she went through shaped her and encouraged her to work hard and lead a successful life. A prime example is how she didn’t let herself fall into the same hardships her parents did, such as poverty, crime, alcoholism, and more. Instead, she took the her knowledge of how bad those situations could become, and worked hard to not encounter them in adulthood.

All-in-all, The Glass Castle, written by Jeanette Walls, was a very well written memoir. It was well constructed, in both thought and writing, along with its being honest and demonstrating her growth throughout the book and how her experiences shaped her.

- Talitha Holcombe