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English 114B
15 OCT 2012
Essay#1
In the book The Glass Castle, the writer Jeannette shows how her childhood and her parents were. And during the reading, I thought that her parents didn't take the responsibility as parents should do. As a result, Jeannette's childhood is tough and unforgettable. These kids had to pay more slaves to get back to a normal life , but they still love their parents.
As this book focuses on the memoirs of childhood and adolescence, the opening of this story didn't have so much unusual. Although the family members have no place to stay, they sleep in the desert, dance in the heavy rain, and bully their fighting with other children. Under the starlit sky, they depict the blueprint of the glass castle. Parents and three children, more intellectuals than the Bohemian, wandering in the desert of the western United States, homeless, have cactus for food, discuss the issue of the universe under the sky. Their father is a Utopian, dreaming of create a "glass castle", as a perfect home. He and his artist wife are maverick. So This couple created their wandering home, it looks dirty outside, but cannot cover up its romantic. Jeannette was so worshiped his father, Rex, at that time. She used his eyes to see the world. At Christmas time, the poor family had nothing as a gif, as if they had just walked out of a fairy tale. The poor father only can let the children choose one of the stars on the sky as a gift. She chosen to Venus, and proud of it, Since then, she never envious of those kids that get toys in their stockings. We use Jeannette's eyes watching Walls's family; accept such parents and such life. I thought it is a really hard time for Jeannette, in these old times. I can't image if my childhood was like that. She has to suffer from many unbelievable things that people in that age may not faced. She had to cook for herself when she was very little. When in that age I still lying on the bed all day and my parents gave me what I like. And I thought her parents were not so lowercase. As they take birth of their kids. They didn't raise their children until they can take care of themselves. I thought that as a dependent, parent has their obligation to do this, but Jeannette's parents were selfish and only care of what themselves want. And those heel of Achilles made their kids had to live in a albatross morass.
And then the situation came to a standstill. Walls family had to move back to the cold northern town from the south, they can no longer sleep in the wild or take a bath with a bottle of water. Their father is still work in a few times, most of the time in alcohol. Their mother still all day busy with writing and painting, never have chance to publish but refuse to work. Their children sleep in the bed of cardboard under the leaking ceiling, Winter came, they went into the forest to cut branches. pack up briquettes for heating on the street. As time went by, children begin to pay attention to someone else's vision. When they had to bear the burden of more than age, have to take care of themselves, even take care of their families, they began to ask their parents to assume their responsibility. But their parents refused to change. Rex or cheat or steal, to use his children’s saved up money to drink, when he run out he cheat or steal to get the money again. Mary can afford her increased collection to helling around, no matter her children have the money for eat or not. So they had a conflict. And at last all their kids left their parents to start their own life. As it should be, all the children left their parents. I thought their parents should take responsible for this. Because of their caprice, their Utopians and maverick, their kids didn't enjoy a childhood .they wanted Although maybe the parents do that for some good reasons, but that didn't kid's own choice. And for their parents' choice, children have to do much to get back to a normal life.
Jeannette's parents believe that the wandering is a way of adventure. I thought it is a kind of selfish. But her mother always believed that her daughter is the beneficiary of their own philosophy of life, not the victims. Ultimately, children need to struggle for a long time to get the ordinary normal life. But in their mother's thought, her children are sad betrayers, the Captives of modern life.
And expect those details all above, I paid some attention to their father, Rex during the reading, Rex is knowledgeable, clever, alcohol, accomplished nothing, he is romantic but trapped in the shadow of his childhood. When his children are still naive, father could easily prove to the world as he said. But when they grew, their father became powerless and helpless. Even to take advantage of his favorite daughter. But no matter how badly he was, he has a strong love for his daughter. When the conflict with their children is out of control, he chosen to wander on the streets. Jeannette is the pride of Rex. When Jeannette did not have enough money and may have to drop out, Rex scrape together a thousand U.S. dollars to her, by his poker winnings. Later Rex was seriously ill, dying, he called Jeannette to brought him a bottle of wine. And that time they also talked about the glass castle. Rex said, unfortunately not built; Jeannette answered that it was a very pleasant moments when planning ,there are two things Rex can not leave in the last moments of his life, alcohol and love for her daughter. I think Rex is not a good guy as he can do, he can did better if he want to, he always talk too much but do too little and he even not a good father as I mentioned above. But all these fault can not deny he didn’t like her daughter.
Love is so ethereal, people often mention, but can not tell specific what it is. Maybe you love someone, but he or she can not feel it. Maybe love each other, but hurt each other, too. Love seems so great, all-encompassing, but so easily lost in desire, laziness, or even alcohol, and some other things not worth mentioning. In childhood, the glass castle was a dream for the Walls, and the man who draw the blueprint for the glass castle is the pride of Jeannette. But to the later, the glass castle has increasingly become an excuse. Before Jeannette leaving home, in order to restore her mind, Rex proposed to renovate the house He took out a roll of drawings. Jeannette recognized it is the blueprint for the glass castle. But everyone knows, that would never be built up.
Then Jeannette left her parents and became an excellent reporter, her parents, came to New York, where their daughter lived, continue wandering the streets, Slept in the streets of the city, rummaged the trash. Years later, their daughter write this novel with extremely mixed feelings, their father has died, their mother is still unwilling to leave a life with rummaging trash and homeless. Perhaps only when she grew up, she came to understand: those unique memories, also with the “harm” are kinds of unique wealth; otherwise she would not put into words. No one would be so smoothly during their growing up. And I thought it also a way to get Jeannette know more about this society. It is a kind of experience that nothing can substitute.
Jeannette had suffered too much from her parents during she was a little girl, but she loves her parents, especially her father. She left her parents doesn't mean she doesn't love them. Rex or Mary doesn't use the way their children love to love them doesn't mean their love is useless. They give their children distortion, dark and pain. But those also have love inside.
