Could you survive living in constant poverty? This was the reality for author Jeannette Walls. In her book, The Glass Castle: A Memoir, Walls describes growing up in a dysfunctional family with an alcoholic father and a childish mother. After Walls published her book, Alex Witchel of The New York Times Magazine interviewed her. Within the article, “How Jeannette Walls Spins Good Stories Out of Bad Memories,” Witchel recounts her visit to the farm where Walls lives with her husband and mother. Both Walls and Witchel have distinctive styles in their writings. Their writings differ from each other, partly due to different mediums: one is a book, the other is a magazine article. Despite this, their works display some similarities. Many similarities
…show more content…
Ever since she was a kid, Walls had to take care of her mother. In the book, on page 74, it says “In the morning she slept late and pretended to be sick. It was up to Lori, Brian, and me to get her out of bed and see to it that she was dressed and at school on time.” The Walls had to help Rose Mary get ready for school. They often had to act like the parent to their mother when she was being childish. This is also shown in “How Jeannette Walls Spins Good Stories Out of Bad Memories.” In the article, it says, ”Her aggrieved tone did not allow for the fact that her daughter had built her a house and bought her a car, a TV and a cellphone. Not to mention a horse.” Rose Mary had no place to live, so her daughter made her a house and bought her several things. Rose Mary is also critical of Walls. In the book, on page 74, it says, “Mom marveled at how brilliant Lori was. ‘Lori gets straight As,’ she once told me. ‘So do I,’ I said. ‘Yes, but you have to work for them.’” Walls’ mother did not think that her daughter was smart despite her achievement of getting straight As. In “How Jeannette Walls Spins Good Stories Out of Bad Memories,” it says, “Is she proud of Jeannette? ‘Oh, yes, naturally,’ she said. ‘I have other children I’m proud of too. I don’t want her to be too bigheaded about it.’” Rose Mary tried to undercut her daughter’s
Ever since she was a kid, Walls had to take care of her mother. In the book, on page 74, it says “In the morning she slept late and pretended to be sick. It was up to Lori, Brian, and me to get her out of bed and see to it that she was dressed and at school on time.” The Walls had to help Rose Mary get ready for school. They often had to act like the parent to their mother when she was being childish. This is also shown in “How Jeannette Walls Spins Good Stories Out of Bad Memories.” In the article, it says, ”Her aggrieved tone did not allow for the fact that her daughter had built her a house and bought her a car, a TV and a cellphone. Not to mention a horse.” Rose Mary had no place to live, so her daughter made her a house and bought her several things. Rose Mary is also critical of Walls. In the book, on page 74, it says, “Mom marveled at how brilliant Lori was. ‘Lori gets straight As,’ she once told me. ‘So do I,’ I said. ‘Yes, but you have to work for them.’” Walls’ mother did not think that her daughter was smart despite her achievement of getting straight As. In “How Jeannette Walls Spins Good Stories Out of Bad Memories,” it says, “Is she proud of Jeannette? ‘Oh, yes, naturally,’ she said. ‘I have other children I’m proud of too. I don’t want her to be too bigheaded about it.’” Rose Mary tried to undercut her daughter’s