It is traditional for children to look to their parents to be role models and to teach them responsibility as they mature. In the memoir The Glass Castle written by Jeannette Walls, this isn 't the case for her and her siblings.They lived in poverty, lacking shelter and food because their parents were so irresponsible. Luckily, Walls was able to turn potential into tragedy to triumph by using common sense when it mattered the most. She found ways to solve her problems without getting help from her parents. Jeannette, her sister, and brother were given no rules to follow, no supervision when doing dangerous things, and in fact often were endangered by her parents.
One way Jeannette’s parents put her, her brother, and her sister in danger …show more content…
She says “The reason I have not gone out of this house in fifteen years is because I do not want to see or be seen by a nigger.”(Walls 144). This is racism and a parent should not be talking to their child or grandchild in such racist matter. Lastly, Erma shows bad parenting by sexually harassing Jeanette’s brother Brian. Walls says “ I went into Grandpa 's bedroom and saw Erma kneeling on the floor in front of Brian, grabbing at the crotch of his pants, squeezing and kneading while mumbling to herself and telling Brian to hold still, goddammit.” A parent or grandparent should never touch a child in a sexual manner. It makes the child feel uncomfortable and shows that the parent is irresponsible. Instead of Erma keeping Brian and the children safe, she leaves the children, orders Brian to follow her into their Grandpa’s room and starts touching him in an inappropriate manner. These examples show how Jeannette’s parents and Grandma are irresponsible; They all show bad …show more content…
For example, Jeannette states, “we kids were not all too thrilled about mom driving us cross-country. She didn’t have a valid driver’s license, for one thing, and she’d always been a terrible driver.” (Walls 124). This is very dangerous because she could crash into something, which she did. She crashed into a dumpster, luckily, not hurting anybody. She also was at risk of being stopped by the police and getting arrested for not having a valid license. This is very irresponsible and dangerous on her part. Another example in the book is when it tells us that the family was going to the Grand Canyon for vacation. While on the way there, Rex Walls asks Jeannette, “how fast do you think I can make this thing go?” (Walls 119), referring to the car. Jeannette replies, “faster than the speed of light!” (Walls 119). Rex Walls then stomped on the accelerator, causing the needle on the speedometer to go passed 100 mph. With the car going that fast, it started to shudder and then the engine started to overheat. Doing this, Rex puts not only himself, but the whole family in extreme danger. He could have lost control of the vehicle and crashed into something, seriously injuring or even killing the whole family. Rex was very irresponsible in this situation, and wasn’t doing what was the safest for his family. Yet another irresponsible act on the parent’s part occurred
One way Jeannette’s parents put her, her brother, and her sister in danger …show more content…
She says “The reason I have not gone out of this house in fifteen years is because I do not want to see or be seen by a nigger.”(Walls 144). This is racism and a parent should not be talking to their child or grandchild in such racist matter. Lastly, Erma shows bad parenting by sexually harassing Jeanette’s brother Brian. Walls says “ I went into Grandpa 's bedroom and saw Erma kneeling on the floor in front of Brian, grabbing at the crotch of his pants, squeezing and kneading while mumbling to herself and telling Brian to hold still, goddammit.” A parent or grandparent should never touch a child in a sexual manner. It makes the child feel uncomfortable and shows that the parent is irresponsible. Instead of Erma keeping Brian and the children safe, she leaves the children, orders Brian to follow her into their Grandpa’s room and starts touching him in an inappropriate manner. These examples show how Jeannette’s parents and Grandma are irresponsible; They all show bad …show more content…
For example, Jeannette states, “we kids were not all too thrilled about mom driving us cross-country. She didn’t have a valid driver’s license, for one thing, and she’d always been a terrible driver.” (Walls 124). This is very dangerous because she could crash into something, which she did. She crashed into a dumpster, luckily, not hurting anybody. She also was at risk of being stopped by the police and getting arrested for not having a valid license. This is very irresponsible and dangerous on her part. Another example in the book is when it tells us that the family was going to the Grand Canyon for vacation. While on the way there, Rex Walls asks Jeannette, “how fast do you think I can make this thing go?” (Walls 119), referring to the car. Jeannette replies, “faster than the speed of light!” (Walls 119). Rex Walls then stomped on the accelerator, causing the needle on the speedometer to go passed 100 mph. With the car going that fast, it started to shudder and then the engine started to overheat. Doing this, Rex puts not only himself, but the whole family in extreme danger. He could have lost control of the vehicle and crashed into something, seriously injuring or even killing the whole family. Rex was very irresponsible in this situation, and wasn’t doing what was the safest for his family. Yet another irresponsible act on the parent’s part occurred