Rex and Rosemary Walls parenting styles lead directly to the success of their children later in life. This is not to say they are good parent’s, so much as it is to say that if it weren’t for their parenting, Jeanette and her siblings would most likely not have turned out the same way.
Rosemary Wall’s parenting style is best described as permissive to neglectful, as she is often the weaker of the Wall’s couple and does not confront problems. Her tendency to justify and over-look her husband’s behavior as well as her own, makes jeanette and her siblings have to step up to be their own parents in the absence of their father. This is described by Jeanette while they live in Welch, “Mom would refuse to get out of bed, even when Lucy Jo showed up to drive her to school, honking impatiently…. Mom had a complete meltdown…. Mom lay wrapped in blankets on the sofa bed, sobbing about how much she hated her life.” (Walls 207) This passage helps visualize the situation the children face. They literally have switched roles with their mother, even …show more content…
He takes pride in the fact that his children are tough as nails, and that they live a rustic lifestyle. That is why when he whips Jeanette after she “disrespects her mother”, the impact is so profound. So profound, in fact, that after she is whipped, she comes to two conclusions that change her life, “The first was that I’d had my last whipping. No one was ever going to do that to me again. The second was that, like Lori, I was going to get out of Welch.” (Walls 221) Jeanette had never been struck by her father before, and it was the turning point in her life. It pushed her away from Welch and hardened her to the cruelty of the world. The last tie that held her to Welch was the relationship with her father, and when he struck her with the belt, that tie was
Rosemary Wall’s parenting style is best described as permissive to neglectful, as she is often the weaker of the Wall’s couple and does not confront problems. Her tendency to justify and over-look her husband’s behavior as well as her own, makes jeanette and her siblings have to step up to be their own parents in the absence of their father. This is described by Jeanette while they live in Welch, “Mom would refuse to get out of bed, even when Lucy Jo showed up to drive her to school, honking impatiently…. Mom had a complete meltdown…. Mom lay wrapped in blankets on the sofa bed, sobbing about how much she hated her life.” (Walls 207) This passage helps visualize the situation the children face. They literally have switched roles with their mother, even …show more content…
He takes pride in the fact that his children are tough as nails, and that they live a rustic lifestyle. That is why when he whips Jeanette after she “disrespects her mother”, the impact is so profound. So profound, in fact, that after she is whipped, she comes to two conclusions that change her life, “The first was that I’d had my last whipping. No one was ever going to do that to me again. The second was that, like Lori, I was going to get out of Welch.” (Walls 221) Jeanette had never been struck by her father before, and it was the turning point in her life. It pushed her away from Welch and hardened her to the cruelty of the world. The last tie that held her to Welch was the relationship with her father, and when he struck her with the belt, that tie was