Most people believe that homelessness is the effect of unintelligence, addiction, or lack of hard work. However, The Glass Castle, written by Jeanette Walls, provides a new outlook on homeless stereotypes. Suggesting that homelessness can sometimes be a choice, a character in the novel says, “I think that maybe sometimes people get the lives they want” (Walls 256). The Glass Castle resonates with me because of it’s theme, ability to change the reader’s thinking, and the story’s parallels to my own life. There are many themes throughout The Glass Castle but two are extremely significant, self-sufficiency and forgiveness. Self-sufficiency is promoted for the entire duration of the novel because the two parents of the family want to teach the
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As a child, homeless people were terrifying to me. I did not think of them in any way other than the “strangers” or “bad guys.” Even though I do not think of the homeless exactly like that anymore, I did not completely change my thinking until I read The Glass Castle. This novel proves that homelessness can be a weird situation and does not mean the person is worthless or uneducated. People living on the streets can be smarter than they look and be the hardest workers. When Jeanette asks her parents why they want to live on the streets her mother replies, “Being homeless is an adventure” (Walls 255) and this quote really made me think that maybe the person I saw walking down the street dressed in rags last week is not lazy or senseless, maybe that person lost a job or really is on an adventure. High schoolers hear “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” incessantly but this novel truly advocates to not judge because no one knows what someone or something might be capable of. In the novel, Jeanette spends her entire life homeless but her mother tells her one day, “You never had much going for you except that you always worked hard” (Walls 270), Jeanette continues to work hard till she reaches her goals and becomes a successful writer as an adult, further proving that homelessness does not go hand in hand with …show more content…
First off, this novel shows that everyone has issues. People with no money have issues but those with plenty of money have their issues too and Jeanette makes a point of this when she says, “I wanted to let the world know that no one had a perfect life, that even the people who seemed to have it all had their secrets” (Walls 270). Despite Jeanette being smart and finally putting her life together, she forever hides the secret of her past and that her parents remain homeless which justifies that everyone has a secret or even a problem whether their life is “perfect” or not. Additionally, The Glass Castle advocates never giving up. Jeanette’s mother tells her, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” (Walls 179), which impacts me because my parents tell me the same thing quite often. Though my life is not as hard as Jeanette’s, being a teenager has it’s struggles with school, sports, and friends but my parents are never reluctant to tell me that whatever I am going through will only make me stronger and help me in the end which usually proves true. Jeanette’s situation helps her in the future because she is able to overcome everything life throws at her and becomes the prosperous person she is today. In conclusion, The Glass Castle is a novel that has the ability to change the reader’s overall outlook on those around them. The most important aspect
As a child, homeless people were terrifying to me. I did not think of them in any way other than the “strangers” or “bad guys.” Even though I do not think of the homeless exactly like that anymore, I did not completely change my thinking until I read The Glass Castle. This novel proves that homelessness can be a weird situation and does not mean the person is worthless or uneducated. People living on the streets can be smarter than they look and be the hardest workers. When Jeanette asks her parents why they want to live on the streets her mother replies, “Being homeless is an adventure” (Walls 255) and this quote really made me think that maybe the person I saw walking down the street dressed in rags last week is not lazy or senseless, maybe that person lost a job or really is on an adventure. High schoolers hear “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” incessantly but this novel truly advocates to not judge because no one knows what someone or something might be capable of. In the novel, Jeanette spends her entire life homeless but her mother tells her one day, “You never had much going for you except that you always worked hard” (Walls 270), Jeanette continues to work hard till she reaches her goals and becomes a successful writer as an adult, further proving that homelessness does not go hand in hand with …show more content…
First off, this novel shows that everyone has issues. People with no money have issues but those with plenty of money have their issues too and Jeanette makes a point of this when she says, “I wanted to let the world know that no one had a perfect life, that even the people who seemed to have it all had their secrets” (Walls 270). Despite Jeanette being smart and finally putting her life together, she forever hides the secret of her past and that her parents remain homeless which justifies that everyone has a secret or even a problem whether their life is “perfect” or not. Additionally, The Glass Castle advocates never giving up. Jeanette’s mother tells her, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” (Walls 179), which impacts me because my parents tell me the same thing quite often. Though my life is not as hard as Jeanette’s, being a teenager has it’s struggles with school, sports, and friends but my parents are never reluctant to tell me that whatever I am going through will only make me stronger and help me in the end which usually proves true. Jeanette’s situation helps her in the future because she is able to overcome everything life throws at her and becomes the prosperous person she is today. In conclusion, The Glass Castle is a novel that has the ability to change the reader’s overall outlook on those around them. The most important aspect