The Impact Of Society In The Glass Castle, By Jeannette Walls

Do you ever ponder the idea of why every family is so diverse and why people act the way they act? This family studies class offers an exploration of unique families, how to manage resources, environmental influences, and the important steps in the decision making process. All of these factors come in play when answering why people are the way they are and the varying traits within families. The Glass Castle, written by Jeannette Walls is a memoir that expresses the hardships and obstacles she faced while growing up. The book starts out with Jeannette going to an event but on the way she was overwhelmed with embarrassment when she saw her homeless mom searching through a dumpster. Soon after the taxi ride, Jeannette flashes back to her childhood …show more content…
The basic concept behind wants and needs was the foundation of this book. The Walls had trouble deciding what was a want versus a need and the costs & benefits of the final decision. The impact of society on the Walls family had a lot to do with the alternatives to public education, food services, and employment. They had to decide on homeschooling or sending Jeannette, Lori, Brian, and Maureen to public school. In addition, the Walls family did not like to depend on services or others, such as food stamps. A reoccurring event that the Walls went through was the difficulty of finding a steady job. For example, Jeannette worked as a babysitter, a tutor, a cashier at a jewelry store, a news editor, and a personal assistant. The Glass Castle relates to realistic situations whereas the family studies class is more in depth about the polices of resource …show more content…
For the main characters in this book, the Walls family, whenever they had to make a decision they did not identify alternatives or reflect on their decision. The Walls were the type of family that enjoyed living in the present and making decisions rapidly. There wasn’t much communication that happened and most of the power was in Rexs’ hands. He has the orchestration power because he makes the major decisions that regulate the family’s lifestyle. Jeannette’s style of decision-making was to do whatever was swift and what involved the least amount of attention from others. For example, she would sneak out in the middle of the night to go dumpster diving for food and help her mom grade papers without any reward. Many barriers would arise for the Walls family within the small towns and in the schools. When the kids went to public school they would get bullied by other kids, scavenge for food at lunchtime, and wear grungy clothes. Eventually, after months of saving, Jeannette and Lori managed to have enough money to start a new life in New York City. Their problems were solved because they had the availability to various resources that allowed them to flourish. On the other hand, Jeannette’s mom and dad managed to move out of Welch into New York but