Child Abuse and Neglect
As a child, Jeannette Walls never had a stable home to live in. The irresponsibility of her mother coupled with her father’s alcoholism taught her and her siblings that they had to stick together. In addition, the children to forced to care for themselves. The Walls children faced various types of child abuse throughout their childhoods which the book outlined. In her memoir, The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls recalls the events which best exemplify the abusive and neglectful nature of her upbringing.
Neglect is defined as a type of child abuse that occurs when a parent fails to provide basic necessities for a child (Arnest). Jeannette and her siblings were used to their parents failing to provide for them, as …show more content…
After the family moved in with their father’s parents, Brian was forced into an incestrous encounter with their grandmother, Erma. “‘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, goddamnit. Brian, his cheeks were wet with tears, was holding his hands protectively between his legs” (Walls 146). Brian was the only one of Jeannette’s siblings who was molested by Erma, but he was not the only one in the family. It is assumed, because of the way he reacted to Brian’s encounter with Erma, that their father was also molested by the same woman. It’s estimated that about twenty million people in the United States are incest survivors (Turner). It could be a possibility that Rex was so ignorant on how to raise his children properly because of the poor example that was set by his mother on how to raise a child. Although he did not follow her lead with the sexual molestation of his children, he did become an alcoholic like his mother.
In conclusion, in The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls recalls the events which best exemplify the abusive and neglectful nature of her upbringing. Jeanette and her siblings were mainly faced with neglect, but also had to deal with sexual abuse. Throughout their childhoods, they learned how to survive and
As a child, Jeannette Walls never had a stable home to live in. The irresponsibility of her mother coupled with her father’s alcoholism taught her and her siblings that they had to stick together. In addition, the children to forced to care for themselves. The Walls children faced various types of child abuse throughout their childhoods which the book outlined. In her memoir, The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls recalls the events which best exemplify the abusive and neglectful nature of her upbringing.
Neglect is defined as a type of child abuse that occurs when a parent fails to provide basic necessities for a child (Arnest). Jeannette and her siblings were used to their parents failing to provide for them, as …show more content…
After the family moved in with their father’s parents, Brian was forced into an incestrous encounter with their grandmother, Erma. “‘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, goddamnit. Brian, his cheeks were wet with tears, was holding his hands protectively between his legs” (Walls 146). Brian was the only one of Jeannette’s siblings who was molested by Erma, but he was not the only one in the family. It is assumed, because of the way he reacted to Brian’s encounter with Erma, that their father was also molested by the same woman. It’s estimated that about twenty million people in the United States are incest survivors (Turner). It could be a possibility that Rex was so ignorant on how to raise his children properly because of the poor example that was set by his mother on how to raise a child. Although he did not follow her lead with the sexual molestation of his children, he did become an alcoholic like his mother.
In conclusion, in The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls recalls the events which best exemplify the abusive and neglectful nature of her upbringing. Jeanette and her siblings were mainly faced with neglect, but also had to deal with sexual abuse. Throughout their childhoods, they learned how to survive and