The Glass Castle Fire Analysis

Fire has been the foundation in the progress of humanity. It cooks food, warms homes, and fuels machines, but its ruthless flames can also destroy lives. In the memoir The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls’ father teaches her the wonders of the world and takes her on adventures, but he also is one of the biggest dangers to her and her family. These opposing traits of her father as both the foundation in her knowledge and the destruction of her hope are expressed through the symbol of fire. Fire has become a treasure for mankind like Jeannette Walls’ dad is an essential part of her childhood. Jeannette first finds herself in contact with fire when she is three and burns herself severely cooking hotdogs. But instead of “living, in fear of something as basic as fire” (15) Jeanette “[becomes] fascinated with it.” She has a similar fascination with her father, for he is a role model for her in a way unlike any of her siblings. She sees her …show more content…
These traits of fire represent her father’s drinking problem and its effect on her life. For example, a mirage at the top of the fire “where the snapping yellow flames [dissolve] into a shimmery heat” (61) is “a place where no rules apply.” Similarly, her dad does not follow any rules when alcohol consumes him. He is no more than heat, drying out his family’s money and patience. One example of him breaking the values of his family is on Christmas. It was supposed to be the best Christmas of Jeannette’s life, a holiday her family usually doesn’t celebrate, but her “Dad thrust [his] lighter into the Douglas fir” (115) causing “the dried- out needles [to catch] fire immediately. “Fire leaped through the branches with a crackling noise. Christmas ornaments exploded from the heat.” The fire here becomes one with her dad as he, through fire, destroys the dream of a regular Christmas for his family, and the hope of stability that came along with