The Glass Castle Trial

Every individual goes through their own trials that cause them to react in certain ways. These trials many times go on to define and characterize that individual and allow them to grow into the person they are. In Jeannette Walls 's memoir, The Glass Castle, every person in the Walls family has different traits that distinguish them and allow them to all be different individuals. Rex Walls, the father, is an individual who is easy to pin as 'the bad guy, ' constantly acting in ways that could lead to driving his family apart. Rex behaves as the leader of his household, but many times is irresponsible with this title and takes advantage of it. Rex 's hidden fears and desires suggest that it’s a combination of an individual’s current circumstances …show more content…
His hope growing up was to get out of Welch, while simultaneously escaping his mother. Jeannette and the other kids wondered if their father had left Welch due to being molested by his mother. They didn’t know for sure if this was why, but believed it would explain “Why Dad left home as soon as he could. Why he drank so much and why he got so angry. Why he never wanted to visit Welch when we were younger. Why he at first refused to come to West Virginia” (Walls, 148). A tragedy such as this can alter a child’s development and their future life. Rex’s relationship with his mother is another factor that may have contributed to his alcoholic ways. His mother had control over him while he was growing up, which is why it was so important for him to get out of Welch and be on his own. Due to his mother’s influence, he believed the best way to raise his family was to possess all the dominance over them. Rex’s past memories about his childhood caused him to behave in a more controlling manner towards his own family in their own situation. Rex had a fear of losing his dominance over his family and as a result acted as the leader of his household and in similar ways as his mother. Another fear of Rex’s is conformity. All of his life he had stressed nonconformity, especially to his children, steering clear of any forms of it. When he and his family moved back in with his mother, he defied this belief of his. Rex and …show more content…
His adventurous lifestyle allowed him to be the archetype of an explorer. Rex’s memories from his childhood growing up and his present influenced the manner in which he behaved and responded. Many of his actions can be controversial, but he lived the lifestyle wished to and did what he could to keep his family together. An individual’s past does not define their lives, but it does shape their