An Analysis Of Jeannette Walls The Glass Castle

1117 Words5 Pages

We are not our true selves. In fact, most of us don’t even realize this until much later in life when disaster strikes and we must face the harsh reality. We must face the harsh reality that for most of our life, we do not know who we are and we are not who we are meant to be. In reality, we are not the most-developed versions of our selves during times of joy and happiness. We are not our most-developed selves when everything seems to be falling into place and when all of our hard work is finally paying off. We ascend into our true selves during times of disaster. During times when our whole world has been shattered, leaving a mess that is seemingly impossible to navigate. We ascend into who we are when life as we know it has been taken from …show more content…

Throughout her novel, Jeannette Walls recounts the experience growing up in extreme poverty due to her father’s alcoholism and gambling addiction and mother’s hazardous, self-serving tendencies. The story chronicles the course of Wall’s life, from her earliest memory, through her time as daddy’s idealistic little girl to her years as a strong, yet timid, preteen to her ascension into an extremely determined and unshakable high schooler, set on achieving her dreams of attending college, to eventually, a middle aged woman, happy with who she has become. Wall’s personal evolution is clear throughout the novel as she slowly begins to stand up for herself and her siblings and call out the self-destructive behavior of her parents, who put themselves over their children. Ultimately, it is clear that Wall’s great hardships motivated her to chase a new future for herself and her siblings, and in turn, motivated her to chase the self-assured, resilient woman she is today: the truest version of …show more content…

The men and women at the heart of the film were all victims of sexual assault, who chose to retell their tales to bring national attention to the often silenced issue of sexual assault on college campus. However, some survivors not only spoke out about their assault, but became some of the fiercest advocates against sexual violence and rape on college campus, shortly following their assaults. These men and women started anti-rape marches and demonstrations and protests, commanding national attention that extended to the steps of the White House. Though these advocates were forced to endure such a horrible experience, their personal development as a result is clear. If it had not been for their adversity, they most likely would not have spoken out against these issues. They most likely would have been one of the millions who were ignorant to the horror of sexual violence on campus and the tactics used by schools to cover it up. The adversity experienced by women such as Andrea Pino and Annie E. Clark, encouraged them to develop into the bravest, strongest and, above all, most selfless versions of themselves, as they sought not to represent their own interests as victims of sexual assault, but rather, to represent the interest of all who are at risk of

Open Document