The Glass Castle

“Go ahead and build the Glass Castle, but don’t do it for me,” Jeannette said after she announced she was moving to New York (Walls 238). This quote is important because Glass Castle symbolizes the family’s hope and Jeannette’s love for Rex. Responsibility forces one to take ownership of anything and follow through with it until completion. The Walls family shows many different aspects of responsibility during their lives. This book aims to inform and teach the readers about the value and importance of responsibility. In the memoir The Glass Castle, we see varying representations of responsibility when the family lived in Arizona, Welch, and New York.

When Jeannette was three years old, Rex Walls had plenty of ambitions for his family and goals for his children, but later on, that changed because of his addiction. The family lived in a small trailer park in Arizona when the first account of responsibility came in. Rose Mary and Rex were teaching Jeannette not to be afraid of the enemy [fire]. “You can’t live in fear of something as basic as fire” (Walls 15). “Dad also thought I should face down my enemy” (Walls 15). Later on, when the family was doing the skedaddle, Rex and Rose Mary would take time off to educate the children since they couldn’t go to school. “Mom had us all reading books without pictures by the time we were five, and Dad taught us math." (Walls 20). Rex had goals for his family and wanted them to be successful. Aside from academic subjects, he taught them everyday facts and tips such as Morse Code and Sharpshooting for protection. Rex also had many plans to make money, and he allowed his kids to help. “Dad let Brian and me help him work on the Prospector” (Walls 23). Before the family moved to Welch, Rex and Rose Mary acted responsibly and supported their children, but later on, that support ceased.

Welch was a disaster for the Walls family. Rex’s addiction became uncontrollable to the point where he would be gone for days. “Four days later, when Dad still hadn’t come home…”(Walls 181). The family was struggling, and Rose Mary didn’t want to take responsibility and became selfish, so the kids would sometimes have nothing to eat for days. (revise) Rose Mary was eating family-size candy bars in secret while her kids starved and never ate lunch. “ I can’t help it, she sobbed. I’m a sugar addict just like your father is an alcoholic” (Walls 174).  As time goes on, Jeannette has a realization of their family’s situation. She realizes that Rex’s addiction and Rose Mary’s irresponsibility are leading them downhill. “She needs to be firmer, lay down the law for Dad instead of getting hysterical all the time” (Walls 208). Jeannette and Lori, and Brian decided to save money to move to New York when they were old enough.

A few years after Lori moved to New York, Jeannette joined her in an apartment and pitched in on rent. Living without her parents was new to Jeannette, so she had to be responsible to get a place to stay, food, a job, etc. A day after moving into New York, Jeannette got a job “… at the hamburger joint on Fourteenth Street” (Walls 247). Despite living away from the rest of her family, Jeannette still thought about helping them and convinced Brian to move to New York and live with them. “I told Lori that Brian should come live with us in New York…” (Walls 249). Jeannette later gets married and lives her life on to be successful. 

Throughout the memoir The Glass Castle, we see varying representations of responsibility when the family lives in different locations. While staying in Arizona, the parents show responsibility by educating the children and being there for them, unlike the other two areas. When the family moved to Welch, the kids became self-independent and learned to survive without their parents because Rex was addicted to drinking and gambling. At the same time, Rose Mary didn’t want to take responsibility for her husband’s actions and carelessness. Lastly, after moving to New York, they showed responsibility by taking care of themselves and their siblings while living away from their parents.