Sandy Lu

Mrs. Belmonte
AP Language & Composition
January 1, 2014
The Glass Castle
By Jeannette Walls
1. The wiener was so hot, so Juju licked at it tentatively, but when I stood up and started stirring
the hot dogs again, I felt a blaze of heat on my right side. I turned to see where it was coming
from and realized my dress was on fire. Frozen with fear, I watched the yellow-white flames
make a ragged brown line up the pink fabric of my skirt and climb my stomach. Then the flame
leaped up, reaching my face (9).
This passage is one of the first story in the book and it is the authors first memory of her
childhood. This passage is very descriptive and at the same time, it terrifies me. I have a fear of
getting burned and reading this felt like I was in the authors position. From the authors words, I
can easily picture the scene vividly. I was surprised at how her parents allowed her to cook a
hotdog by herself, unsupervised, and especially at the age of 3. From this passage, it raises a
question of whether or not her parents are considered good parents as in making sure she is
safe when dealing with fire. The author uses personification when she states, climb my
stomach and the flame leaped up. This personification shows how fast the fire was spreading
through the authors clothing and how it was rising closer to her face as if it was jumping out at
her. The author also uses a metaphor to demonstrate her fear. She describes her fear as being
frozen because she was too scared to react to what was happening. She was in a state of shock.
2. But Lori loved seeing the world clearly. She started compulsively drawing and painting all
the wondrous things she was discovering, like the way each curved tile on Emersons roof cast
its own curved shadow on the tile below, and the way the setting sun painted the underbellies of
the clouds pink but left the piled-up tops purple (97).
I chose this passage because I can easily relate Lori. After having a bad sight for so long,
she finally got glasses. She started noticing things she has never seen before. Throughout my
childhood, I had terrible vision. I remember in 4
th
grade, I finally got glasses. Before, my world
was a blur. I was unable to enjoy it to the fullest. The moment I put on my glasses, the world
became clearer. I didnt have to squint anymore! It made my life so much easier. Now that I was
finally able to see, I started doing new things that I probably wouldnt have done if I wasnt able
to see that well, just like Lori. The authors purpose is to show that you cant enjoy life if you
arent able to witness every single detail in it. By using the words, compulsively and
wondrous, it shows how being able to see clearly affected Lori. She started drawing a lot more
and she was discovering wonderful things that she most likely wouldnt have discovered if she
wasnt able to see. The author provides examples of Loris paintings, describing the colors and
precise details that is involved when painting pictures and being able to see what youre doing.
3. Dad took my hand and slowly guided it to the side of the cheetahs neck. It was soft but also
bristly. The cheetah turned his head and put his moist nose up against my hand. Then his big
pink tongue unfolded from his mouth, and he licked my hand. I gasped. Dad opened my hand
and held my fingers back. The cheetah licked my palm, his tongue warm and rough, like
sandpaper dipped in hot water. I felt all tingly (108-109).
This passage raises the same issue of the authors parents disregarding the safety of their
children. I picked this passage because while reading it, I was on the tip of my toes the entire
time. I was so terrified that the cheetah would bite her. The passage was highly descriptive. I was
able to picture exactly what the author states. The author uses a metaphor when describing what
the cheetahs tongue felt like, which creates a better visual image for the readers. If the author
didnt compare the cheetahs tongue to sandpaper dipped in hot water, readers may not be able to
know what warm and rough felt like. She gives the play by play of the moment, which
provides a better description of the scene and of what was happening. The authors purpose is to
show one of the many dangerous yet adventurous moments in her childhood that her Dad had put
her through.
4. He came home in such a drunken fury that Mom usually hid while we kids tried to calm him
down. He broke windows and smashed dishes and furniture until hed spent all his anger; then
hed look around at the mess and at us kids standing there. When he recognized what hed done,
he hung his head to weariness and shame. Then hed sink to his knees and pitch forward face
first on the floor (112).
This passage attracted me because it was a moment in which the Dad is drunk and is a
complete different person than when he is sober. Seeing your Dad come home in a drunken
fury, breaking and smashing furniture is not a sight that a child should see. Her Dads drunken
fury has even frightened the Mom into hiding. After what he did, the author can see the guilt that
her Dad feels and realizes after what he has done, which portrays a slit of his loving and caring
personality when sober. The authors purpose is to show how alcohol can affect the behavior of a
person. Before drinking, that person can be the most loving person ever but after several drinks,
that person can turn into a monster. The last sentence demonstrates how the shame of drinking
affected the Dad. Reading the words sink and face first allows readers to picture the Dads
actions being compared to a sinking ship such as the Titanic. When the Titanic hit the iceberg, it
started sinking slowly and eventually it enters the water face first and ends up becoming a
disaster. After realizing what he has done, the Dad feels guilty. He was destructive after
becoming drunk.
5. I didnt feel like celebrating. After all hed put himself through, I couldnt believe Dad had
gone back to the booze (123).
I felt the exact same disappointment that the author felt when her Dad started drinking
again. This passage caught my attention because of the authors choice of words. Using the word
booze instead of alcohol is like using the words: weed, meth, and coke for drugs. Theyre all
street names that are used from people that are constantly using it, which in this case, is the Dad.
He has returned to his alcoholic phase again and that is why the author uses the word booze.
The author appeals to her readers with pathos. Since the authors writing was clearly able to
portray her huge disappointment with her straightforward diction towards her Dad, the readers
may also have the same feelings, especially since the Dad had actually put an effort into quitting
alcohol. As a reader in the authors perspective, we will sympathize for her. In addition, the
author looked up to her father as she was growing up. He favorited her and she would always
stand up for him and his actions. As a result of her close relationship to her Dad, it made it even
more disappointing that he went back to drinking the one thing she hated about him.
6. We fought a lot in Welch. Not just to fend off our enemies but to fit in. Maybe it was because
there was so little to do in Welch; maybe it was because life there was so hard and it made
people hard; maybe it was because of all the bloody battles over unionizing the mines; maybe it
was because mining was dangerous and cramped and dirty work and it put all the miners in bad
moods and they came home and took it out on their wives, who took it out on their kids, who
took it out on the other kids (164).
The author uses a lot of repetition in this passage. Maybe it was because and Who
took it out on Throughout the whole book, the author uses similar repetition, therefore, it
caught my attention. The repetition shows all of the possible reasons for why people in Welch
fought and who is involved as a result and emphasizes the fighting in Welch even more. This
passage shows how tough it is for families in Welch to live which leads to why they fight a lot.
The authors purpose is to show that families in Welch had to do anything they can in order to
survive, even if it means fighting one another in an attempt to fit in.
7. It was hard for me to believe that this women with her head under the blankets, feeling sorry
for herself and boohooing like a five-year-old, was my mother I had no idea what my life
would be like then I swore to myself that it would never be like my Moms (208).
After reading this passage, I was saying to myself, You go, Jeannette. The authors
mom is a quirky character. Shes always telling her kids to accept who they are and other life
lessons but at this moment, the roles are reversed. Her mother is the child while her children are
left to care for her when she should be taking care of her children. I agree with the author about
how it is hard to believe that a women would act this way. The author compares her mom to a
five-year-old child which gives the readers an idea of how her mom was acting because a child
around that age would cry over anything. She uses the word boohooing to exemplify how a
child acts. The author is mocking her mom for the way she is acting. At this moment, the author
makes a promise to herself to never end up like her mom. This is a sort of motivation for the
authors future.
8. I knew I should have stood up for Mom and Dad. Id been pretty scrappy as a kid, and our
family had always fought for one another, but back then wed had no choice. The truth was, I
was tired of taking on people who ridiculed us for the way we lived. I just didnt have it in me to
argue Mom and Dads case to the world (256).
What attracted me to this passage is how the author is not bothering to stand up for her
own parents. Throughout her childhood, when other kids would teaser her about her clothes or
house, shed stand up to them with her siblings by her side. Other people would look down on
her but she wouldnt care. However, near the end of the book, she runs off to New York with her
sister Lori. Shes running from her parents. She was tired of everything that she to deal with back
home so she went to New York, leaving her past behind. By using the word ridiculed it shows
that people were looking down on her and mocking her for her familys lifestyle. She even refer
to her parents story as a case which portrays their dysfunctional and peculiar lifestyle. In the
beginning of the book, it starts off with a present day moment and the author clearly states that
she is embarrassed by her mom, who has chosen to be homeless. In the last chapter, she has
finally accepted the truth of who she is and where she comes from, which paid off because it led
her to write this book.
9. Quote of the Book: But despite all the hell-raising and destruction and chaos he had created
in our lives, I could not imagine what my life would be like what the world would be like
without him in it. As awful as he could be, I always knew he loved me in a way no one else ever
had (279).
The author uses the words, hell-raising, destruction, and chaos to convey how she
repeatedly suffers and struggles due to her parents choices. It is hard for her and myself to
believe that he is actually gone. Despite what her parents put her through, in the end, she loves
them for what theyve taught her because sometimes they do it out of love and theyre always
there for her. When her Dad wasnt drunk, he would be the most loving Dad on the planet. Her
parents did provide her an education and taught her some valuable life lessons such as accepting
who she is and where she comes from. She became independent. From reading this, I can relate
to the author. Sometimes, my parents do things that causes me to hate them but after having time
to cool off, I know I will always love them no matter what they say or do.
10. Reflective Letter:
I truly enjoyed this book. I loved the authors style of writing. It was simple yet intriguing
and amazing. She was great at story telling because she was descriptive and her writing was easy
to understand. I felt as if I was in her shoes. Despite the Walls struggle to live, they had a lot of
great adventures throughout this book such as checking out of hospitals Rex Walls style, and
moving all the way to New York, which brought them all closer together. Selecting quotes for
this project was fairly easy. I mainly selected quotes that stood out to me or included techniques
in it. I liked seeing how much the characters has changed from when they were little kids all the
way to their adult years. Jeannette Walls has a writing style of using repetition, imagery and
details. She shows readers what is happening instead of just telling us. She shows us her
struggles while growing up but also includes the adventures she had with her family, which is
what attracts readers to read this book and to keep turning the page.