The Glass Prison Jonathan Day 11th Grade

In the memoir The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, a father, Rex Walls, keeps his family from amassing substantial wealth. Rex buys hard drinks whenever the family begins to earn money. When he comes home he unleashes his anger onto his family by destroying the few things the family owns. Yet while sober, he helps his family tremendously and loves them greatly. The good attributes of Rex and his leadership make his place in the family indestructible, but cannot overpower the problems with his personality. The Glass Castle thus depicts an irremovable father who unjustly and imprisons his family through irresponsible drinking.

Rex Walls’s inability to lead his own life and take responsibility causes him to fail at fulfilling the needs of his family. As a poor man, Rex often lacks the financial ability to drink hard alcohol due to his lack of funds. The lack of drunkenness makes Rex accomplish productive tasks which eventually bring him money. In this state of increased wealth, Rex chooses to squander his earnings on alcohol due to a deeper problem in his life. In his youth, Rex’s mother molested him. This trauma scarred his entire life and forces him to try to hide this problem and act like it never happened, rather than face...