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The story of Jeannette Walls is nothing short of what you could describe as nightmarish. From living in houses with caving walls to dealing with a narcissistic, alcoholic father, Walls endured a childhood of horrors. Through Walls’ traumatic childhood, we experience the constant turmoil, dysfunction, and broken promises that she lived with throughout these crucial years of her life. Walls’ story, although disturbing, teaches us the impact that true trauma can have on an individual, as well as how society reacts to it, and of course, how it can alter your life as a whole. Wall shares more than plenty of moments throughout her childhood that more than justify the reason her autobiography is traumatic. Wall’s relationship with her parents, her constant endure of abuse and neglect, and her motivation to escape her abnormal life, evokes unannounced emotion from the reader, showing us a truly traumatic childhood.
“I need money to make money. I’ll pay you back… Have I ever let you down?” (Walls 210), Rex Walls, Jeannette's father says to her as he persuades her to give him her hard-earned money, in order to feed his alcohol addiction. Rex, although tremendously intelligent, was a raging drunk, putting the care of his family as a minimal priority. On another note, Rose Mary Walls, Jeannette’s mother, had a childhood filled with loving parents and stable living but felt trapped within her stable life and became easily addicted to the adrenaline Rex brought her. She became selfish in her mannerisms, having a certified teaching degree that could earn her and her family a better living, but refused to work in order to fulfill her hopeless dream of becoming an artist. When times would get extra desperate, Rose Mary would attempt to get a job as a teacher but, “she had problems organizing paperwork and disciplining her students”, and “at least one morning a week she’d throw a tantrum and refuse to go to work” (Walls 196). Eventually, Rose Mary would end up quitting, resulting in once again, a lack of income for the Walls aside from Rex’s odd job income. The consistent abuse and neglect that Jeannette experiences, although she does not yet view it that way, eventually leads to the involvement of Social Services with the Walls family; “He’d launch an investigation and end up sending me and Brian and Lori and Maureen off to live with different families, even though we all got good grades and knew Morse code. I couldn’t let that happen. No way was I going to lose Brian and Lori and Maureen.” (Walls 194). It is here that Jeannette shows how much she truly cares about her family, no matter what her relationship with her parents may be like. The neglect pursued by her parents forced Jeannette to become a somewhat motherly figure at an unfortunate age, a traumatic experience for a child to have to endure.
Unethical parenting is one of the main reasons for the dangerous and unnerving situations Jeannette finds herself in, many of which can be classified as abusive and neglectful. At as early as the young age of three, Jeannette is seen cooking hot dogs. The unimaginable scenario where a parent allows an infant to operate the stove is one with no excuse and leads to a predictable disaster. Jeannette shares this vivid memory, “as I stood up and started stirring the hot dogs again, I felt a blaze of heat on my right side. I watched the yellow-white flames make a ragged brown line up the pink fabric of my skirt and climb my stomach. I smelled the burning and heard a horrible crackling as the fire singed my hair and eyelashes” (Walls 9).
The clear and utter neglect of her parents resulted in Jeannette being rushed to the hospital, this situation alone undeniably shows how the abuse Jeannette endured not only started at a crucial age but altered the way she understood abuse and neglect as a whole. As a parent, your children's safety and health should consistently be of the highest concern, something both Rex and Rosemary have no knowledge of. Both Rex and Rosemary continue to fail as parents throughout their children’s lives, with another example being when they rented a U-Haul truck. Jeannette shares the experience, “Mom explained that since only she and Dad could fit in the front of the U-Haul, Lori, Brian, Maureen, and I were in for a treat: We got to ride in the back. It would be fun, she said, a real adventure. Suddenly, with a bang, we hit a huge pothole, and the back doors on the U-Haul flew open” (Walls 48), leading to Brian almost flying out of the truck. The event clearly demonstrates just how unfit Rex and Rosemary were as parents, their credibility to raise children is seemingly non-existent. The many occasions where Rex and Rosemary place their personal values over the safety of their children could have completely altered Jeannette’s life or ended it completely. Although just two events, Jeannette’s memoir contains dozens more stories ranging from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse that she endured whilst living under her parent's care, trauma someone no matter their age, should have to live with.
Amongst the abuse, neglect, and abnormal relationships Jeannette lived with, she always maintained the motivation to escape her life for something more meaningful. From an outsider’s perspective, it is a troubling, traumatic thought to want to escape your parents and the life you grew up living. Throughout Jeannette's teen years, she found an escape from her home life through writing and quickly made a passion out of it. From realizing how reckless and problem stricken her life with her parents was, she made it her goal to move to New York to pursue a degree in writing and escape her parents once and for all. With as strong of a desire that Jeannette held to leave her life and family, confirms just how traumatic her life really was.
The life of Jeannette Walls was one of extreme hardship and undeniable trauma. From inconsistent, and considerably brutal living conditions, to an alcoholic, hopeless father, Jeannette shows us how a life filled with trauma and distress, can not only teach us the impact it can have on an individual, but open our eyes as a society to the fact that nothing is irreversible. With life as insane as the one Jeannette lived, anyone could assume that she was destined for failure. Jeannette’s traumatic autobiography is a true representation of how no matter what the circumstances may be if you set your mind to something, you can achieve anything. As an individual, we should view Jeannette’s story not as one of empathy and sorrow, but as hopeful and courageous. Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle, is most definitely a traumatic autobiography short of no factors indicating the fact, but looking at it from an educational perspective, teaches us how trauma can act on individuals and society in an ultimately positive light.
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