The Case of a Lively Family - the Glass Castle Novel by Jeannette Walls - Book Report/Review Example

Task: The Case of a Lively Family In the modern world, there is significant work-related stress. This means many parents do not have time to take care of their children. The CPS (Child Protective Services) is an organization that identifies children’s situations in terms of neglect, abuse, and exploitation in their families. In this regard, they build the mechanisms to take actions when necessary. When the CPS receives reports of neglect, abuse, and exploitation from neighbors, they judge if such children are in danger and make a plan of action as soon as possible. Besides, they provide a series of services in order to create a better living environment for abused children. For instance, they place children in foster homes if their parents treat them badly. The parents have a chance to get their children back when they rehabilitate. As a CPS agent, I am able to evaluate the Walls family as regards the pieces of evidence found in The Glass Castle novel. In The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls writes the true things that happen in their family. Rex Walls, Jeannette’s father, is a very intelligent and humorous drunk. Rose Mary, Jeannette’s mother, is an imaginative woman. In spite of her creativity in painting, she is a lazy, irresponsible, and selfish woman. Lori is Jeannette’s older sister who loves painting and has eyesight problems as her mother. Jeannette is Rex’s favorite child because she always supports her father’s decisions and she dreams to be a journalist. Brian is Jeannette’s younger brother, who is brave and clever while Maureen is the youngest child of them. The children have many amazing experiences when they shift from one place to another. However, they always face the trouble of food. Making decisions over food is very difficult. After careful evaluation of the Walls family, I recommend that children should continually live with their parents. However, in as much as I believe that children should remain with their parents, I admit Rex and Rose Mary have a negative effect on the children while growing up. When they live in Welch, Rex’s hometown, they do not have enough food because Rex loses his job. The Walls children become skinnier and skinnier while Rose Mary becomes plump. For instance, on one evening, when the Walls’ children have nothing to eat, Rose Mary strangely lies on the sofa. The children sit while pondering over their hunger until Brian decides to check her mother. She finds out that his mother is chewing chocolate bars in her sofa alone (Walls 174). Rose Mary’s action is so selfish and irresponsible that she upsets her children. This creates a division and angst that informs the children’s relationship with the parents. It is essential to highlight that Rex is not any better than Rose Mary. In Welch, Rex is a famous drunk who hardly brings food to the family. Instead, he usually takes money from the family. In one summer, Rose Mary goes to Charleston to renew her teaching certificates and gives 200 dollars to Jeannette for living expenses. Rex, who has not been home for weeks, comes back and then asks for money, for cigarettes and beer, from Jeannette. He constrains the family’s budget as he only comes home three times and totally takes away 30 dollars. When the postal worker delivers the rent from Rose Mary’s land, Rex directly takes the sum from him (Walls 212). Rex’s actions demoralize Jeannette, who is his sole supporter in the family. The level of Rex’s irresponsibility baffles the average conscience. Although Rex and Rose Mary have faults, I still recommend that children should live with their parents. Rex has taught Jeannette how to swim. When they live in Battle Mountain, there is a natural sulfur spring which is called Hot Pot. As the weather get cold, Rex announces that they are going swimming at the Hot Pot. It emerges that Jeannette does not know how to swim while Brian and Lori do. Even though Jeannette is afraid of water, she decides to walk in the spring. “Rex dives in and splashes his way toward her. ‘You are going to learn to swim today,’ he said (Walls 65). Rex guides Jeannette to walk across the water first. When they move to the middle of the spring, Rex removes Jeannette’s fingers from his neck and pushes her into the water. Her arms flail around, and she sinks in the water. She instinctively breathes in, but only water surges into her nose and mouth. Rex pulls her to the side of the water. When she is recovered, Rex takes her back into the middle of the spring. Rex does it repeatedly, until Jeannette is able to propel herself on her own (Walls 66). Rex’s teaching method looks terrible, but I have to acknowledge that it is the fastest way of learning how to swim. Rex seems as if she does not care for her daughter, but in essence, she grounds her daughter in learning through difficulty. While they are swimming, Rex always touches Jeannette. This means Rex can easily rescue her if she begins to drown. Jeannette’s swimming skills helps her through the Welch’s hot summer. The sole swimming pool has blacks swimming in the morning and whites in the afternoon. However, the whites do not like Walls’ children because they are smelly and dirty. Jeannette only swims in the pool on invitation by Dinitia, a black girl. The white girl clerk and the other blacks are surprised to see Jeannette when she comes to the swimming pool. In the locker room, Jeannette finds the difference between the whites and the blacks. She is accepted by the blacks because she comes with Dinitia and makes a joke that makes the blacks laugh. While swimming skill and playing games with the other black children, Jeannette spends the whole morning swimming in the pool and has a lot of fun (Walls 191). It reveals that because of her swimming skills, Jeannette is able to swim with Dinitia, play with other children under water, and and make friends with the blacks. Rex and Rose Mary also help their children succeed in school. In Battle Mountain, the Walls family stays together and reads books after dinner. Rose Mary reads almost every kind of books. On the other hand, Rex prefers reading science and math books. Besides, Brian reads thick adventure books. Jeannette likes stories about children who lived during great historical moments. Sometimes, Jeannette discusses definitions of new words with Rex. When they do not agree with what the dictionary writers say, they write a letter to the publishers. On some nights, they read until they do not hear the thunderous noise of passing trains (Walls 56). Reading makes the Walls’ family vast in knowledge. Walls’ children learn several things every day while other children either watch TV at home or play games. They, therefore, have more knowledge than the rest of children living in the neighborhood. For instance, when the Walls family moves to Phoenix, Rose Mary’s hometown, the Walls children attend a public school called Emerson. Since the Walls’ children have read many books, all of them are moved into a reading group of gifted children (Walls 95). They acquire the best treatment because they possess considerable knowledge. Similarly, when Jeannette attends high school in Welch, she helps her mother check spelling on students’ homework. In this perspective, Jeannette attains a job as an editor in The Maroon Wave magazine (Walls 203). It emerges that Jeanette’s chances of success in school could have been limited without the reading habits that her parents instilled in her. The Walls children also learn independence from their parents. The Walls’ parents ask their children to do their things by themselves such as cooking. When they live in Battle Mountain, they face difficult times because Rex loses his job. They pick up beer cans and bottles and redeem them for two cents each. When they get money, they make a decision of buying candy carefully (Walls 62). This repeats in other instances when Rex continually loses his job, while Rose Mary does not work. Since the children are independent, they possess the capability of living without their parents. In addition, they are able to make their own judgments. In the end of her second year in Welch high school, when Jeannette is 17 years old, she leaves for New York. When he goes to New York, she acquires a job at a hamburger joint, which offers over eighty dollars a week. Thereafter, Jeannette becomes a reporter for The Phoenix magazine (Walls 247). It shows that education in Walls family is essential because all of the children can live without their parents’ support. In as much as the children finally leave their family, they still experience a bond as siblings and love with their parents. In spite of the Walls parents’ faults, the Glass Castle novel demonstrates that children should always live with their parents. Personally, in as much as the Walls family experience difficult times, they are successful because their parents have taught them to be independent and positive. In addition, the Walls’ children are more knowledgeable than other children. It shows that the parents’ education serves in instilling success in children. Rex also teaches their children to protect themselves. For instance, they teach their children on how to swim and use the gun. It also reveals that it is significant for children to cling to their parents’ love. Jeannette’s case proves this hypothesis. Jeannette suggests that she live with her parents when she settles down in New York City. This suggests that she is willing to live with her parents in a normal household. Rex and Mary’s faults do not deter the growth of their family. Works cited Walls, Jeannette. The glass castle: a memoir. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 2009. Print. Read More