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The Glass Castle

In: English and Literature

Submitted By Meli123
Words 2307
Pages 10
After reading Jeannette Walls’ memoir, “The Glass Castle”, it became clear that there were many repetitive factors that shaped the Walls family’s lives. There are numerous accounts of sexual abuse, parental alcoholism, evidence of mental illness and finally poverty in the form of homelessness. For even when the children prospered the parents choose to be homeless. The question is, are these factors relative? Can it be that childhood sexual abuse can inflict mental illness or alcoholism in adulthood? Does mental illness and alcoholism affect the chances of being homeless? The focus of this essay is to provide evidence that the events in Walls own life, documented in her memoir, have a butterfly effect in the outcome of their parent’s lives. In Her memoir Walls documents several cases of sexual abuse during her and her sibling’s childhood. She writes of her own experiences with Billy Deel, although he is only a minor as well, he sexually assaults her during a game of hide and seek. PAGE 85-87 Afterward Jeanette was reluctant to tell her father, “I had a feeling it would cause problems” (Walls 87)
The second assault Walls documents, was when she was nine years old. “I was awakened by someone running his hands over my private parts.” “‘I just want to play a game with you’ a man’s voice said.” The next day when they told their father, “he said he was going to kill that low life…” Although, no serious action was taken to find him or prevent it from happening again. (Walls 103)
The third offense took place while Jeanette and her siblings are under the supervision of Erma, their Father’s mother, while parents took a trip back to Phoenix, AZ. Erma, being an alcoholic had been drinking all morning on the day of the assault, told Brian they he needed his pants hemmed and demanded him into their grandfather’s bedroom. Jeanette claimed to hear her brother protesting

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