Last week I ran into another teacher at the high school and we struck up a conversation about The Glass Castle. "I can't BELIEVE that mother of hers!" she grumbled. She went on talk about how angry she was at Mrs. Walls. As I listened I wondered if I should not have been angrier at Mrs. Walls.
As I listened to her interpretation of things I realized that we had read the same book yet we hadn't read the same book at all. Who we were influenced what we saw when we read this book. This teacher was a wonderful mother, so to her this was a novel about a neglectful mother. I looked at Mrs. Walls as helpless and saw this as a novel about the nature of the human spirit and the difference between those that make excuses as to why they don't succeed and those who just succeed. But there are events in my childhood that lead me to identify with the children and their relationship with their parents.
So, let this kick off our discussion of the novel. What is this novel about to you? What is it about your experiences and the way you look at the world that makes you see this novel the way you do?
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I echo your sentiment about this book being more about the triumph of a young person over circumstances given to them as a child, than about the neglectful mother. By coincidence, I watched Slumdog Millionaire over the weekend, and I couldn't help but think about the experiences that the main characters, two brothers Jamal and Salim, had as they grew up in the slums in various cities in India. The world often asks quite a bit of children, and it saddens me that there are children in this world that have to experience events either like Ms. Walls or the characters depicted in the movie.
ReplyDeleteFor her to be in the position she is in today is a testament to the indomitable force that is the human spirit.
This book reminded me of an Appalachian version of 'Angela's Ashes'. It's the old adage to 'pull yourself up by your boot straps' and make something of yourself. I believe that I tells the reader that you are what you choose to be and your circumstances should not dictate what you will become.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it was well written, it seemed a bit far fetched and unbelievable for me.
I gradually developed a slightly different perspective as I continued the book. While I certainly ached for the children and found fault in the parents for their neglect and for what often seemed their selfish actions, I came to consider the very real possibility that the parents were doing the best that they were capable of doing--which is maybe even more frightening to consider. And if that is the case, did the "system" let them down as much as their parents did?
ReplyDeleteYou guys are making great points and asking interesting questions. It's hard to know who to respond to.
ReplyDeleteI will say this much: I loved this book - not only because it was well-written and compelling - but because it was so thought-provoking.
To me, the book was not just about any one thing, but about a myriad of important issues, including: the complexity of people (no one is completely good or bad), the difficulty some people find in conforming to society, the crushing impact of poverty, the need for some to "escape" from their families, and the powerful impact that 1 kind person can have on your life (ie - Mrs. Bivens).
I found myself wondering what I would write about - there's just so much here. I could talk about this book for days. (But maybe that's just because I talk too much to begin with.)