The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle is a memoir of the life of Jeannette Walls. The use of diction in this novel is impressive. Jeannette Walls has a very detailed way of describing things that appeals to me. Not even the smallest detail escapes her observation. An example of this precision can be seen in the first chapter, in which she describes her mother's behaviour while picking through garbage. "Mom's gestures were all familiar - the way she tilted her head and thrust out her lower lip when studying items of potential value...the way her eyes widened with childish glee when she found something she liked." The tone of Walsh's writing is also interesting. While Walsh's family was raised in abject poverty, she still grew up with supportive and loving parents. She also had a very stable household life, which is somewhat unusual for families as poor as her. When she grows up she is a bit embarrassed by her parents' financial state, but she was never bothered by their poverty while she was a kid. An example of this could be her parents refusal to let her believe in Santa Claus. They tell her that other kids are fooled by their parents into believing in Santa, and that she must, "try not to look down on those other children. It's not their fault that they've been brainwashed into believing silly myths." These creative explanations add a suprisingly brighter tone to the memoir. You would expect that Walsh wouldn't want to relive the memories of her childhood poverty, but she seems to recall those early years with fondness. This creative use of tone and diction results in a very interesting and inventive memoir.