The Glass Castle

Michelle Diaz English

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The Devils Den - Skrillex <3

Welch: The book quote: "The other kids stared at us, whispering among themselves, but they also kept their distance, as if they hadn't decided wether we were predators or prey. I had thought West Virginia was all white hillibillies, so I was surprised by how many black kids there were. I saw one tall black girl with a strong jaw and almond eyes smiling at me. I nodded and smiled back, then I realized there was something malicious in her smile. I locked my arms tighter across my chest." This symbolizes the school in Welch is a symbol the dispute and anger the people of the town has all the time, but especially when intruders enter the picture. I related this to the song The Devil's Den By Skrillex because it has a creepy sounds and feel and unwelcoming just like Welch and they both go together.

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Welch: The irony is Erma complained to Rose Mary about keeping her Grandmother away for so long but now that they're their she mistreats, complains, and wants to ignore them. In this song called On Letting Go by Circa Survive relates because she wanting to be a part but yet when she gets it it still isn't satisfied which is the irony of it all. Example from the book: "Maybe the roaches here are bigger than in Phoenix, Brian said. We all laughed and heard the thunk thunk thunk again. Mom went upstairs to investigate, then came down and explained that Erma was hitting the floor with a broom handle to signal that we were making too much noise. She asked that you kids don't laugh while you're in her house, Mom said It gets on my nerves." 

Lyrics: For your futures sake

I've got advice I'd advise you to takeDon't keep betting"Well, it's gotta light me up sometime"You lost your turnYou lost your turn"All I wanted to be was one of your childrenAnd all I wanted to be was one of yours"See how clean the water is where you areWash off your handcuffsAnd know the hidden messages you hearThey aren't real.You tricked your mind to feelYou tricked your mind to feelYou tricked your mind...All I wanted to be was one of your childrenAnd all I wanted to be was one of yours"Are we even now, are we even now?We are unrelated, we are unrelatedIf blood is thicker than waterThen you'll drown quicker than we intendedIf blood is thicker than waterAnd you'll know where you can find us in the endSo we can begin againSo we can begin"All I wanted to be was one of your childrenAnd all I wanted to be was one of yours"

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Battle Mountain: "Finally, we entered hill country, climbing higher and deeper into the Appalachian Mountains, stopping from time to time to let the Oldsmobile catch it's breath on the steep, twisting roads. It was November . The leaves had turned brown and were falling from trees, and a cold mist shrouded the hillsides. There were streams and creeks everywhere, instead of the irrigation ditched you saw out west, and the air felt different." The setting is the family entered a clean natural place fired with streams and clean air it must be overwhelming at first, but this is a great heavily place to raise children I'll be great for the kids in the long run. The photo above take by (myself) Michelle Diaz relates to this because the air was clear on the mountains and relates to where they're describing so this photograph describes the setting that their in.

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Battle Mountain: "You know you're down and out when Okies laugh at you, she said. With our garbage-bag-taped window, our roped-down hood, and art supplies tied to the roof, we'd out- Okied the Okies. The thought gave her a fit of the giggles." This is irony because the laughing okies who are stereotypically down and out but laughed at the poor conditions of others. The photo above relates because their bullying and its the irony of it and putting others down thats why it connects with the stop bullying.   

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Blythe: Rex Walls- Rex decision to overcome his alcohol addiction is admirable in that he loves his daughter enough that he's willing to experience the pain as a gift to Jeanette for her birthday. This resembles the song above called Something to Believe in by Aqualung which resembles Rex because its something he cares about to try and give up his addiction. The juxtaposition is he quit so soon alcoholism there is the sense that he doesn't have the strength of character to stay sober. This is seen in his immature behavior with the speed of the car and how he disappears when the lady who picks them up keeps referring to the family as  "poor people." Example from the book : "We're not poor," I said. She had used that word one too many times. Of coarse you're not, the lady quickly replied. I didn't mean it that way."

Lyrics: You talk too much. Maybe that's your way Of breaking up the silence That fills you up. But it doesn't sound the same When no one's really listening We stumble into our lives: Reach for a hand to hold. And any wonder We need to find  A certain something, certain. Turn out the light And what are you left with? Open up my hands And find out their empty. Press my face to the ground  I've gotta find a reason. Just scratching around  For something to believe in: Something to believe in. You have too much. You're spending all your time Collecting and discovering It's not enough. And no matter how you try, You never find the one you want. We stumble into our lives: Without a hand to hold. And any wonder We need to find  A certain something, certain. Turn out the light And what are you left with? Open up my hands And find out they're empty. Press my face to the ground  I've gotta find a reason. Still scratching around  For something to believe in: Something to believe in.

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Blyth: "Let's really light up this Christmas," Dad said and thrust the lighter into the Douglas fir. The dried out needles caught on fire immediately. Flames leaped through the branches with a crackling noise. Christmas ornaments exploded from the heat." This symbolizes the physical and emotional violence they go through almost everyday. This is why the photo about relates it's the literal version of this symbol an actual ornament bursting showing how their life is an explosion. It shows the struggle and burst of their lives as the Walls family.

[aayeezy]

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Midland: When the Walls family arrived to Midland Rex found a "scattering of parched little houses, trailers, settling into the sand, and shacks with rusty tim roof tops.... One of the little houses for- rent sign." Their house that they rented had been built by a mining company it was white house with only two rooms. They had no trees and had the desert right there that they could hear coyotes howling. Their setting wasn't the worst place they've been nor the best. This photo relates because its in Jeanette's perspective looking out and seeing the neighborhood of trailers and houses. The photograph is in the realistic view of what she was describing. 

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Midland: The juxtaposition in the Joshua Tree is its described to be ugly but yet the struggle of the tree creates beauty by hardships. It stands in a crease of land in the desert forming a wind tunnel. "From the time the Joshua Tree was a tiny sapling, It had been so beaten down by the wiping wind." It pushed the poor tree till it looked like it would topple, but instead makes the roots hold it to be stronger. Even though it did look ugly and scraggly it still has beauty and life. Which is the photo above showing the beauty of the Joshua Tree.

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San Francisco: When Dad (Rex Walls) took the kids after the fire to the bar across the street the kids wanted " a coca- cola or heck a beer, because we'd been through a lot that night". It's a paradox because she's so young and yet she's thinking about drinking beer. Jeanette then asked for a Shirley Temple which her Dad always got her when they went to the bars. She so young yet had the freedom to do what she wanted. This relates to the song We are young by FUN Lyrics:Give me a second I

I need to get my story straightMy friends are in the bathroomgetting higher than the Empire Statemy lover she's waiting for mejust across the barMy seats been taken by some sunglassesasking 'bout a scarand I know I gave it to you months agoI know you're trying to forgetbut between the drinks and subtle thingsthe holes in my apologiesyou know I'm trying hard to take it backso if by the time the bar closesand you feel like falling downI'll carry you homeTonightWe are youngSo let's set the world on fireWe can burn brighterthan the sunTonightwe are youngso let's set the world on firewe can burn brighterthan the sunNow I know that I'm notall that you gotI guess that II just thought maybe we could find new ways to fall apartBut our friends are backSo let's raise a toastCause I found someone to carry me homeTonightWe are youngSo let's the set the world on firewe can burn brighterthan the sunTonightWe are youngso let's set the world on firewe can burn brighterthan the sunCarry me home tonightJust carry me home tonightCarry me home tonightJust carry me home tonightThe world is on my sideI have no reason to runSo will someone come and carry me home tonightThe angels never arrivedbut I can hear the choirso will someone come and carry me homeTonightWe are youngSo let's set the world on firewe can burn brighterthan the sunTonightWe are youngso let's set the world on firewe can burn brighterthan the sunSo if by the time the bar closesand you feel like falling downI'll carry you home tonight.

This song relates to this because Jeanette is at the bar across the street while the motel is one fire which is what is some way says in the song and it reminded me of this song.

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San Francisco: It Symbolizes the consequences of maturity. Jeanette becomes obsessed with fire and is playing with matches and toilet paper throwing them in the toilet to control the fire. She likes to play with fire and goes with fire and maturity and how she tries to control it. She then realizes how sometimes she can't always control it cause it can back fire where then you lose control. This photo above show the over power of fire. 

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Las Vegas: Jeanette metaphorically speaking relating fire to life. "I wondered if the fire had been out to get me. I wondered if all fire was related, like Dad said all humans were related, if the fire that had burned me that day while I cooked hot dogs was somehow connected to the fire I had flushed down the toilet and the fire burning the hotel." She said it could also leave you on your toes and erupt the world. She said this when the motel went on fire because she burnt it down. The photo above relates by showing the burning of fire and Jeanette and how the fire is one with the earth. And metaphorically speaking how fire is life and how its connecting with the real world and life.

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Las Vegas: They were living in Las Vegas for about a month in a motel room with dark red walls and two narrow bed were three kids slept in one and Rex and Mary in the other. They would go to the casinos with blackjack tables, slot machines, and show girls with lots of glitter. They were in a typical Las Vegas setting which is why this photo relates to the setting because there is no sleep casino with lights. Rex was making and gambling money for the family and took them to eat what they wanted at the restaurant at the motel and casino. The way Jeanette explains what Las Vegas looks like in her eyes made one see the beauty in Las Vegas which what the photo represents.

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Theme: Promises aren't fulfilled. The never built the glass castle in the dessert it was a dream false hope and wasn't real.  This is the theme of the glass castle i chose this song video above because it deals with false promises and hopes. That the glass castle isn't reality its a fantasy. The song is titled promises promises by You Me at Six.

Lyrics: Tie a noose around my neck, and kick away the chair baby.

You've got me right where you need. Cut the words you're about to wake when We've got you right where you always are (open up your eyes) Let me know  Let me know Let me know Let me know Come on, cut the ropes. Come on, cut the ropes. Cut, cut the ropes. (ropes) Cut, cut the ropes. Cut the ropes. Cut the ropes. Let me know, can't you let me know? Let me know. Let me know. Try to promise, promise everything,  Try the words so we can break, Promise promise everything.  Eggs are so that I can weep. (?) Promise promise everything,  So I can believe in what you say. Promise promise everything,  Eggs are so that I can't leave. Just won't you let me know then? Just won't you just let me see? Just won't you let me know, Dad?  (Just what can you want me to see? I can't see this.) Just won't you just let me see? (Until I leave.) Tireless, despite us. Just playing this, WHAT? Let me know (why won't you?) Let me know Let me know (Promise promise everything, try the words so we can break,) Let me know (Promise promise everything, try the air so we can leave!)

This song shows broken promises and how they aren't meant to be kept because its not reality and this deals with the theme of the glass castle. Like they don't have the money nor gold to build it which is their key to the success of the glass castle.

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Grandma Smith: She was Rose Mary's mom Jeanette's Grandma who lived in a big white house in Phoenix. Jeanette described her as " a West Texas flapper who loved dancing and cussing and horses." She was known for being able to break the wildest broncs and had helped Jeanette's grandpa run the ranch near Phoenix in Fish Creek Canyon, Arizona which wasn't far from the Grand Canyon. The photo above relates because it portrays Jeanette visiting her Grandma Smith at her white house and how much her grandma cares for Jeanette and her family except Rex Walls. Grandma Smith is a tuff, respected, and caring person.

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Maureen: Towards the end Maureen became a lot like her parents and worse. She lived in California but then ran back to be with her parents to live like them. She was a baby always needed support and attention. She wasn't independent and went crazy on drugs. "Don't pretend you don't know," she said. "that just means you're one of them." Afterward, I called Brian. "Do you think Maureen's on drugs?" i asked. This relates to the song above called Teenage Crime by Adrian Lux lyrics: 

We don't sleep when the sun goes down 

We don't waste no precious time All my friends in the loop Making up for teenage crime  We don't sleep when the sun goes down We don't waste no precious time All my friends in the loop Making up for teenage  Go, go away 

This song relates because in the video its a mom who still acts like a teenager and doesn't grow up nor is independent and it reminds me how Maureen is acting and who she becomes.