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Examples Of Courage In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

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The Glass Castle Essay Courage is the ability to do something even though it frightens you. To have the ability to face an ordeal and be brave when all hope is lost and you are terrified the most. For Instance, in the Memoir The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. Throughout the Memoir Jeannette tells us about all of the triumph and struggle she has gone through during her life, but she finds a way to confront and overcome the fear that comes with struggling. Jeannette grew up in a family that definitely was not an ordinary family. Her father was a drunk, her mother was mentally ill, all she had was her three siblings to struggle with her by her side. Throughout her life she wasn’t given all that she needed, and her parents put her in many dangerous …show more content…

There are two characters that show courage when it comes to questioning tradition or the norm. Jeanette from The Glass Castle and Romeo from the well known play Romeo and Juliet. Romeo, a young man in the Montague family is suddenly caught in a family feud when falling in love with a girl named Juliet which is a Capulet. Knowing that they should be enemies the two fall for each other on accident and see each other knowing how much trouble they could be in. Romeo sacrifices everything he has to see Juliet and goes against what his family believes is correct and what is traditional. Romeo then goes on to say that he would rather die loving her and being hated then not acting on his love for her, “I have Night’s cloak to hide me from their sight; And but thou love me, let them find me here: My life were better ended by their hate, Than death prorogued, wanting of thy love.” Romeo explains that he doesn’t care if they kill him for acting on his love for her, he’d die loving her than not love her at all. He is going against tradition between the two families. Jeanette’s father Rex had a severe drinking problem and has been drinking her entire life. Rex seems to be very aggressive when he drinks and sometimes abusive which usually frightens Jeanette. On Jeanette’s birthday Rex asked if she wanted anything and asked him to stop drinking as her birthday present. Rex suddenly looked at …show more content…

Scout and Jeannette show courage through individuality. Scout lives in the Southern town of Maycomb. When her father Atticus is defending Tom Robinson, the black man that was accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. Scout stays on the side with Atticus even though everyone was against them and she knew what would come out of it. She was attacked, called names, scolded at, ect. Though all of these things happened she never left her father's side when it came to what she believed. She knew that she was in danger but didn’t care. When Jeanette's mother pushes her to give her money she finally stands up to her and tells her no which none of her siblings would ever be able to do, “Jeanette, I haven’t asked you for a lot of favors, but I’m asking you for one now. I wouldn’t if it wasn’t important...I told you mom, I didn’t think that Eric would lend me a million dollars...and even if he would, I wouldn’t borrow it from him.”(Walls 273) This shows that Jeannette has finally become an individual and isn’t feeding into her parents lies anymore. She knows how to say no to them and she didn’t at the beginning of the novel. It shows how she is an individual and how she had to use courage to say no to her parents. Scout shows courage by being on her father's side even though people we out to get her because of it. They both show courage out of being

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