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Symbols
As the title of the memoir, this symbol could easily sum up most of the tensions in and interests of the book. The Glass Castle symbolizes the illusions that Jeannette must release in order to fully mature. For years, Dad has, with the kids, made blueprints and floor plans for a magnificent transparent palace built in the desert and relying on solar panels for electricity. The Glass Castle epitomizes how Dad would like to live, self-sufficiently and sustainably, without submitting to a system or authority. In Welch, Brian and Jeannette even dig a foundation pit for the palace. The illusion is, for Jeannette, definitively burst once Dad tells her to fill up the pit with garbage: the very idea, the dream itself, has become no more than a receptacle for trash. Dad’s flimsy attempts to revive the dream, by showing Jeannette new floor plans when she’s about to leave for New York, only confirm for her that she must definitively let go of the idea of the Glass Castle. But as sobering as this symbol is, by choosing it as the book’s title Walls pays homage to Dad’s magnificent dreams and illusions, as unrealistic and broken as they might be.
Glass Castle Quotes in The Glass Castle
The The Glass Castle quotes below all refer to the symbol of Glass Castle. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 2
Quotes
When Dad wasn’t telling us about all the amazing things he had already done, he was telling us about the wondrous things he was going to do. Like build the Glass Castle. All of Dad’s engineering skills and mathematical genius were coming together in one special project: a great big house he was going to build for us in the desert.
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Part 3
Quotes
I stared at the plans. “Dad,” I said, “you’ll never build the Glass Castle.”
“Are you saying you don’t have faith in your old man?”
“Even if you do, I’ll be gone.” […] “As soon as I finish classes, I’m getting on the next bus out of here. If the buses stop running, I’ll hitchhike. I’ll walk if I have to. Go head and build the Glass Castle, but don’t do it for me.”
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Get the entire The Glass Castle LitChart as a printable PDF.
Glass Castle Symbol Timeline in The Glass Castle
The timeline below shows where the symbol Glass Castle appears in The Glass Castle. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 2: The Desert
...to the story of what he plans to do once he finds gold: build the Glass Castle in the desert, which would harness the sun’s energy and draw on Dad’s engineering know-how....
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...that Jeannette’s father is no better than his—just a drunk. Though Jeannette thinks of the Glass Castle and her Christmas star, she knows these things won’t convince Billy Deel of anything.
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Part 3: Welch
...that this is just a temporary solution, providing a plot of land to build the Glass Castle . It’ll take him a little while to adapt the solar cells, given that where...
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...Brian decide to embrace this new home by beginning to dig the foundation for the Glass Castle during all their free time. After a month, the foundation is deeper than they are...
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...Jeannette to take a look at something with him. He spreads the blueprints for the Glass Castle , which they haven’t mentioned since they started filling up the foundation with trash, on...
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...Welch and get a job at The Welch Daily News while he works on the Glass Castle .
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Jeannette tells him that there’s no way she’s staying put, and if he builds the Glass Castle it shouldn’t be for her. Dad walks out with his blueprints without saying a word.
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