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Mom is enthralled by the Joshua tree she sees in the desert, which has grown in the direction of the wind rather than standing up straight. The Joshua tree symbolizes the strength and beauty that can arise from dysfunction. As Mom tells Jeannette, the tree’s struggle is what gives the tree its beauty. This symbol can be applied to Jeannette’s need to surmount incredible difficulties in the process of growing up. It suggests that Jeannette’s childhood was not in vain, and that she would not be the person she is today without these struggles. However, the Joshua tree also reminds us how different people can see the same image or event in very different ways: for Jeannette, who as a child does not (understandably) see the need for such struggles, the tree is ugly rather than beautiful.
The Joshua Tree Quotes in The Glass Castle
The The Glass Castle quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Joshua Tree. 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
Mom frowned at me. “You’d be destroying what makes it special,” she said. “It’s the Joshua tree’s struggle that gives it its beauty.”
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The Joshua Tree Symbol Timeline in The Glass Castle
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Joshua Tree appears in The Glass Castle. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 2: The Desert
On the way from San Francisco to the Mojave Desert, Mom sees an ancient Joshua tree in a spot between the desert and the mountain and asks Dad to pull over....
(full context)
...and illustrating stories (spell-checked by seven-year-old Lori). The kids often accompany her to paint the Joshua tree again and again. When Jeannette announces a plan to dig up a small sapling and...
(full context)
