The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls has many similarities to McCourt’s memoir. The Glass Castle is the story of Jeanette Wall’s childhood in a poor, dysfunctional family. Her drunken father wastes his wages on alcohol and her mother is a hopeless case. This relates to how McCourt’s father is also an alcoholic who selfishly spends the money earned for his family in the pub and cannot manage to hold on to a job. When they were young, Walls and McCourt’s admired their fathers because they didn’t understand the truth behind their ways. When they were not drunk, they were actually good fathers, despite not having jobs. Walls’ father was extremely intellectual and taught Jeanette many things; she was the only one of her family who admired him. Franks father told him countless stories, and at times McCourt even idolized his father. Yet both Walls and McCourt realize their fathers ways, and even when they despise them for what they made them go through, they still have a certain pity and weakness for them. At age eleven McCourt speaks about the time spent with his father: “I know when Dad does the bad thing. I know when he drinks the dole money and Mama is desperate…but I don’t want to back away from him and run to Mam. How can I do that when I’m up with him early every morning with the whole world asleep?” (208). This represents how despite the knowledge of his father ruining his family and starving them to death, he still has a certain respect and love for him and the time they spend together. The tone of both of these stories is inspirational but troubling. McCourt’s story is a humorous take on his depressing life, while Walls’ recall is more reserved and factual. The theme shared by these two memoirs is poverty, perseverance, hunger, and alcoholism.
Word Count: 311
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