“All happy families are alike, but each unhappy family
is unhappy in its own way”, wrote Leo Tolstoy in Anna Karenina. On
the contrary, unhappy families also have something in common and it’s the
family that leaves an unchangeable impact on the children’s personality
development .The main characters in the Glass Castle and A Mother in
Mannville, Jeanette and Jerry, are kids who are raised in the similar kind
of confusing growing environment. That similar background contributes to their
like characters. In the following paper, I will compare these two children and
see how their upbringing shapes their identity.
First, both of the children lived in poor conditions in
a low social class. For Jeanette, she lived in a car with her parents and two
siblings. They had to change the parking places over times. They couldn’t
afford a house, even a pillow. Her father explained that no pillow was his plan
and Indians did not sleep with pillows and stood straight. Jeanette’s poverty
is also clear when she enjoyed the atmosphere in the hospital which is
generally an uncomfortable experience for average people. The living conditions
show the horrible economic status her family had. In Jerry’s perspective, he
was an orphan and lived in an orphanage. The description of his clothes is the
clear proof: “He wore overalls and a torn shirt, and was barefooted.” He liked
the writer’s gloves and wanted to buy one pair for his “mother” with the money
he earned through hard work. Apart from that, he made a living on chopping
woods and the money was used not only just for him but the whole orphanage.
Secondly, the differing parental styles were resulted
in this upbringing condition. Jeanette’s parents showed less caring and help in
her growth. She learned how to cook hotdogs when she was only four while her
mother was immersed in her painting and ignored the housework. When they
visited her in hospital, her brother had fallen off and cracked his head but
they decided not to take him to hospital. For Jerry, he was an orphan and sent
to the orphanage when he was four years old. He grew little but had to take
care of others. He chopped woods for years in the orphanage for the other kids’
living as well. Nobody would care about his inner feeling but he had to take
care of others. The writher was the first one to appreciate his help and
excellent work and he was shocked for he could not say a word like “My pleasure”
to express his feeling to the writer.
Last but not least, the personalities of these two
characters are similar due to the similar family background and parental style.
Both of them were independent and brave. Jeanette could cook at three and Jerry
could chop wood and did better than those big boys. What’s more, they both
longed for care and love. Jeanette was moved by the doctors and nurses’ caring,
thinking she could live in hospital forever. Jerry opened his mind to the
writer and cared about her in details after she showed the appreciation toward
his “splendid work”. After knowing the writher was about to leave, he behaved
abnormally and “was not Jerry anymore”. Finally he found someone cared about him
and could offer the love he needed but suddenly it disappeared. It is totally acceptable
for his inappropriate behavior.
In conclusion, how the family can affect a child’s character development is obvious. The brave, optimistic and independent personalities of these children were born of the poor economic condition and their desire for love resulted from the careless and cold parental raising style. The family education is important to the mental and physical growth of children. It can build the foundation of a mature human; and it can also affect a child from within.
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