Therapeutic Chaos in The Glass Castle

Although fire may seem extremely dangerous to most people, to Jeannette Walls, fire was seen as therapeutic. The book starts off with one of her very first memories, at the age of three she was burnt while trying to make hot dogs. “I smelled burning and heard a horrible crackling sound as the fire singed my hair and eyeballs”(Walls 9.) This seemingly traumatic event was actually the least of Jeannette’s worries, and actually sparked her interest in fire. It hurt her physically, but also gave her a sense of confidence because she was praised for being strong,”She has already fought the fire once and won” (Walls 15.) This gave her a sense of achievement and positive attention from her parents.

After she burned Tinkerbell I first thought that she was a straight up a psychotic kid, but as I kept reading, I realized that any kid living in her environment would have to be a little bit crazy to cope with her family’s unorthodox lifestyle. This event showed that she didn’t care for materialistic objects, even though she barely had anything in the first place. This also introduced Jeannette as being rebellious, and showed that her inconsistent parents barely set any boundaries.

I also noticed that fire in The Glass Castle, gives a sense of order in Jeannette’s life. She definitely had a crazy childhood though, constantly moving between states, while her family was struggling to sustain a stable income. She takes pleasure into watching the flames engulf her toy, and in some odd way, is very therapeutic to her. It shows the line between turbulence and order. In that moment, she can choose to either blow out the flames to restore order, or let the fire keep burning until the brink of turbulence. It seems like her father taught her this risky habit through his actions as well. He would restore order just before chaos unleashed, by picking up and driving off to another “adventure.” Being able to control fire was the only thing that she could control in her crazy childhood.