Everyone experiences childhood in different ways, some of us have to learn that life is tough from the age of three and others have a beautiful beginning of life in a lovely family. In the poem “The Family Castle” by Nancy Rakovszky and the book “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls that contrast is painfully evident.
The two pieces have one thing in common - childhood. Yet all else seems different. These are two very different ways a mother takes care of her child and how she provides for her child’s needs. Both Jeannette Wall’s mother and Nancy Rakovszky represent a mother figure, but the former has no maternal instinct whatsoever while the latter is as fierce as a mother bear.
Nancy Rakovszky is a strong mother who looks forward to raising her child and giving her best, “Our castle stands atop the hills, and offers strength of spirit, place your hand little one unto mine, and I shall lead you to it.” Rakovszky from the beginning of the poem imposes the protective view of a mother. The kind of mother who not only provides shelter for her child but also teaches her how to build her own empire. Rakovszky is a mother who knows that the physical touch is important to show love, to let her child know that she is loved.
Jeannette Walls, on the other hand, shows us an irresponsible a mother, and how negligent and absurd a mother can be. Jeannette, at the age of three, is cooking hot dogs by herself, and while distracted, the dress she was wearing catches on fire. She tells us “I could hear my mom in the next room singing while she worked on one of her paintings.” Her mother was relaxed and enjoying herself while her three year old daughter was cooking hot dogs without supervision. Jeannette’s mom was nowhere near while her child played with fire.
One of the primary needs that parents must supply to their child is food. Rakovszky, as she unwraps herself through the poem, makes clear her desire to feed her child not only with food but also with knowledge “Drink the waters that beckon you near, they'll fill your heart with hope, feast on the knowledge offered here, for that will help you cope.” She is clearly a mother who wants her child to grow as a good person, mentally and physically healthy.
Jeannette Walls is a survivor and what she survived was to her family. She had a tough life from the day she was born, suffering poverty, hunger and lack of love, “That was the thing about the hospital. You never had to worry about running out of stuff like food or ice or even chewing gum. I would have been happy staying in that hospital forever.” Analyzing this passage in the book we can notice that she had suffered hunger at home, and she also does not miss her family as a three year old should do. We know how a young child acts when they are separated from their parents, but Jeannette has suffered so much that she doesn’t even miss her family.
The last stanza of “The Family Castle” is touching because we can see how lovely Rakovszky can be, that even if her child grows old she’ll be always with her, “For no matter the path you choose to take, no matter the strength of tides, you need only look inside your heart, for that's where the castle resides.” She makes it clear that although her daughter grows she’ll be always with her, in her heart and memory. If her child looks inside her heart she’ll see her childhood, all the memories her mother build for her during her childhood will appear and they will comfort her heart.
In the beginning of The Glass Castle Jeannette tells us how her story ends. She finds her mother picking trash from a Dumpster, covered in rags to keep out the spring chill. Days after she invited her mother to a restaurant, and she proposes her mother help her change her life
“you want to help me change my life?” “Mom asked” “I’m fine. You’re the one who needs help your values are confused.” Jeannette tells her mom that she saw her days before picking trash and her mother answers that the people in this country are too wasteful. Her mother asks her “Why you didn’t say hello?”
“I was too ashamed mom. I hid”
“ You see?” “Right there. That’s exactly what I’m saying. You are way too easily embarrassed. Your father and I are who we are. Accept it.”
In Jeannette’s case is different the way she sees her mother. She’s ashamed of her own mom. She runs away from her childhood memories. If the people around her now that she is an adult finds out about her past, they would see her in another way, that is what she is afraid of.
In conclusion, everyone have different childhood experiences. Big part of this experiences and memories that will be engraved on us forever have to do a lot in the way we were raised. Jeannette Walls as a famous writer stills remember her childhood, her memories that weren't the best. A denatured mother who didn't take care of her or her siblings. By the other hand Rakovszky’s child is the completely opposite of Jeannette childhood. We can notice through Rakovszky’s poem how much love is her daughter going to receive from her. How much support and help is she going to have through the pass of life.
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