Main Characters

The main characters in The Glass Castle are Jeannette, Rex,Rose Mary, Lori, Brian, and Maureen Walls.

   Jeannette Walls: Jeannette is the author of the novel. She desribes herself,as well as her siblings, and lanky and skinny. She has red hair and buck teeth in her teen years. She is the second oldest.  She gets along best with her father, Rex Walls. She takes on a mothering nature when she is caring for her siblings as well as her father. When he comes home drunk or hasn't come home for days, she checks in on him and makes sure he is safe. Jeannette wants everyone to get along, but she won't hesitate to act if someone is being treated unfairly or wrongly. Through all of the hardships of moving around and sometimes not having anything to eat, she never held a grudge against her parents. She is the sibling that seems to hold everyone together. She is very smart and excells at school.

   Rex Walls: Rex Walls is the father of Jeannette, Lori, Brian and Maureen as well as the husband of Rose Mary. He is adventurous and tries to keep things exciting. He loves and cares for his family. He shares a special bond with Jeannette. Although he is a loving father, he is also an alcholic who will disappear and anytime for days. He creates ideas, like the glass castle, to keep his children motivated. He may fail at keeping food on the table, but he never fails at loving his children.

Rose Mary Walls: Rose Mary is the mother of Jeannette, Lori, Brian, and Maureen. She has a teaching degree but rarely has a job, because she doesn't want to have one. She wants to be an artist more than anything and spends a lot of her time painting. Where ever the family is living at the time, the walls are covered in her work. She loves her children just like any other mother, but has a different way of parenting. She lets her children make their own mistakes and learn from them themselves. She breaks down every once in a while about how the way they live, but then pulls herself right back together. She is not judgemental and believes there is good in everyone.

   Lori Walls: Lori Walls is the oldest sibling. She also excells at school and is above the levels of other kids in her grade. Lori,like Jeannette, is very loving. Her and her mother share a common interest of art.

   Brian Walls: Brian Walls is a skinny,small boy who has freckles all over his face. He can't do very much damage on his own but he always stands up for his sisters. Despite his small size, he is courageous. He usually does activities with his father and Jeannette.

Maureen Walls: Maureen is not born until the close to the middle of the novel. All three siblings help take care of her. As she grows up she doesn't really have anywhere to fit in because she is so much younger than the rest of her siblings. When she is about 7 she decides she wants to move to California, because that's where she was born. She has long blonde hair and blue eyes.