Summary Of Charles Dickens And The Glass Castle By...

It has been said that love is expressed in many ways, and when it comes to a pivotal figure, such as a father, that love is eternal. However, in some cases, a father’s love can be obscured by his own yearnings. In both novels, â€Å"Hard Times† by Charles Dickens and â€Å"The Glass Castle† by Jeannette Walls, readers get a glimpse at a powerful father figure and the impact his teachings have on his daughter. Mr. Gradgrinds drive for facts and education and Mr. Walls’ hunger for imagination and new challenges force Louisa and Jeannette to live subservient lives. The overall theme that encompasses the influence of a father and his daughter’s love is prevalent throughout passages in both stories that reveal the constraining of beliefs and the effect†¦show more content†¦There was no other way to explain it† (Walls 66). Jeanette’s father believed so strongly in learning to swim alone that she had no say in how she wanted to learn. In â€Å"Hard Times,† by Charles Dickens, Louisa is in the same situation as Jeannette; her father, Mr. Gradgrind, is stubborn with his â€Å"eminently practical† ideologies. Mr. Gradgrind overheard his daughter talking to her brother about wondering and shouted, â€Å"Louisa, never wonder!† (Dickens 51). Gradgrind did not believe in imagination; facts and mathematical equations were the key to success in life and there was no time to wonder. Louisa could not have much of a childhood without imagination or stories to read; â€Å"[s]he was a child now, of fifteen or sixteen; but at no distant day would seem to become a woman all at once.† (Dickens 17). Forced to follow her father’s rules about learning, Louisa had to mature at a young age. Rex Walls’ actions ended up making Jeannette mature very young as well. Jeannette was making her own money and even paying bills. She was saving up to leave for New York, however, when her father asked her for money to buy more booze, she could not say no. Jeannette said that â€Å"[g]iving him that money pissed [her] off. [She] was mad at [herself] but even madder at [her] Dad.... [She] felt used† (Walls 209). At times, her father directed her actions and sometimes, she gave in subconsciously because despite all the wrong he had done,