Journal.1 The Glass Castle.

'The Glass Castle would have solar cells on top that would catch the sun's rays and convert them into electricity for heating and cooling and running all the appliances...He carried around the blueprints for the Glass Castle wherever we went, and sometimes he'd pull them out and let us work on the design for our rooms.' pg.25

The Glass Castle represents the ideal, 'perfect' family. Not just Jeanette's dream home life, but every one's. The idea of the castle is an architectural masterpiece. All the technologies in the castle are state of the art, energy saving and completely reliable. With that said, the castle is one hundred percent fictional. Jeanette clings to the idea that the glass castle will one day be constructed because she so desperately wants to believe and hope that her family will one day be like the other typical family she sees around her. She wants so bad for her family to be on their feet and together, happy, that The Glass Castle is more a glimmer of hope then just a make believe house. I believe that every family has their unique dysfunctions and their own problems. The fictional castle represents this perfectly. Even though the castle seems to be perfect, there are definite flaws to the design. The castle does not exist, and to make the house, the Wall's family would have to do a lot more then just 'odd jobs' around the many towns they live in. For every family, there would be different flaws and failings. There is no such thing as the 'perfect family.' Jeanette realizes this when she gets older, but she does learn it eventually. Jeanette's parents are frustrating in that way. They lead Jeannette, along with her siblings, Lori, Brian, and Maureen, to believe that they will one day achieve this perfection the Glass Castle portrays.