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The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls

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Whether nature, nurture, or both influences a person’s individuality has always been up for debate. What makes a person who they are can be any combination of things. In The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, home is somewhat of an abstract idea; while in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Alexie Sherman, it is more of an internal struggle of identity and where one belongs. By the end of the novels, however, the main characters both have a strong sense of self. Although the concept of home varies depending on who is asked, the idea of it greatly affects one’s identity because home, whatever it may be, is where a person is nurtured and instilled with the values their lives will be based upon. Through the environment surrounding the main characters, Jeannette Walls and Alexie Sherman, with their novels The Glass Castle and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, communicate that the concept of home can be interpreted in various ways; but there is no doubt that home influences the ideas and values that one might possess. Through her memoir, The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls is implying that home is wherever a person’s loved ones are. Home is an abstract idea in her novel because the Walls family does not have a concrete place to call home. They can’t seem to stay in one place. They just go where the wind takes them because as long as they have each other, there is no need to worry about anything else. The Walls children have a sense of safety and

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