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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Part 2: The Desert
Explanation and Analysis—Demon-Hunting:
The idea of hunting demons recurs throughout The Glass Castle . This motif begins with an early childhood scene from Part 2 in which Jeannette, like many young children, is afraid there’s a monster under her bed. Rather than reassure her that monsters don’t exist, Dad claims he knows the monster, Demon, and takes her out into the desert to hunt “that old ornery bastard” down:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Dad said he had been chasing Demon for years. By now, Dad said, that old Demon had figured out that it had better not mess with Rex Walls. But if that sneaky son of a gun thought it was going to terrorize Rex Walls’s little girl, it had by God got another think coming. “Go fetch my hunting knife,” Dad said.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Houses:
Jeannette describes each place she lives in painstaking detail, such that houses become a motif throughout The Glass Castle. Each time the Walls family moves, a description of their house grounds the reader in that new location. One can imagine how carefully taking stock of her physical surroundings helped ground Jeannette, too, within the chaos of her family’s nomadic lifestyle.
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Related Themes:
Part 3: Welch
Explanation and Analysis—Cars:
Cars act as a motif that punctuates the Walls family’s dramatic journey from one location to the next. Notably, the Walls’s various cars are where many family altercations take place.
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Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Houses:
Jeannette describes each place she lives in painstaking detail, such that houses become a motif throughout The Glass Castle. Each time the Walls family moves, a description of their house grounds the reader in that new location. One can imagine how carefully taking stock of her physical surroundings helped ground Jeannette, too, within the chaos of her family’s nomadic lifestyle.
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Related Themes:
