- Published: November 17, 2021
- Updated: November 17, 2021
- University / College: Carnegie Mellon University
- Level: Masters
- Language: English
- Downloads: 45
of Communication Reference to the Glass Castle Communication is the most significant aspect that we need to understand in our lives to function better and effectively. This is the basic theme of the book The Glass Castle written by Jeannette Walls. The author has made use of different characters to elaborate the need of communication which can make things better or worst in one’s life. The author has made use of some of the aspects in her book which are practicalities being researched and implemented by communication specialists such as by Danielle Dunn in his book Communication: Embracing Difference.
The author has made use of an autobiographical approach to reach out to the readers. As per my reading transition of the story, I noticed that the tone of the author is quiet straight, clear and less emotional. This means that it is entirely up to the reader to decide regarding the occurrence of the incidents that Walls family had undergone. The main purpose of the author to select such a tone in the book is to send out the message to readers regarding communication imperativeness in a family setting. It would not be incorrect to state that the author has been successful in this regard (Dunn).
It should be noted that the author seemed to be a communication specialist as she has provided real-life instances and the experiences of the author with her family. As noted by Daniel Dunn in his book Communication that interpersonal communication often fails between the individuals because of the semantic errors (Dunn). Similar instances have been found in the book where author has experienced a closure to the communication with her parents because they did not understand her meanings behind subjects (Walls 129). Also to note is the fact that Danielle Dunn mentioned in his research that sometimes people have their perception settled in a firm manner which causes the communication gap. A person might talk convincingly but he will continue to fail to make a difference through his or her communication because of the perception being firm. The perception can be neutral, negative or positive with an effective, disconnected or balanced impact respectively. Similar instance can be noted in the book The Glass Castle where the author notes that sometimes she even felt helpless in elaborating her plans to the parents despite their increased level of education. This was merely because the perception that failed their interpersonal communication. In addition, non-verbal communication has a stronger impact on the receiver. In the case of Wall family it can be said that this was less likely to happen because the parents were alcoholics and rarely noted the progress of their children (Walls 138).
I would also comment that the book can easily be related to real life because we all go through communication process which is often failed by semantic errors or firm perception. For instance, I would like to travel to the far eastern corner of the World because I think it has a rich history but more often I fail to convince my parents on this because they consider that learning can be done without experience. The most interesting part of the story was the self-improvement in the lives of children in Walls family. Almost all incidents made them stronger by the time they reached New York. This book is a very interesting read which can be suggested for further reading because it is not just entertaining but informative.
Works Cited
Dunn, D. M., Goodnight, L. J. Communication: Embracing Difference. Boston. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2011.
Walls, J. The Glass Castle: A Memoir. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006.