The Green Lantern in Jeannette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, symbolizes hope, resilience, and the fleeting nature of dreams. It represents the fantasies and aspirations that the Walls children, particularly Jeannette, held onto despite the chaotic upbringing and the disappointments they faced.
Throughout the memoir, Jeannette describes how her father, Rex Walls, often spoke of building a glass castle, a fantastical structure that encapsulated their dreams of a better life. The Green Lantern, a recurring theme within the narrative, serves as a beacon of light for Jeannette and her siblings. It embodies their wish for comfort and stability, contrasting sharply with their tumultuous childhood filled with poverty and neglect.
The lantern specifically represents not just a physical light, but also the inner strength and determination of the Walls children to find their own paths. Even though the glass castle never materializes, the idea of the lantern persists as a symbol of their enduring hope and the power of imagination to transcend their challenging reality.