Contrast

Relationships are quite different for Chinese and Americans. Although the origins and the results of love can be the same, people have different ways to express their love. The father in The Glass Castle and my father both build castles for their beloved princesses, however, one is glass and one is solid.

First of all, essentially, our fathers are quite different for they have different backgrounds.

My father is well-educated in university and believes in science while Jeannette's father knows nothing about science, "Your mother should have taken you to that witch doctor the day you got burned,not to these heads-up-their-asses med-school quacks."Rex even despises science.

Both Jeannette and I spent time in the hospital as children. While my father went to every corner of the city to find the best medicine for me, Jeannette's father "saved" her by checking her out of the hospital in a Rex Walls-style.

My father is gentle and polite, but Jeannette's father is quite violent. "Dad stared at the doctor (quote?) and said that" I wasn't the only one who was going to walk out of there scarred." Jeannette's father is a bad guy, however, he doesn't fake his genuine love for his daughter. And Jeannette still loves her father although he behaves in such a coarse way, "I breathed in his familiar smell of Vitalis, whiskey, and cigarette smoke. It reminded me of home." For my father, he only drinks when he has to do so and he never smokes a cigarette. He teaches me to be polite and well-behaved by doing so himself. He shows me how to be grateful to someone who saved my life, to be considerate, and to be tolerant to others. He is my hero who knows everything and is always helpful. Jeannette's father is also her hero because he cares about her, unlike her cold careless mom, although he does bad things.

Second, their ways of caring about their treasure are different, maybe because of their different cultures.

My father cares about me so much that he protects me from every danger even it's not severe at all. He used to come to my room to see if I was back safe every day in my childhood. He once took me to 3 hospitals because I was having a high fever and wouldn't recover. He forbids me doing so many risky things which are quite attractive for me because I am always curious. Maybe that's because he is a typical traditional Chinese father who is very conservative and cautious.

And that's totally opposite for Jeannette's father. He even "thought I should face down my enemy" and "showed me how to pass my finger through a candle flame."This is not necessarily strange for a child. But for someone who has just recovered from a life-threatening burn, it can be so dangerous. On one hand, Jeannette may get burned again. On the other, this may help her become a brave girl and overcome her bad past experience. Maybe Americans are always independent and are ready for adventures. Being protected so well is not always a good thing. It makes me lose a chance to build my own fence. To some extent, I envy Jeannette who can enjoy exploring the world by herself instead of being told what to do all the time.

In a nutshell, because of different backgrounds and different cultures, our fathers' ways to love their daughters vary. Maybe my father builds a more solid castle to prevent me from being hurt, but Jeannette's father builds a glass castle where Jeannette can see the world by herself. However, different ways lead to the same destination--their love are all from the deepest part of their hearts. Love is universally the same.