The Glass Castle

1. When the memoir opens, what does Jeanette see when she looks out the window of the taxi? 

A) a bright star in the night sky

B) her father asleep on a park bench

C) her mother rummaging through a dumpster

D) a dingy apartment she lived in years ago

2. Why doesn’t Jeanette help her mother financially?

A) She knows her mother would only spend the money on alcohol.

B) She is resentful toward her mother and does not want to help.

C) She believes the only way her mother will change is through tough love.

D) She tries to help her mother and the offer of help is rejected.

3. What does Dad call “doing the skedaddle”?

A) sneaking out of the hospital without paying

B) packing up the family and leaving town

C) quitting his job without giving notice

D) leaving Mom and the kids to go on a drinking binge

4. When the family drives through California, Mom stops to paint a Joshua tree. Jeanette finds a Joshua tree sapling and wants to care for it. Why does Jeanette’s mom believe it would be wrong for Jeanette to care for the sapling? (short answer)

Discussion Suggestion: This question can be used to explore the mother’s ideas about bringing up children. How does her observation about the Joshua tree and its beauty relate to the way she treats her children? How is Jeanette like the Joshua tree? Is Mom’s belief in the beauty of struggle legitimate or is she romanticizing her own negligent parenting? Where is the line between allowing children freedom and being irresponsible? What evidence of healthy parenting and negligent parenting do we see in these early chapters?

5. After Dad loses his job at the gypsum factory, what does he give Jeanette for Christmas? (short answer)

Discussion Suggestion: This question can be used to explore the things Jeanette believes about her dad when she is very young and the ways in which the reader may view him differently. How does the Christmas gift capture different aspects of Dad, both through Jeanette's eyes and through ours?

6. When Jeanette and Brian accidentally set an abandoned shed on fire, what does Dad say they got “a little too close to”?

A) the boundary between turbulence and order

B) the dangerous interaction of two chemicals

C) the point of no return

D) the chaos that resides in all things

Discussion Suggestion: What does the phrase “the boundary between turbulence and order” reveal about Rex as a character? Where is he in relation to that boundary? Where is Mom in relation to that boundary? How does their parenting allow the kids to get too close to the boundary?

7. After Dad loses his job at the barite mine, how does Jeanette break Mom’s unspoken rule of pretending their life is an adventure?

A) She calls Dad a drunk.

B) She complains that they have nothing to eat.

C) She says that Dad was fired, challenging his version of the story.

D) She tells Mom to get a job because bills are piling up.

Discussion Suggestion: Question #1 can be used to explore how Jeanette’s perspective starts to shift as she matures, becoming less idealistic and more realistic. Students can also explore how Jeanette views her mom’s shortcomings as opposed to her dad’s. Is it significant that Jeanette says this to her mother? Does she still idealize some things about her dad? How is being hungry harder to romanticize than some of the other things that happen to them?

8. When a huge fight erupts and Dad hangs Mom out the window, what is the fight about?

A) They each want the other to get a job.

B) Mom accuses Dad of stealing money. 

C) Dad learns that Mom has been hiding money.

D) Mom learns that Dad spent the night at the Green Lantern.

9. Why does Mom hate the idea of working as a teacher?

A) Dad promised her they would be rich and live in a Glass Castle.

B) Her own mother told her she could teach if she failed as an artist.

C) She knows Dad will take all of the money she earns.

D) She thinks the kids are old enough to work and support her.

Discussion Suggestion: This question can help explore the degree to which the mother is dysfunctional and deluded. Are students surprised to learn that she has a teaching certificate and is almost guaranteed a job (because of teacher shortages) if she wants one? Why does she believe that working as a teacher automatically means giving up her dream of being an artist? Is being an artist as important as feeding her family? 

10. What happens to the comic book Dad gives Brian for his birthday?

A) Billy Deel steals it when no one is looking.

B) Mom uses it as inspiration for a series of paintings. 

C) Brian returns it when he learns Dad stole it.

D) Dad makes Brian give it to a prostitute at the Green Lantern.

11. When Jeanette is eight, why does she bite Billy Deel hard on his ear? (short answer)

12. When the family leaves town and heads for Phoenix, what is Jeanette surprised to learn about Grandma Smith? (short answer)

13. When they move into the house in Phoenix that Mom inherited, how does Dad repair the termite damage to the floors? (short answer)

Discussion Suggestion: Students can discuss how this action (covering over the holes in the floor with empty beer cans) represents Dad’s way of dealing with problems. It may be interesting to see if the students are surprised that the parents do not make the most of the house / money that Mom inherits but instead let the house completely deteriorate.

14. When the family visits the zoo, why are they asked to leave?

A) Dad jumps the turnstile without paying the admission fee.

B) Dad is drunk and picks a fight with one of the animal trainers.

C) Dad goes swimming in the rhino enclosure.

D) Dad jumps a fence and pets a cheetah.

15. Why does Mom say she wants Jeanette to stop cleaning up after Dad’s drunken episodes?

A) She wants him to see the mess he is making of their lives.

B) She wants to make him clean up after himself.

C) She is annoyed that Jeanette never does anything for her but only for Dad.

D) She wants Jeanette to accept her dad the way he is.

Discussion Suggestion: This question can help students explore the ways in which Mom contributes to the problems in the household and also enables her husband’s dysfunction. Mom's stance sounds reasonable, but is her action here really helpful? Why or why not? Is she accurately representing her own motives for leaving the mess in place? How might her actions here enable Dad’s lack of responsibility?

16. The family plans to celebrate their best Christmas ever, and Jeanette gives Dad an antique lighter on Christmas Eve. What does he do with the lighter? (short answer)

Discussion Suggestion: This question can help students explore Dad’s character. What makes Dad want to set the tree on fire? What does he do when the kids try to put the fire out? What does the kids’ reaction of “shutting off and closing down” suggest about life with him?

17. What does Jeanette tell Dad she wants for her tenth birthday?

A) She asks him to finish the Glass Castle.

B) She asks him to get a job.

C) She asks him to stop drinking.

D) She asks him to take her to the Grand Canyon.

18. When they try to visit the Grand Canyon, what is the significance of Dad's wrecking the car?

A) It means he is drinking again.

B) It suggests he doesn’t need alcohol to be reckless and destructive.

C) He breaks his promise to Jeanette that she could have the car one day. 

D) He breaks his promise to Jeanette that he would show her the Grand Canyon.

19. When the family gets to Dad’s hometown of Welch, West Virginia, why does Dad say they cannot swim in the Tug River?

A) The current is too strong.

B) The water is dirty from coal mining.

C) The water is polluted with fecal bacteria.

D) The water is too cold and they could freeze to death.

20. Why are Brian and Jeanette enrolled in remedial classes in school?

A) They don’t have recommendations from their teachers in Phoenix.

B) They cannot understand what the principal is saying, so he assumes they are slow learners. 

C) They did not complete a full year of school in Phoenix because of Dad’s road trips.

D) They arouse suspicion in the principal because they have transcripts from so many different places.

Discussion Suggestion: Students can use this question (along with #1) to explore ways in which the racism, climate, dearth of opportunities (cultural and economic), and pervasive poverty in Welch make life here harder for the children than in other places they have lived.

21. At grandma Erma’s house, what makes Jeanette wonder if Dad was abused as a child? (short answer)

22. After the family buys a rundown house in Welch, Brian and Jeanette start digging the foundation for the Glass Castle in the yard. What does Dad do with the foundation? (short answer)

Discussion Suggestion: Students can use this question to explore what Jeanette still needs to realize about her dad. What is represented by Dad's using the Glass Castle foundation for garbage? Did he ever really intend to build the Glass Castle, and if so, what has changed? 

23. Jeanette tries to paint the rundown house yellow, but she can’t finish the job by herself. Why not?

A) She is not tall enough to reach the top of the house.

B) There is not enough paint, and she does not have money for more.

C) There is too much damage to the wood and she cannot repair it without supplies.

D) It is too much work for one person.

Discussion Suggestion: What does the idea of not being tall enough (big enough) suggest about Jeanette’s struggle at this point in time and about how things might be different in the future? What seems to happen every time she or someone in the family tries to make things better? Why does it seem impossible to make things better for the Walsh family?

24. What is Mom’s defense when the children find her sneaking a chocolate bar, even though there is no food for them in the house?

A) They can get food from school, but she has to fend for herself.

B) She intends to share with them but gets carried away.

C) Chocolate is the only way she can cope with Dad’s drinking.

D) She is a sugar addict, just like Dad is an alcoholic.

25. Jeanette and Brian find a two-karat diamond ring. What does Mom do with it?

A) She sells it to pay for art lessons.

B) She first hides it from Dad and then loses it altogether.

C) She sells it so she can quit her teaching job.

D) She keeps it because wearing it helps her self-esteem.

26. What club does Jeanette join at Welch High School? (short answer)

27. When Mom and Lori are away for the summer, why does Dad bring Jeanette along when he goes to hustle Robbie at pool?

A) He uses Jeanette as sexual bait to distract Robbie.

B) She insists on going to make sure he doesn’t spend all of the money on liquor.

C) He wants to show Jeanette how to hustle someone at pool.

D) If he loses everything, he wants Jeanette to pickpocket Robbie.

28. Jeanette talks back to Mom and Dad beats her. After the beating, what does Jeanette

resolve to do?

A) stop speaking to Dad

B) get out of Welch

C) burn Dad’s blueprints for the Glass Castle

D) set all of Dad’s liquor on fire

29. What happens to the money in the piggybank that the kids call Oz? (short answer)

Discussion Suggestion: This question, along with #3, can be used to explore Jeanette’s growing awareness of her dad’s dysfunction. Are students surprised that Jeanette's dad has stolen from his children, or was this predictable? Are Jeanette, Lori, and Brian surprised? How might the theft actually help Jeanette? For #3, are students surprised that Dad lets Jeanette fend for herself when Robbie tries to assault her sexually?

30. Why does Dad bring out the blueprints for the Glass Castle?

A) to give them to Jeanette as a going-away present

B) to show the family that he has never stopped working on them

C) to try to convince Jeanette to stay in Welch

D) to destroy them, saying they are worthless if everyone leaves home

Discussion Suggestion: Students can explore what Dad’s bringing out the blueprints and Jeanette’s response reveal about the basis of their relationship and the ways their relationship has changed.

31. Dad gets a maintenance job in Upstate New York that even comes with free room and board. What makes him quit? (short answer)

32. What happens after Dad quits his job?

A) He tries to move back in with Mom, but she turns him away.

B) He and Mom decide to leave New York for good.

C) He announces that he has officially retired.

D) He moves back in with Mom and soon starts drinking again.

Discussion Suggestion: Along with question #1, this question can be used to explore the ways in which Mom and Dad each enable the other’s dysfunction.

33. Jeanette finds out that Mom’s land in Texas is valuable. About how much is it worth? (short answer)

Discussion Suggestion: Students can use this question to explore what the memoir suggests about the effectiveness of money in solving problems. When is money helpful and necessary and when is it not? What does it reveal about the mother that she continually turns away from financial stability even when it is well within her reach?

34. Why does a judge sentence Maureen to a psychiatric hospital?

A) She is living on the street.

B) She stabs her mother.

C) She sets her parents’ building on fire.

D) She is addicted to drugs.

Discussion Suggestion: Students may want to explore the ways in which Jeanette is not representative of everyone. Most people may not come away from abuse and neglect with so much purpose and clear-headedness. In addition, how is Maureen’s experience of growing up perhaps different from Jeanette’s? What emotional resources or galvanizing experiences did Jeanette have that Maureen might not have had?

35. What happens to Maureen after she is released from the psychiatric hospital?

A) She leaves for California without saying goodbye to anyone in her family.

B) She is arrested again soon after.

C) She goes to live with Jeanette who feels guilty she hasn’t done more for her.

D) She tries to commit suicide.

36. After Dad dies, how does Mom toast his memory at Thanksgiving?

A) “Life with Rex was the ultimate adventure.”

B) “We’ll meet again one day and build the Glass Castle.”

C) “Life with your father was never boring.”

D) “To Rex Walls, the love of my life.”

Discussion Suggestion: Have students consider why Walls chooses to end the story with a happy reflection about her dad. How is her portrayal of her parents throughout the memoir different from what readers might expect?