The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls
Reading Assignments, Questions & Vocabulary
CP
Vocabulary
DIRECTION: Find the word as it is used in the book. Use the page reference to locate it. Record the sentence in
which it appears in the space below the definition.
1. blasphemy (42)
an act, utterance, or writing showing contempt for something sacred
2. pilfer (111)
steal or make off with belongings of others (typically things of little value)
3. ingenious (111)
showing cleverness and inventiveness and skill
4. felonious (111)
criminal in nature
5. usurious (111)
of or relating to the practice of usury
(usury: The practice of lending money and charging the borrower interest, especially at an exorbitant or
illegally high rate)
6. delirium (117)
a usually brief state of excitement and mental confusion often accompanied by hallucinations
7. malicious (137)
wishing or appearing to wish evil to others
8. cantankerous (146)
having a difficult and contrary disposition; bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative
9. palatial (149)
suitable for or like a palace; resembling a palace in being spacious and splendid
10. forage (172)
the act of searching for food and provisions
11. pious (180)
having or showing or expressing reverence for a deity
12. genuflect (180)
bend the knees and bow in a servile manner
13. confer (203)
have a conference in order to talk something over
14. inconspicuous (204)
not prominent or readily noticeable
15. skew (205)
turn or place at an angle
16. caryatid (208)
a column or pillar carved in the shape of a person that supports a part of a building
17. retort (222)
a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)
18. solicit (223)
ask for or try to obtain (something) from someone; make a solicitation or petition for something desired
19. deference (234)
humble submission and respect; a disposition or tendency to yield to the will of others
20. dilapidated (253)
in deplorable or ramshackle condition
21. gaunt (260)
very thin and haggard, especially from disease, hunger or cold
22. caprice (273)
an inclination to change one's mind or behavior impulsively
23. adversity (275)
a difficulty, misfortune or affliction
24. sporadic (285)
recurring in scattered and irregular or unpredictable instances
25. qualm
an uneasy feeling of doubt, worry, or fear, especially about one’s own conduct; having “second thoughts”
Reading Assignments and Study Questions
HOMEWORK DIRECTIONS:
- Read the assigned pages.
- Answer 1 of the questions in a paragraph.
- Write at least 5 sentences.
- Begin the paragraph with a topic sentence that answers the entire question.
- Order your sentences logically. Your topic sentence should state what the rest of the paragraph is about.
The rest of the paragraph should prove the topic sentence.
- Include at least 1 quote from the assigned reading.
- Explain the significance of the quote.
- Explain your opinion thoroughly to prove your topic sentence.
MAKE SURE THAT YOU:
- Write your paragraph on a NEW SHEET OF PAPER each day.
- Title your homework as “Day 1,” “Day 2,” etc. to stay organized.
- Write the question you are answering at the top of your paper.
HOMEWORK GRADE:
I will collect assignments at random. I will grade a) the strength of your topic sentence, b) the organization of your
sentences, and c) how convincingly you use details and commentary to prove the topic sentence in your paragraph.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Day 1 - Pages 3-28
1. What internal conflict does Jeannette admit she has in Part I? How does this opening comment give
structure to the memoir which follows?
2. Why does Jeannette begin the story with her memory of burning herself with a hotdog? What does she wish
to convey to us about her childhood? About her parents?
3. Describe the education that Rex and Rosemary provide to their children and explain its effectiveness.
4. What is the “skedaddle”? What is the “skedaddle” to the children? Why do the parents bend the truth?
5. Explain the significance of the title. Also, explain how the title indicates Rex’s feelings about himself as a
father.
6. How do Rex and Rosemary’s retelling of their first meeting and their birth of a still-born baby explain their
views on marriage and parenting?
Day 2 - Pages 29-57
1. Define home from the perspective of the Walls children. Explain why they define home this way.
2. Memory is mercurial; it changes and takes new forms on its own. What event(s) seem(s) to be too absurd to
be true? Why might exaggeration or distortion of the truth be acceptable practice when writing memoir? Use
your own experiences to support your answer.
3. What does Rosemary say about the Joshua tree? Explain how this relates to a larger theme you have
observed in the story thus far.
4. Defend Rex’s Christmas gifts as being the most genuine gifts one could give to another person.
5. Describe three key features of the Walls’ home at Battle Mountain and explain what they reveal about the
family’s happiness or discontent.
6. Describe the pastimes of the members of the Walls family and explain what they reveal about their strengths
or weaknesses.
Day 3 - Pages 58-80
1. How does Rex handle the fire that Jeannette and Brian start? What does he tell them? To what larger theme
in the story might this quote relate?
2. Describe one of Rosemary’s eccentric qualities and explain how it impacts her family.
3. Use the swimming scene to explain Rex’s philosophy on parenting.
4. Explain the significance of baby Maureen’s question, “Where Dad?”
5. What evidence suggests that Jeannette has begun to question her mother?
6. On pages 78 and 79, we read two dialogues in which Rex questions Brian and Jeannette on their faith in
him. Compare Jeannette’s view of her father with Brian’s. What factor accounts for their different views?
Day 4 - Pages 81-105
1. Both Billy Deel and Jeannette are children living in poverty. Review their dialogue on page 83. How does
Jeannette demonstrate that despite growing up impoverished, she has learned something that Billy Deel has
not?
2. It is unclear whether Billy succeeded in raping Jeannette. Why doesn’t Jeannette consult her father about the
meaning of the word rape? How is Jeannette’s choice not to ask Rex about it similar to Lori’s choice to shoot
a gun at Billy?
3. Explain the main reason why Rosemary clashed with her mother, Grandma Smith.
4. What is the children’s experience in Phoenix like in comparison with that they had in Battle Mountain?
What accounts for the difference?
5. Explain why Rex might be heavily intoxicated after repairing termite damage in the floorboards of the
house. What does Walls use this image to accomplish in the memoir?
6. Select one of either Rex or Rosemary’s behaviors from pages 102-105 and explain what you believe any
child would learn from growing up in such an environment.
Day 5- Pages 106-125
1. Interpret Jeannette’s view of her father from her memory of the visit to the zoo.
2. How does Christmas bring out the worst in Rex and Rosemary? Identify one trait that each character
exhibits between pages 110-115.
3. What evidence suggests that Lori and Jeannette do not share the same sense of loyalty to their father?
4. While hitching a ride from a lady on the way back to Phoenix, Jeannette defends her family, saying, “We’re
not poor” (121). Is this a statement motivated purely out of pride, or does Jeannette truly not regard her
family as poor?
5. On page 123, Jeannette says that she “didn’t feel like celebrating. After all he’d put himself through, [she]
couldn’t believe Dad had gone back to the booze.” Walls breaks to a new paragraph, but I’d like you to
extend her quote. What else might Jeannette be thinking at this moment? Explain her state of mind by
bringing in additional details from the story. (Do not respond to #5 in a body paragraph.)
Day 6 - Pages 129-154
1. Imagine that you are Rosemary. Explain your philosophy on life, tragedy, and comedy using only one
sentence, then provide examples to elucidate your ideas.
2. Explain why Rosemary’s optimistic comment on page 135 is ironic.
3. Contrast the Welch School with the Emerson School that the children attended in Phoenix. What does the
Welch School’s treatment of the Walls children illustrate about the people of Welch?
4. How does Jeannette earn Dinitia’s respect? What values are important to the people of Welch?
5. React to Rosemary and Jeannette’s dialogue on page 144. Be sure to include your firm perspective on the
issue at hand.
6. “Welch wasn’t like those other places we had lived, [Dad] said. There were rules that had to be followed,
and people didn’t take it kindly when you flouted them” (145). Identify how Rex’s statement serves to
explain his treatment of Lori. See pages 146-148.
Day 7 - Pages 155-179
1. What does Jeannette’s effort to improve the appearance of 93 Little Hobart Street result in? What point may
Walls be making about the options of the poor in this section of the book?
2. How does the author use the story of her visit to Ginnie Sue’s house to make the point that prostitution can,
in some contexts, be regarded as an acceptable means of employment? Consider the other scenes in which
we’ve seen Jeannette eating throughout the book.
3. Explain the significance of Jeannette and Brian’s “victory dance” (167).
4. Explain the significance of Jeannette stitching Rex’s gash. Consider how the cause of the gash adds further
significance to this moment between father and daughter.
5. How does Walls make hoarding chocolate sound like the cruelest act one could possibly commit? What is
the purpose of pages 171-174?
6. Identify the aspect of the Walls’ poverty that elicits the strongest reaction from you. Explain your reaction.
Day 8 - Pages 180-205
1. Why does the author pair Lori’s distrust of Rex beside a scene in which Jeannette defends her father?
2. Evaluate Rosemary’s theory on sexual assault from your own perspective. Provide a retort to the example
she uses to defend her argument.
3. What do you think of Rosemary’s choice to keep – not sell – the diamond ring?
4. What does knowing Dinitia teach Jeannette? How does Dinitia impact her life? Consider pages 190-192 and
199-200.
5. In what way does Jeannette take after her father? What trait(s) do they have in common? See pages 200-202.
6. What positive effect does Jeannette’s writing for the school newspaper have on her?
Day 9 - Pages 206-230
1. Explain how Jeannette develops a new respect for her mother by the conclusion of the section which ends
on page 210.
2. Do you agree that Rex leaving Jeannette alone with Robbie is “like that time [he] threw [her] into the sulfur
spring to teach [her] to swim” (213). Why or why not?
3. Why does Jeannette return the watch she steals? Is this evidence that her parents have raised her well? Why
or why not?
4. What event finally convinces Jeannette she must leave Welch on her own? Why does this convince her?
5. “Our trips in Elvis reminded me how easy it was to pick up and move on when the urge struck. Once you’d
resolved to go, there was nothing to it all” (225). Does this quote support or contradict Rex and Rosemary’s
way of life? Explain.
6. Evaluate Rex’s treatment of Lori’s art project. With whom do you side? Explain your choice.
Day 10 - Pages 231-254
1. How does Rex play a positive role in Jeannette’s burgeoning writing career? See pages 231-234.
2. How do Jeannette’s parents and teachers serve as discouraging factors in her decision to move to New York
City? See pages 235-238.
3. How do these same figures also serve as encouragement for her? See pages 239-241.
4. Why does Jeannette feel that she has “arrived”? Explain the significance of the changes in her life.
5. Why do Lori, Jeannette, and Rosemary all reason that it is best for Lori to kick Rosemary out of her
apartment? Explain your perspective, too.
Day 11 - Pages 255-288
1. Review pages 255-257. Using your moral compass, use Jeannette’s closing comment on page 255 to
evaluate her integrity as a human being.
2. What are Rex and Rosemary’s options? Why don’t they use them to avoid being homeless? See pages 258259.
3. Explain how the Christmas scene illustrates a significant difference in the values of Rex and Rosemary.
4. Rex and Rosemary move into a squat while Jeannette moves into an apartment on Park Avenue. For what
purpose does the author juxtapose these two events in the same section of the memoir?
5. Explain what Jeannette means when she says, “I decided I might as well go all out” (271). How has her
attitude changed since she was a child defending her father to Billy Deel? Why has it changed?
6. When it comes to values, how do Rosemary and Jeannette differ? See pages 272-273.
7. Explain why Maureen’s life ends up differently than Jeannette’s, Lori’s, and Brian’s.
8. How does Rex’s death bring resolution to Jeannette’s internal conflict which she identifies in Part I of the
memoir?