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101 The Glass Castle Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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The Glass Castle, a memoir by Jeannette Walls, is a powerful and thought-provoking book that has captivated readers all over the world. If you are tasked with writing an essay on this book, you may be struggling to come up with a topic that will really make your paper stand out. To help you get started, here are 101 The Glass Castle essay topic ideas and examples to inspire you:

• An analysis of the symbolism of the glass castle in the book.
• How does the author use flashbacks to tell the story of her childhood?
• Discuss the theme of poverty and its effects on the Walls family.
• How does Rex Walls' alcoholism impact his family?
• Compare and contrast the characters of Jeannette and her siblings.
• Explore the theme of resilience and survival in the book.
• Discuss the role of education in Jeannette's life.
• How does the setting of the book (both time and place) impact the story?
• Discuss the portrayal of mental illness in the book.
• Analyze the relationship between Jeannette and her parents.
• How does the author use humor in the book to cope with difficult situations?
• Discuss the theme of family loyalty in The Glass Castle.
• Compare and contrast the different parenting styles of Rose Mary and Rex Walls.
• Analyze the role of gender in the book.
• How does Jeannette's upbringing impact her as an adult?
• Discuss the significance of the title of the book.
• What role does shame play in the story?
• Analyze the theme of forgiveness in The Glass Castle.
• How does Jeannette's relationship with her parents change throughout the book?
• Discuss the role of religion in the Walls family.
• How does the author use imagery to create a sense of place in the book?
• Discuss the theme of freedom in The Glass Castle.
• Analyze the role of art and creativity in the book.
• How does the author use language to convey emotion in the book?
• Compare and contrast the different ways that Jeannette and her siblings cope with their upbringing.
• Discuss the theme of identity in The Glass Castle.
• Analyze the significance of the fire that occurs early in the book.
• How does the author use dialogue to develop characters in the book?
• Discuss the theme of sacrifice in The Glass Castle.
• Compare and contrast the different ways that Jeannette and her siblings rebel against their parents.
• Analyze the role of storytelling in the book.
• How does the author use structure to enhance the reader's understanding of the story?
• Discuss the theme of hope in The Glass Castle.
• Analyze the impact of poverty on Jeannette's education.
• How does the author portray the American Dream in the book?
• Compare and contrast the different ways that Jeannette and her siblings cope with their parents' behavior.
• Analyze the role of nature in The Glass Castle.
• How does the author use humor to lighten the tone of the book?
• Discuss the theme of survival in the book.
• Compare and contrast the different ways that Jeannette and her siblings deal with their past.
• Analyze the role of shame in The Glass Castle.
• How does the author use symbolism to convey deeper meanings in the book?
• Discuss the theme of independence in The Glass Castle.
• Analyze the impact of Rex Walls' behavior on his children.
• How does the author use foreshadowing to create suspense in the book?
• Compare and contrast the different ways that Jeannette and her siblings find stability in their lives.
• Analyze the role of memory in The Glass Castle.
• How does the author use repetition to highlight key themes in the book?
• Discuss the theme of resilience in The Glass Castle.
• Compare and contrast the different ways that Jeannette and her siblings find strength in their upbringing.
• Analyze the role of family dynamics in The Glass Castle.
• How does the author use structure to create a sense of momentum in the book?
• Discuss the theme of forgiveness in The Glass Castle.
• Analyze the impact of Rex Walls' alcoholism on his family.
• Analyze the significance of the title of the book.

These 101 The Glass Castle essay topic ideas and examples should give you plenty of inspiration to get started on your paper. Remember to choose a topic that interests you and that you feel passionate about, as this will make the writing process much more enjoyable and rewarding. Good luck!

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The Glass Castle

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-15

Chapters 16-22

Chapters 23-28

Chapters 29-41

Chapters 42-54

Chapters 55-68

Key Figures

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Book Club Questions

Discussion Questions

What does the Glass Castle symbolize for both Dad and Jeannette? How does it play into the slow erosion of Jeannette’s illusions concerning her father?

To what extent are the family’s struggles the result of Dad’s alcoholism? Clearly it has grievous effects on the family, but do you the think the Wallses would thrive if Dad simply stopped drinking? Why or why not?

In what ways does Mom and Dad’s marriage represent a codependent relationship? How does Mom enable Dad’s alcoholism, both implicitly and explicitly?

How do the family’s Christmas celebrations reflect the family dynamics in any given year? Cite at least three Christmas gatherings and what they reveal about the family, particularly with respect to the relationship between Jeannette and Dad?

What is the significance of the Joshua tree? How does it relate to Mom’s attitudes on parenting?

To what extent is Mom responsible for the family’s impoverished circumstances? Is poverty a lifestyle choice of hers, or do you see her largely as a victim of Dad’s abuse, toxicity, and neglect?

The members of the Walls family approach their hardship using a variety of different strategies. How do these strategies reflect attributes inherent to their personalities?

Do you consider the Walls children’s upbringing as abusive? In what ways do Mom and Dad’s actions result in abuse, either directly or indirectly?

The relationship between turbulence and order is a common theme cited throughout the book. Why are Dad and Jeannette both so fixated on this dichotomy?

Why do you think Mom refused to sell the land in Texas, when doing so would have ensured that no one in the Walls family would go hungry again? Does Jeannette herself have an answer to this question? 

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The Glass Castle Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

1. introduction.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a memoir that does not fulfill the typical connotations of the genre. Instead, the author has chosen to take a different literary approach to her memoir. The Glass Castle presents the characters and the fostering of the author, as well as those she encountered throughout her life. Walls uses symbolism as well as theme to assert that despite being a product of their environment, in actuality, the environment does not create the individual. The Glass Castle is a novel that does not fit the criteria of the biography/autobiography genre. By breaking free of these restrictions, the alarming truth in autobiographies is revealed. Walls also chooses to use symbols and themes as tools to further assert the book's underlying message: everyone is their individual self. Each person, no matter where or how they have been raised, is their own person. So many biographies/autobiographies are produced today. They are mainly based on the lives of the rich and famous. The authors of these novels usually outsource the task to ghostwriters. This author then writes the memoir for them. Because of these practices, biography/autobiography novels are classified as being outside of a noble and classic genre. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is an exception. The author, with her wonderful piece of art, demonstrates that biography/autobiography novels can be an educational and intriguing way of learning about the lives of others.

1.1. Background Information on the Author and the Book

Jeannette Walls is the author of this incredible, real-life story. Jeannette, Bruce, Lori, and Maureen Walls are the four normal yet abnormal children that experienced hardships and unexpected gratification while growing up in a dysfunctional family. The title symbolizes an amazing yet tragic piece of their past life. The "Glass" symbolizes the kind of instability in the family's relationships. "The Glass Castle" was the ultimate dream of the unhappy Walls family. It was meant to be a huge and advanced house, which was the greatest house they ever entered. The "Castle" also symbolizes the yearning and hunger of the parents. To the children, and also the readers, the walls seem safe and stable in the beginning, but are quickly realized as unstable throughout the story. This foreshadows the Walls family's objective to create a sturdy and structured living arrangement. An important theme in this book is listening to others' advice and understanding their respected opinions. In this story, there seems to be a strange form of love between Maureen and her father. One opinion is that her falling in love with Max at college symbolized the love that she wanted. Due to her twisted upbringing with her father, she seemed to get confused on what love really means. A literary device that is used a lot is symbolism and is also an important theme in the book. Again, the Walls family's objective was to create a steady and stable life for their children. The audience recognizes the instability of the family. Many characters and events in the story symbolize many things throughout the story. Lori noticed that the jerks that they lived to lead a more exciting yet dangerous life. This symbolizes the excitement and thrill of the tragic Walls family. The mother, then, started her career in painting. The family struggled dearly and realized the hardship of their greediness but still depicted their dream into art. The symbolism is really like an exponential curve. It starts small and builds to an unbelievable finale. In The Glass Castle, Jeannette developed the Walls family through realistic yet imaginative themes and symbolism.

Poverty The Walls family struggles in financial poverty. This type of poverty is apparent in the family's lack of a stable residence, a lack of enough food to eat, and everyday necessities such as shoes. Alternatively, the family also exists in a poverty of other sorts: the father's alcoholism, the mother's disassociation from her children, and social deviance from the cultural norm. The children steal, wear dirty clothes, and struggle to maintain good grades at school. The manifestations of poverty actually shape the family's experience. Resulting from their extreme poverty, the children develop unique problem-solving skills as well as independent natures. The extended periods of homelessness allow the children to explore and develop skills not traditionally developed by children who live in a secure and stable home. The children develop tenacity, compassion, and determination, as well as creating a strong familial bond through their poverty-induced adversities. Although these skills are helpful later in life, for a few years these skills serve as a double-edged sword, keeping the family in their poverty-stricken cycle. Economic hardship propels a significant loss of innocence when it is realized that their destiny is self-determined and the notions of reverence for someone else's authority diminish. Regardless of the sorrow and the family breakdown that occurs as a result, they insist on living in shantytowns, but none of the subjectivity of everyday life. These brief periods of freedom are largely caught between cause and consequence. These are the moments when the Walls family experiences a stolen but significant portion of their life and moments that they enjoy living regardless of their self-constructed poverty of both the mind and body.

2.1. Poverty and Resilience

In conclusion, the motif of the glass castle underscores the theme of loyalty as well as the symbolic intentions of the structure, which the twofold nature of usage and purpose often convey. Loyalty is predominant in helping to establish fundamental relationships and build character values. The center of this development is of course found in the nuclear family, and though a unit may lack in providing the basic necessities or support that others take for granted, its long-term growth systems can transcend financial limitations. Poverty becomes no excuse, and the condition becomes simply an economic description of one’s financial status. The Walls’ struggle and carry forth their obligations to each other through the circumstances, reflecting levels of resilience that many in their situation are unfortunate not to experience. It is within this context of love and commitment that any potential glass castle attempts to ascend. The notion of the tale’s namesake is shrouded in seemful forerunner as well as rooted for the literal accounting of the glass castle’s physical fate. Like many factual or inflated narratives of fortune, the castle is something promised at the crossroad that, for whatever reason, never manifests itself. Notions of physical hope and transitory leaps are lofted before poverty’s constraints photographed the Kittler landscape, much like the promise of the family’s psyche is continually undermined by Dada’s inaction and lack of initiative. The constancy is forlorn obsidian, or so it seems. The gift of hope that peeks through the poverty becomes quickly discarded. A cable car becomes only an illusion; a promised escape toward a leaving physical cabal emerges as a fleeting thought within Jeannette’s mind and returns to simply rest with the collective of stealing desires and stifled hope. The lucid dreams of physicality juxtaposed are repeatedly shelved for respite within a realm of foolish calculating. The imagery of a life, dreams, and love no longer sealed in boxes alone within this alternate layer living at the borders of society, crystallize merely through saving. Squalor into practical reality.

3. Symbolism

Fire is a prominent symbol in The Glass Castle. It is mentioned numerous times throughout the novel. Although fire is frequently destructive, and many of the homes and possessions of the Walls family are destroyed by fire, in this novel fire is often a favorable force of change. Since fire is a synthesis of destruction and change, it is highly appropriate that it would symbolize something that is constructive or leads to personal change. The Walls family remained apart from and in conflict with "normal" society as a result of Mom and Dad's stubborn refusal to change. If you are told a lie repeatedly, eventually you begin to think it is the truth. Mom and Dad tried to make the thesis of the Glass Castle, the American Dream, true repeatedly, and although it always ended the same, I felt as if it had been the truth once. Societal expectations or traditions deadlock with the unique needs of families and therefore family members control each other. Mom and Dad's standard idea for family possessions, beliefs, and relationships is frequently intensified by the visitors' reaction when faced with items of life at the Walls' home, or by the times of anxiety that friends cause for the children. When such a situation occurred, it reinforced my commitment as a member of the Walls family. Hobart Van Buren, for example, urged Jeanette to tell her parents about awful incidents and avoid the Walls' home if her parents refused to act responsively, but Jeanette could not, because she realized only after Hobart's death that she really wanted to belong to the Walls family. Large portions of The Glass Castle consist of an intense reflection of the emotions felt by family members. Because of the extensive societal pressure upon everyone's emotions, exactly how much responsibility Mom and Dad felt in their situation cannot be stated certainly. However, on the surface, they took pride in their ability to survive. Based on this reaction, the realistic view of life at the Walls' would have been that the scapegoat infested and unsafe life at the Walls' was their lot in life.

3.1. The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle is another significant metaphor in the novel. Rex explains to his family early on that he has been drawing up plans for a glass castle that he wants to build for the family to live in. The castle is to be so grand and intricate that it will constantly shimmer and change color depending on the light outside. The family understands that they will get to play a big part in designing their own rooms. However, the man has been drawing plans for the glass castle for many years. The foundation and the frame of the castle are never started. For the Walls family, the Glass Castle exists only in their father’s imagination. It is a symbol of Rex’s empty hope to change his destiny. Rightly or not, Rex is the protector of the family, with the Glass Castle being his ultimate goal. The Glass Castle is always on his mind. Most of the time, he simply doesn’t have the physical capacity to bring his most ambitious dreams to life. Rex is a very intelligent man who has a lot of skill for conning or lying his way into getting what he wants. However, his mind is disturbed by a chronic ear infection that has also left its mark on his life. Rex’s ear infection bursts when he cannot afford to buy antibiotics, causing him great pain. The pain takes a toll on Rex’s ability to think and to act, often. There are attempts to build the Glass Castle, such as when Rex selects a plot of land in Battle Mountain, Nevada, where he will build the family their grand and sprawling castle. However, while everyone, especially Maureen, is elated by the symbolism of the attempted construction of the castle, the building of the house never progresses beyond a hole dug in the desert. Every prison is a Glass Castle no matter the building in Lubbock, and the Walls all come to learn that the dream of the unpaved house may be much better than the real house that sits in its place.

4. Character Analysis

Jeannette is the principal character in the memoir, and her actions tend to be justified by her distinct solipsistic perspective. This distinct perspective may be characterized by her inability to reconcile her father's actions with his character. As a result, she takes the interests of the family, and particularly that of her father, to heart to the detriment of her life. Nonetheless, her actions may be justified by acknowledging the difficulty inherent in reconciling the reality of her neglectful and cruel parents with their overarching importance and impact in her life. Rex Walls was Jeannette's father. He is intelligent and inspiring in equal measure, but his talent is undermined by his dereliction of duty towards his family. He is charismatic, but his tendencies for violence, lying, and hiding from his responsibilities uphold his character and consequently lead to the downfall of his family. Lori Walls is Jeannette's sister, and she gladly assumes the responsibility of caring for the family. As the oldest child, she cannot avoid having authority. However, she is more committed to the ideals of the family than its essence. Rose Mary Walls is the mother of Jeannette, Lori, Brian, and Maureen, as well as Rex's wife. She is a painter and an artist who can hardly manage her family, and often yields the role of the parent to her beloved husband Rex. She may be described as willfully ignorant, passive, immature, and egotistic in her actions and approach to life, especially in comparison to Jeannette. Nevertheless, she is patient and respects the lives, as well as wishes of her children without expecting that respect to be returned.

4.1. Jeannette Walls

Jeannette Walls is not only the author of the memoir, but she is also the protagonist. The memoir is about her family, particularly her relationship with her parents. She includes both positive and negative aspects of the family and the influence they had on her. Despite having successful lives as adults, Jeannette and her siblings are all hesitantly drawn back to the chaos their parents offer. Jeannette discusses what kind of person she is currently. Her background is something she feels she is trying to fill. The memoir isn't divided into sections or devoted to big events. Instead, Walls groups stories based on the characters that appear within them. Walls discusses the three significant people in her life who influenced her the most: her father, her mother, and herself. Each person can be associated with the glass castle, a dream that Rex Walls had that he was always building. The memoir becomes a series of stories about her parents and her future scrapbook. Walls' experience with recounts of family past pictures in a scrapbook. Though each family member had a different experience going through their lives, all were still in it together even in adulthood. Walls realizes by the book's end that she has found her foundation, and she is fine with that.

5. Conclusion

In conclusion, this text has shown that "The Glass Castle" is bristling with various themes and symbols. The work has demonstrated how the theme of alcoholism and its devastating effects can easily be discerned from the title and other episodes in the book. Family, on the other hand, acts as an anchor to many characters, especially Jeannette, and becomes a crucial checkpoint for Walls to locate herself. Walls also sprinkles elements of nature profusely in the book and uses them as elements with which Jeannette solves many of life's puzzles. Most of these elements are used to underscore the circularity of life and overcoming life's challenges. Metaphors in the book get a favorable mention and have been as important as any other feature. Black's postulations on Moses, tree, and rock have been instrumental in the interpretation of the symbols. The terms of joie de vivre also make a significant chunk of the text's elements. Recalling Walls' ama, je-me-foutisme, and many other terms used by Walls connect Jeannette to her family as well as the numerous places she lives. From the foregoing discussion, it is safe to state that "The Glass Castle" is a great literary piece that explores many important social themes from a personal dimension. Walls depicts a complete character from her family and societal experiences, which have been successfully used to depict the experiences of millions of people.

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“The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls Overview Essay

Introduction, the main characters, the themes of the book, personal opinion, works cited.

A family plays a substantial role in shaping a personality. This fact is a problem for children whose parents fail to pay proper attention to their upbringing due to various addictions. Jeannette Walls was such an unlucky child, and she described her growing up in a dysfunctional family in her memoir The Glass Castle . This essay will give a summary of the book, discuss the main characters and problems, and provide a personal opinion of the story.

Jeanette Walls is one of the four children of Rex and Rose Mary Walls. Her father was a drunkard, and her mother was a teacher who saw her calling in painting. At the age of six, Jeannette and her family moved to Battle Mountain, Nevada. They lived there in a railway station adjusted for residence. For a while, stability came to their life since Rex Walls started working for a mining company. However, he soon lost his job and spent all the money earned by Rose Mary. They also happened to attract the attention of the police due to an incident in their house. To avoid taking their children away from them, the Walls decided to move to the home of Grandma Smith, who was Rose Mary’s mother. The old woman died right before their arrival, but left them a substantial sum of money. However, the money soon was spent, and the family moved to Welch, West Virginia, where Rex’s parents lived.

Then, the Walls left the dwelling of Jeannette’s parental grandmother to settle down in a dilapidated house. Rex said that one day he would build a glass castle in that place, but his children did not believe him. Jeannette asked her mother to get a divorce, but Rose Mary refused. Therefore, Jeannette and her elder sister, Lori, began to save money to flee to New York. Their efforts were successful, and soon, all the four siblings moved to the Big Apple. Their parents also came to New York to live off their children, but as they disapproved of it, Rex and Rose Mary became homeless. Later, Jeannette was driving to a party and saw her mother scavenging the garbage cans. The woman offered her help to Rose Mary, but she refused. The story ends with a family dinner at Jeannette’s house where the Walls remembered Rex, who had died a few years ago.

The first character of the book is Jeannette Walls, the narrator. She had a complicated childhood because of her parents’ irresponsibility, but it helped her to become a strong and determined woman. Being a child, she tried to exonerate her father’s behavior because she believed in him: “I told him that I would never lose faith in him. And I promised myself I never would” (Walls 79). However, as she grew up, she realized that her trust was in vain because Rex was never going to accomplish his plans. As for her mother, Jeannette seems to lack an understanding of her life principles. When she sees Rose Mary in New York scavenging garbage cans, she thinks that her mother needs help. However, when Jeannette hears that Rose Mary is satisfied with her living conditions, she is perplexed. Generally, Jeannette inspires respect because she did not follow her parents’ steps, but became better than they were and reached success in her life.

Another character is Rex Walls, Jeannette’s father, who spent all the money in the family on alcohol. He could have been a conscientious worker since he was smart and had engineering and mathematical expertise. However, he chose the path of an alcoholic and did not bother to stay on any job for long. Some episodes, like the one when he proposed his children to choose their favorite stars as Christmas gifts since he could not give them real presents, prove that Rex had a kind heart and could have made a caring father. However, he was a weak personality who could not conquer his lust for drinks and reluctance to work, and this made his children, including Jeannette, lose faith in him.

The last character worth discussing is Rose Mary, Jeannette’s mother. Although she was qualified as a teacher, she was confident that she was born to be an artist. For this reason, she worked only when Rex had no job to prevent her children from starving. Rose Mary had exceptional values since she did not want to live in comfort, find a high-paid job, or have a happy family with a sober husband. Even when her daughter offered her to help with accommodation because she considered her mother’s lifestyle inappropriate, she refused by saying that “being homeless is an adventure” (Walls 255). Thus, Rose Mary does not evoke sympathy because she has chosen her way of living for herself and appears to be satisfied with it.

The book raises the theme of feeling abnormal and ashamed. According to Bath, young people growing up in nonstandard conditions, like Jeannette Walls, often feel shame because they do not consider themselves normal (132). It is true for Jeannette since she realized that her family was far from being ordinary, and for a long time, she was ashamed to tell anyone about her parents. Eventually, she understood that every person had a past, so there was no need for her to hide her background. It was the reason why she ventured to write her memoir.

Another theme of the novel is individualism and independence from others. Yang and Congzhou argue that it is typical of Americans to rely on themselves and keep apart from their parents after coming of age (53). However, in the Walls family, individualism seems slightly exaggerated and may be interpreted as the parents’ indifference to their offspring. Although Rex and Rose Mary wanted their children to be self-sufficient, they treated them as if they did not care about them. Surprisingly, they achieved this goal since Jeannette with her siblings indeed became independent, but, on the other side, they lost any desire to keep in touch with their parents.

Since the book describes the life of a dysfunctional family, it makes readers think of other people who live in similar conditions. However, this story allows viewing the situation from another angle. Usually, the homeless and the poor evoke sympathy because they are assumed to have had bad luck that has led them to their current state. The book shows that there may be no external circumstances, which ruin people’s life. The author reveals to readers that being a pauper with no home can be someone’s voluntary choice (Cardell and Douglas 23). The main point is that there is no way to help them because it is impossible to assist people who see nothing wrong with their behavior.

To sum up, the book is worth reading because it makes readers face reality, which is full of unpleasant things such as alcohol abuse, poverty, and vagrancy. On the other hand, it shows that a person can overcome all of this, like Jeannette Walls and her siblings did. It reveals that people themselves are responsible for their current situation, and sometimes, only their beliefs prevent them from improving their lives.

Bath, Howard. “Pain and the Unspoken Emotion: Shame.” International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies , vol. 10, no. 2-3, 2019, pp. 126-141.

Cardell, Kylie, and Kate Douglas, editors. Telling Tales: Autobiographies of Childhood and Youth . Routledge, 2017.

Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle: A Memoir . Simon and Schuster, 2017.

Yang, Liu, and Yang Congzhou. “Analysis of Sino-American Family Education Differences: Collectivistic or Individualistic? – Taking The Glass Castle as an Example.” International Education Studies , vol. 11, no. 8, 2018, pp. 51-57.

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Home — Essay Samples — Psychology — Childhood — Depiction of a Childhood Trauma in “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls

Depiction of a Childhood Trauma in "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

• Categories: Book Review Childhood

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Published: Mar 18, 2021

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The Glass Castle

By jeannette walls, the glass castle essay questions.

Discuss the role of fire in the novel.

After Jeannette is burned the first time fire continues to appear in the work. It burns down a number of houses and harms some of the characters. Jeannette believes that the fires might all be connected. Jeannette describes fire as a sort of character itself.

How does Jeannette characterize her parents? What is her tone towards them and their actions?

Jeannette describes her parents' faults and shortcomings but she does not condemn them for their actions. Indeed, by the novel’s end she appears to have come to an understanding about their way of living. The goal of the work is not to insult or vilify her parents but, in a way, to honor them.

Why does Jeannette choose to title the book The Glass Castle even though the structure is never built?

The glass castle characterizes Rex Walls’ need to create a life of fantasy and adventure for his family in the absence of stability and practicality. Its construction is consistently delayed in the work, but that which it represents endures. Jeannette’s memoir is, in part, an erection of this fabled structure. In writing, she takes one step towards fulfilling her father’s promise.

Explain the role of nature and the attitudes taken toward it in the memoir?

Without the amenities of modern life, the Walls family is frequently in awe of the beauty of nature. Especially while living in the Midwest, nature becomes a sort of home for the Walls. Rose Mary Walls also instills within her children an appreciation for animals and nature by refusing to kill or harm it with modern technology.

What about Jeannette’s experience is atypical of general ideas about American poverty? Why do you think Jeannette includes these examples?

For much of the work, Jeannette and her family live in conditions characteristic of poverty. However, Jeannette’s experience also includes rigorous homeschooling from her parents and exposure to classic literature. Despite her conditions, she and her siblings are often placed in the gifted classes in school. In showing that her parents, though poor, were not unintelligent, Jeannette proposes an often undetailed view of America’s impoverished.

Discuss the role of setting in the novel? How does the theme of the work change when the setting changes?

Setting is clearly an important part of the work. Indeed, two sections of the novel are named after a particular environment. In addition, there is a clear shift in tone and plot when the Walls move from the desert to Welch, Virginia. Setting not only affects how the family must live but it also influences their hope for escaping poverty.

Compare Jeannette’s relationship with Brian and Lori to that between her and Maureen. Why are there differences?

Jeannette and her siblings depend on each other for survival. Jeannette and Brian pair together when faced by bullies from outside. Although Lori and Brian differ from Jeannette in their early loss of hope in Rex. Maureen exists as a sort of “black sheep” in the family. Not only does she not have red hair, but she seldom spends time with the family and instead relies on others to care for her. For this reason, Jeannette considers Maureen in need of more protection than the rest of her siblings.

Describe the structure of the memoir. Why does Walls decide to frame her story with her adulthood before reflecting on her childhood?

Jeannette begins her story by describing her motivation for writing it. Her mother’s urgings that she not hide from her past anymore prompt Jeannette to begin telling her story. Because shame once inhibited her from sharing her story, she begins by describing that which gave her the courage to write it down.

Discuss Rose Mary Walls' role as a mother.

Rose Mary Walls commonly seems focused on her aims alone. She loses or quits jobs in order to pursue her profitless career as an artist even at times when her family needs her salary for basic necessities. At times, Rose Mary behaves more like a child than her children, throwing tantrums, refusing to go to work, and creating excuses.

Rex Walls frequently makes up fantastical stories to create a life of excitement out of his circumstances. Is this deceitful? In what ways can these stories be seen as an attempt to shield the family from the truth?

Rex Walls tends to create fantastical explanations to keep his children from considering themselves lesser than others because of their lack of money. When the children are young, this seems harmless. He gives them stars for Christmas instead of gifts and makes life an adventure by telling them they are being chased. However, as the children grow older, Rex’s stories are used as a means to protect or excuse his behavior instead of as a means to shield his children from the reality of their condition.

The Glass Castle Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Glass Castle is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What is ironic about the fact that Dad “owed the mine company eleven cents” and that “He thought it was funny and told them to put it on his ta

• Describe the parenting style of Jeannette’s mom and dad.

Describe Erma, Grandpa, and Stanley. How does Jeannette feel about meeting her fathers family?

After a month of driving, the family finally makes it to Welch, West Virginia. After meeting Erma, her father’s mother who refuses to be called ‘Grandma,' Grandpa Walls, and Uncle Stanley, Jeannette is shocked to find no resemblance between them...

What is the family's life like in Battle Creek?

The answer to your question is readily available in GradeSaver's detailed summary and analysis for Part II of the novel.

Study Guide for The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle study guide contains a biography of Jeannette Walls, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Glass Castle
• The Glass Castle Summary
• Character List

Essays for The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.

• Adventures First, Explanations Take Such a Dreadful Time
• The Glass Prison
• The Effect of Parenting Style on Childhood Development: A Reading of The Glass Castle
• Throwing Stones-Resilience and Forgiveness in The Glass Castle
• Alcoholism in the Walls Family

Lesson Plan for The Glass Castle

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Glass Castle
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Glass Castle Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for The Glass Castle

• Introduction