The Glass Castle Reading Unit

**Please feel free to contact Ms. Dunleavy (kad120@francis.edu) with any questions!**

Introduction to the novel:

- What is this book about?
o Jeannette Walls’ 2005 memoir The Glass Castle details the joys and
struggles of her childhood. A memoir is an account of the personal
experiences of an author. It offers a look into her life and that of her
highly charismatic yet frequently dysfunctional family. Walls’ first
memoir and second non-fiction work, The Glass Castle was received
well by critics and the public. The Glass Castle remained on the New
York Times Bestseller’s List for 100 weeks and received The
Christopher Award, the American Library Association’s Alex Award
and the Books for Better Living Award. In only two years the book
had sold over 1.5 million copies and had been translated into six other
languages. Paramount Pictures purchased the rights to produce a film
based on the memoir as well.
- What is a memoir?
o A memoir is a collection of personal memories related to specific
moments or experiences in the author’s life. Told from the perspective
of the author, memoirs are written in first person point of view.
o The defining characteristic that sets memoirs apart from
autobiographies and biographies is its scope. While the other genres
focus on the entire timeline of a person’s life, memoirs structure
themselves on one aspect, such as addiction, parenting, adolescence,
disease, faith, etc.
o They may tell stories from various moments in the author’s life, but
they should read like a cohesive story—not just a re-telling of facts.
o Unlike autobiographies and biographies, memoirs focus more on the
author’s relationship to and feelings about his or her own memories.
Memoirs tend to read more like a fiction novel than a factual account,
and should include things like dialogue, setting, character
descriptions, and more.
o Although memoirs tell a true story, they focus on telling an engaging
narrative, just like a novel. This gives memoir authors a little more
flexibility to improve upon the story slightly for narrative effect.
  This means that while the stories that the author is writing are
true, the author may stray a bit from the actual truth to bring
more emotion/life to the stories.
-
- Videos to view before beginning reading
o Homelessness in America
o Families living in cars
o Interview with Jeanette Walls about The Glass Castle
o Oprah interview with Jeanette Walls
- The Walls Family Travel Map
o Click through the Prezi to see where the Walls family lived and
different events that occurred in each location.
o https://prezi.com/8ianstztpr6h/the-glass-castle/
Reading The Glass Castle
- The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
o https://www.houstonisd.org/cms/lib2/TX01001591/Centricity/Domain
/17638/The_Glass_Castle.pdf
- Guided reading questions: As you read, you can complete the guided reading
questions if you would like.
o If you have trouble with any of the questions, feel free to email me to
discuss your questions.
Part I: A Woman on the Street
- Guided reading questions:
1.) When the narrator returns to her apartment after seeing the “woman on the
street”, how does she feel when she looks around her apartment and sees all her
beautiful things? Why does she feel this way?

2.) How does Jeannette feel about Rose Mary's appearance by the dumpster?
Why does she feel this way?

3.) What is the effect of Rose Mary's final words to Jeannette during their meal
together?

Part II: The Desert

- Guided reading questions:
1.) What is the most vivid of Jeannette’s early memories? 

2.) What do we learn about Jeanette’s family values through the “burned while
cooking hotdogs” incident?

3.) Explain the clash of the Walls family with the hospital and how it is a telling
contrast between “them” and society.

4.) Why does the family move around so much?

5.) How does Rex Walls convince people to hire him? What does this suggest
about his character?

6.) What is the Prospector? What are your reactions to this?

7.) Describe Jeannette’s education.

8.) On page 21, explain Rose Mary’s knowledge of and attitude toward the
natural world.

9.) Page 22: Does “a little bit of a drinking situation” truly characterize Rex’s
behavior? Why does Rose Mary choose to describe his alcoholism in this
manner?

10.) What is the glass castle and what does it symbolize?

11.) In your opinion, so far are Jeanette’s parents “good parents?” Explain

12.) Why do you think the father dislikes talking about his own family?

13.) What is the story of the Walls’ courtship? What does this story reveal about
their relationship?

14.) Describe the birth of each child and what each story may signify for each
child.

15.) On page 28, we get the mother’s philosophy of child rearing. What values
are reflected in her philosophy? What do you think of her attitudes?
16.) Why does Jeannette just sit and wait for the family to return after she falls
out of the car? Why doesn’t she seek help?

17.) How does the father deal with Jeannette’s fears? Does this help or hurt her?
What do you think of his method?

18.) What does the Joshua Tree symbolize?

19.) Why didn’t the parents believe in telling their children the Christmas/Santa
Claus fantasy?

20.) What does father give his kids for Christmas? What do you think of his
gifts?

21.) What is your opinion of Rose Mary and how long she thinks she has been
pregnant? What does it say about her relationship with Rex after he chases her
down?

22.) Why does Jeannette act tough for her father?

23.) Why does Brian, in solidarity, try to fight for Jeannette? How and why
does his reaction differ from their father’s?

24.) What causes the Walls to leave Blythe?

25.) What does the U-Haul scene show us about the Walls’ parenting?

26.) Describe their new home in Battle Mountain – what is Battle Mountain like
and what are their living conditions in the old train depot?

27.) What is surprising about the Walls children despite not having a formal
education? What does this show?

28.) What does it suggest that they have no beds or tables in their new home,
but the mother must have a piano?

29.) What does Rose Mary’s attitude toward the piano outside suggest about her
character?
30.) What do the games played suggest about the family?

31.) What do you think of the mother’s attitude toward cooking? How does it
affect her children?
32.) What is your opinion of Rose Mary and Rex’s “rules” for their kids? What
could go wrong with these rules?

33.) What is the Green Lantern?

34.) Why does Rose Mary believe she’s doing animals a favor by not allowing
them to become dependent on humans? How does this connect with her attitude
towards raising children?

35.) How does the manner in which Rex teaches Jeannette to swim, reflect his
character? What is your opinion of his teaching method? How does Jeannette
react to her swimming lesson?

36.) What is Rex’s new excuse for getting fired? Why can’t he keep a job?
Does he want to?

37.) How does the lack of food affect family unity?

38.) Why does Rose Mary decide to get a teaching job?

39.) Why does teaching make Rose Mary hate her own mother?

40.) Why does Rose Mary not want to go to work in the morning? What do you
think this says about her character?

41.) Why does the author (Jeanette) point out that her mother is more upset
about having to work than she is about leaving Maureen with the wife of a
convicted drug dealer?

42.) What is Brian’s attitude toward their father during this time period? Why?

43.) Why does Rex show up with groceries in the cafeteria?

45.) Why does Rex ask Jeannette if she still has faith in him?
46.) In what way is Billy’s upbringing worse than that of the Walls children?
What types of things does Billy do that the Walls children never would?

47.) How does Jeannette react to Billy’s assault? Why doesn’t she tell her father
about it?

48.) How do the other children react to Billy’s assertion that he has raped
Jeannette? What does this show about the family?

49.) What impact did Grandma Smith’s rules have on her daughter, Rose Mary?

50.) How does Jeannette react to the news that her grandmother has died? How
does Rose Mary react? Why?

51.) Describe the Walls’ new neighborhood in Phoenix. How does it compare
with Battle Mountain?

52) What is Rose Mary’s reaction to her daughter Lori’s, need for glasses?
What do you think of this reaction and what does it suggest about Rose Mary?

53.) On what does Rose Mary spend her inheritance? Why?

54.) What is Rose Mary’s attitude toward cleaning? What does this tell us about
her?

55.) What reason do the parents give for leaving the house open at night?

56.) What happens to Jeannette during the night?

57.) How does the incident affect Maureen?

58.) Rex Walls get so angry about a mountain lion being shot that he puts his
fist through a wall. Is this the real reason for his anger? If not, what is?

59.) Do you believe, as Rex asserts, that wild animals will act tame if you don’t
show fear? What does this further show us about his character?

60.) What does Brian think of his father’s assertion?

 61.) What do you think of Rex’s willingness to risk the lives of his children in
order to prove his point?

62.) How does Rose Mary rationalize shoplifting? Is this attitude consistent
with her belief in self-reliance and in not accepting welfare and handouts?

63.) How does Rex justify stealing from banks? Is this attitude consistent with
his other beliefs?

64.) Describe Christmas this year for the family. How does this incident affect
the family unit?

65.) What gift does Jeannette want for her tenth birthday? Why?

66.) What happens to Rex when he locks himself into the bedroom?

67.) How does each family member react to Rex’s attempt to get sober?

68.) Why doesn’t the Walls family ever get to the Grand Canyon?

69.) Why does Jeannette react so strongly to the lady’s description of the Walls
as poor?

70.) Why does Rose Mary decide the family needs to move to West Virginia?

71.) In what state does the family leave the house in Phoenix? Why?

72.) Why does Rex force his children to beg him to come with them to West
Virginia?

Part III: Welsh

- Guided reading questions

1.) What is Rex’s family like? How does Jeannette react to them?

2.) How is Rex Walls like or not like his family members?

3.) Why does Rose Mary see the destitution of the town of Welch as an
opportunity to establish herself as an artist?
4.) Why doesn’t the principal believe Rose Mary’s assertion that her children
are gifted?

5.) Describe Jeannette’s history class. What does it imply about the quality of
public education in West Virginia?

6.) Why do the girls beat up Jeannette?

7.) Why doesn’t Jeannette tell her parents about the bullying? What do you
think they’d do it they did know?

8.) Why does Dinita finally stop bullying Jeannette?

9.) What do you think of Rose Mary Walls’ assertion that everyone possesses
redeeming qualities?

10.) Does the fact that Hitler loved dogs redeem him in our eyes? Why or why
not?

11.) What reason does Rex give for refusing to work in the mines, the only
place where locals can find work? Do you believe him?

12.) What does Rose Mary tell her children about Erma’s childhood? Why do
you think she shares this information with them?

31.) Why do Erma and Lori get into a fight?

13.) Why don’t Rex and Rose Mary take the kids’ side against Erma? What
does this suggest about Rex’s childhood with Erma?

14.) How does Rex Walls plan to turn the house on Little Hobart Street into a
glass castle? How realistic is he being?

15.) Why don’t the Walls go back to Phoenix?

16.) What happens to the foundation that Rex digs for the glass castle? What
does this symbolize?

17.) Why does Jeannette try to paint the house? What happens to her efforts?
Why don’t the other family members help her?
18.) Is the parents’ refusal to accept handouts consistent with some of their
previous behaviors? Why or why not?

19.) What reasons are given for the hardness of life in Welch?

20.) What is illustrated by the feud between the Walls and the Goads? Why do
you think the author includes this story?

21.) Why does the family no longer have the sense of solidarity they had in
Battle Mountain? What has changed?

22.) Why does Jeannette love the novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn?

23.) Why is it getting harder for Jeannette to believe in her father?

24.) When Jeannette sews up her father’s wound, what could this suggest
symbolically? What cannot be so easily mended in her own life?

25.) With neither parent working, how does the family survive financially?

26.) What were some of the Walls children’s strategies for finding food?

27.) What do you think of the Rose Mary’s action of secretly eating chocolate
while her children are hungry? What does it reveal about her character?

28.) Why does Rose Mary compare her act of eating chocolate to Rex’s
drinking? Are they the same?

29.) How does Brian react to Rose Mary’s request for forgiveness? Do you
think that this is the first time she’s done this? Why or why not?

30.) How does Jeannette react to being described as the daughter of the town
drunk? Why does she react this way?

31.) Why does Rose Mary send Jeannette out to find her father, and not one of
the other children?

32.) Why do you think Erma spent so much time preparing for her own funeral?
33.) What is your opinion of Rose Mary’s assertion that sexual assault is a
matter of perception? What burden does this statement place on Jeannette?
34.) What does Rose Mary do with the diamond? What does this reveal about
her? What should she have done?

35.) What is ironic about Rose Mary’s assertion that welfare will
psychologically damage her children?

36.) Why is Jeannette more comfortable with Dinita than she is with white
children?

37.) Why would the Walls children be raised to be suspicious of government

officers?

38.) Why does Jeannette hate the man from child welfare, even though her own
parents don’t take proper care of her?

39.) Why does Rose Mary decide to get a job?

40.) How do children react to Rose Mary’s weekly refusal to go to work?

41.) What effect does Rose Mary’s job have on their standard of living? Why
don’t things improve more than they do?

42.) How does Dinita’s behavior change? What do you think is the reason
behind the change?

43.) What aspect of her appearance most preoccupies Jeannette? What does she
do about it? What do her attempts to fix this aspect reveal about her character?

44.) How does Rex react to Jeannette’s attempts to create her own braces? What
do you think of hisreaction?

45.) Why does Jeannette start working for the school newspaper?

46.) What does Jeannette learn about her father’s past experiences?

47.) Why does Jeannette feel that she is not protecting her little sister, Maureen?

48.) Why is Maureen attracted to Pentecostalism?

49.) Why does Maureen idealize California?

50.) Looking at Rose Mary’s mood swings, what do you think a psychologist
might label her condition?

51.) How does Jeannette react to her mother’s breakdown?

52.) Why can’t Jeannette be honest with her father regarding his behavior?

53.) What happens at the bar? 

54.) Why isn’t Rex more protective of his daughter?

55.) Do you agree with Rex’s assertion that Jeannette can take care of herself?
How does this point of view reflect earlier incidents in Jeannette’s relationship
with her father?

56.) Why doesn’t Rex just take Rose Mary’s check outright? Why must he be
devious?

57.) What kind of harassment does Jeannette put up with at her job in the
jewelry store? 

58.) Why does Jeannette want a watch?

59.) Why does Jeannette steal the watch and how does she rationalize her
actions? Where do you think this attitude comes from? Why does she
eventually return the watch?

60.) What conclusion does Rose Mary come to from her summer spent reading
self-help books? Has she learned anything about herself?

61.) Why does Rose Mary react with anger when Jeannette tells her she doesn’t
behave like a mother?

62.) What plan do Lori and Jeannette hatch as a result of the visitors?

63.) Why do they name their piggy bank “Oz”?

 64.) Why does Rex choose to buy a car rather than pay for an indoor toilet?
What do you think of his decision and what does it suggest about him?
65.) In what ways does poverty interfere with Lori’s attempts to get a
scholarship?

66.) What do you think is the real reason behind Rex’s destruction of Lori’s
Shakespeare sculpture?

67.) What happens to “Oz”? Why does Rex deny the obvious?

68.) How does Lori get out of Welch after the money is stolen?

69.) Why doesn’t Rex’s charm work on Jeannette anymore?

70.) How does Jeannette make sure that her money won’t be stolen in the
future?

71.) What is Jeannette’s professional goal?

72.) What advice does Jeannette get from the college guidance counselor
regarding college? What is her reaction to this advice?

73.) Why is Rose Mary sad when Jeannette says that she is planning on moving
to New York City?

74.) How does her father react to her decision? Why does he resurrect his dream
at that point in time?

75.) What reasons does Rose Mary give for not seeing Jeannette off at the bus
station? Do you believe these excuses are the real reasons? Why or why not?

76.) Why does Rex give Jeannette his jackknife? Why is this ironic?

Part IV: New York City

- Guided reading questions:
1.) Why does Jeannette find her job at The Phoenix rewarding? How is the
newspaper’s title symbolic (i.e. what is a phoenix?)?
2.) Why is Jeannette fearful about Brian moving to NYC?
3.) Why does Jeannette finally decide to go to college? Who helps her make
that decision?
4.) What obstacles does Jeannette overcome in going to college? How does she
do it?
5.) Why doesn’t Rose Mary even think about the effect holding up traffic might
have on others?
6.) What can you infer from Rose Mary’s statements that the murals at
Rockefeller Center aren’t as good as her own paintings?
7.) How do you think the children feel about their parents coming to NYC to
bring the family together again?
8.) Brian and Lori take their parents in, but Jeannette does not. Why do they
react differently?
9.) What does Rose Mary say when her daughter, Lori, finally kicks her out?
What does this reveal about Mary?
10.) How do Rex and Mary spend their days in NYC? 
11.) Why does Jeannette feel guilty about her parents’ homelessness?
12.) When Jeannette and Professor Fuchs talk about homelessness, why do they
disagree? Do you think Jeannette lacks sympathy for homeless people?
13.) Why does Jeannette consider dropping out of college?
14.) What is Rose Mary’s reaction when Jeannette suggests ways she could
make or raise money? How is her answer ironic?
15.) Why is Rex proud of Jeannette? How has she lived up to his expectations?
16.) Why is Rex now questioning his lifelong atheism? Is it really only because
of the physics he’s reading?
17.) What does Jeannette make her father promise?
18.) Why does Rex manage to stay sober when he is living upstate? 
19.) How does Rose Mary get Rex to come back to NYC? Why doesn’t she
want him to continue a life where he has been able to be sober?
20.) How does Rex react to Jeannette’s Christmas gifts? Why?
21.) What do the different reactions of the parents to the gifts reveal about each
of them?
22.) How does Mary manage to blame NYC for her homelessness?
23.) Is the Walls’ homelessness really a matter of choice?
24.) How does Rex manage to share in Jeannette’s college education?
25.) Why does Rex give Jeannette the money he raised?
26.) What values do the Walls share with other squatters? Why is the squatters’
building truly a home for Rex and Mary?
27.) Why doesn’t Jeannette invite her father to her college graduation? Was this
a good choice?
28.) What kind of man is Eric? Why is Jeannette attracted to him? 
29.) How do Jeannette’s parents react to her new home on Park Avenue? Why
do they react this way?
30.) What is Rose Mary worried her daughter will become?
31.) What does Rose Mary think Jeannette should be writing about?
32.) What is the real focus of Jeannette’s journalism?
33.) What does Jeannette fear? Why?
34.) What does Rose Mary ask Jeannette to do for her?
35.) What does Jeannette discover about her mother’s family property and what
questions about her life are raised?
36.) Why does Rose Mary refuse to sell her property? Is this a logical decision?
How does it connect with the diamond ring incident from Jeannette’s
childhood?
37.) Why does Jeannette refuse to buy the family land for her mother?
38.) How does her mother react to this decision? Why does she react this way?
39.) What does Rex think of Brian’s career as a police officer? What childhood
behaviors exhibited by Brian indicated that he might go into law enforcement?
 40.) What kind of life is Maureen living? Where do you think she learned this
behavior?
41.) Why do you think Maureen looks for men who will take care of her? How
does this connect with the way Maureen lived in West Virginia?
42.) Why does Jeannette think that Maureen is mentally ill?
43.) Why does Rose Mary deny that Maureen tried to kill her?
44.) Explain how each family member reacts to Maureen’s arraignment. What
do these reactions reveal about each?
45.) Why does Jeannette feel responsible for Maureen’s breakdown?
46.) Why does the family get together after Maureen’s arraignment?
47.) Why does Rex make up a story about his illness?
48.) What is the only way Jeannette can answer Rex’s question?
49.) How do Rex and Jeannette feel about each other?
50.) How would Rex Walls have preferred to die? Why?
51.) How does Jeannette react to her father’s death?
52.) Why does Jeannette divorce Eric? Do you think that this is connected to
her father’s death? Why?
Part V: Thanksgiving
- Guided reading questions
1) Why does Jeannette close her memoir with a Thanksgiving reunion? What
does the holiday suggest about life and family?
2) Why does Brian react with anger to the abundance of food at the dinner
table?
3) What do you think of their toast to their father?
4) What does the fluttering of the candle flames suggest? Why does Jeanette
end her memoir with this thought?
Symbolism
- Background Information for Symbolism in Literature
 o Symbols are concrete objects (something you can hold in your
hand/touch) that stand for abstract concepts (something that you
cannot hold in your hand/touch; i.e. feelings like love).
o Symbolism in literature allows humans to communicate beyond
language.
o Symbols can have personal interpretations. For example, a country's
flag represents its country. What it means to an army veteran,
however, is different from what it means to a civilian.
o Literary symbols gain meaning in the context of a literary work. The
symbol's meaning may evolve throughout the work or have more than
one interpretation.
- Symbolism activity: Make a list of symbols that you see/use in your life.
Write down the symbol and what it stands for. See how many you can think
of!
o Example: Eagle = Freedom
- Symbols within The Glass Castle
o The glass castle (itself): The Glass Castle symbolizes the illusions
that Jeannette must release in order to fully mature. For years, Dad
has, with the kids, made blueprints and floor plans for a magnificent
transparent palace built in the desert and relying on solar panels for
electricity. The Glass Castle epitomizes how Dad would like to live,
self-sufficiently and sustainably, without submitting to a system or
authority. In Welch, Brian and Jeannette even dig a foundation pit for
the palace. The illusion is, for Jeannette, definitively burst once Dad
tells her to fill up the pit with garbage: the very idea, the dream itself,
has become no more than a receptacle for trash. Dad’s flimsy attempts
to revive the dream, by showing Jeannette new floor plans when she’s
about to leave for New York, only confirm for her that she must
definitively let go of the idea of the Glass Castle. But as sobering as
this symbol is, by choosing it as the book’s title Walls pays homage to
Dad’s magnificent dreams and illusions, as unrealistic and broken as
they might be.
o Fire: Fire is present in The Glass Castle from one of the very first
scenes, when Jeannette accidentally lights herself on fire while
making hot dogs as a three-year-old. Fire is both a source of heat and
light and a force for destruction. From the family’s San Francisco
 apartment to Uncle Stanley’s house in Welch, the shells of burned-
down homes strew the pages of the memoir. But Jeannette is
fascinated by fire, perhaps precisely because of its power to do both
good and harm. When she’s younger, that fascination edges towards a
worrying pyromania. By the time she’s older, though, Jeannette can
appreciate the complexity of fire on a more intellectual level. As Dad
tells her, the place at which fire melts into air is the unknown border
between order and turbulence. Fire, then, stands for uncertainty as
Jeannette can never fully know whether her wild childhood and
dysfunctional family has done more good than harm.
o The Joshua Tree: Jeannette’s mother is enthralled by the Joshua tree
she sees in the desert, which has grown in the direction of the wind
rather than standing up straight. The Joshua tree symbolizes the
strength and beauty that can arise from dysfunction. As Mom tells
Jeannette, the tree’s struggle is what gives the tree its beauty. This
symbol can be applied to Jeannette’s need to overcome incredible
difficulties in the process of growing up. It suggests that Jeannette’s
childhood was not in vain, and that she would not be the person she is
today without these struggles. However, the Joshua tree also reminds
us how different people can see the same image or event in very
different ways: for Jeannette, who as a child does not see the need for
such struggles, the tree is ugly rather than beautiful.
o Stars: Stars symbolize Jeanette’s favorite memory of her father, one
Christmas, while living in the dessert, they had no gifts and no money
to give to their children. To lift their spirit up, Rex took each one of
his children out to watch the stars and told them they could pick any
star they wanted for Christmas. Jeanette picked her favorite planet
Venus and although it was not a star, Rex "gave" it to her. Despite
being pour and struggling financially, her father showed his love and
wanted to make them happy. Rex's gift to Jeanette symbolizes how
you don't need materialistic objects to be happy. Rex explains that a
toy will last a few months or a year at most before it gets broken or
forgotten, whereas a star will be there forever and symbolizes that he
will always love his children. Additionally, the stars represent the
values of the family - Material things don’t matter; what matters is the
beauty of nature and the kindness between individuals.
 o Geode: Jeannette’s rock and only item she saved when moving to
Welch. As her only personal possession, it demonstrates the lack of
concern for materiality that the children are raised with; it may also be
seen to symbolize the family’s poverty. When Jeannette left Welch,
she decided to leave her past behind and it is of note that she gave the
Geode to Maureen. This meant her past remained there and was not
wholly discarded. In other words, the geode symbolizes Jeannette’s
past.
o The House in Welch: The family home in Welch was broken down
when the Walls first moved in, but over the years it only disintegrated
further. No repairs were made to it and it crumbled to the point of
being dangerous. Because of this, it may be interpreted as a symbol of
the family in general. This family was dysfunctional since the
beginning and only disintegrates further as the kids grow up, move
out, and try to make something of themselves.
- Try to think of other examples of symbolism within The Glass Castle!
Additional Activities:
- Create your own dream-house blueprint: The blueprints for the glass
castle were sometimes the only thing that got the Walls family through the
hard times in life; it was their dream-house that provided the children with
hope and excitement. Design a set of blueprints for your own dream-house.
What would you put inside? Maybe you would like a pool or a state of the
art work out room! Be creative, it is all up to you!
- Create a roadmap: The Walls lived several places throughout their
childhood. Create a map and draw out a rout of ten places where you would
choose to live if you were constantly bouncing around. Make a list of three
reasons why you would choose each place.
- Create a journal: Imagine that you are a fifth child in the Walls family.
Write a journal from the point of view of another child. Describe the events
that occur, interactions with your siblings and parents, and life in general.
Include a minimum of ten journal entries (1 page each) to document the
whole story. Hint: pick out key events in the story to keep the plot of your
journal moving along. You can also create interactions between parents and
siblings to go above and beyond!
- Write poetry: Write a poem for each part of the story (I-V). The poems
should encompass the emotions demonstrated within the section and may
 narrow in on one or two emotions/events that occur. For example, part I
could focus in on shame, embarrassment, fear, etc.
- Write a persuasive essay: Write a 5 paragraph essay explaining why you
think Rex and Rose Mary Wall were good or bad parents. Use specific
parenting examples from the book to defend your choice. You should have a
direct thesis statement and try to use 5 direct quotes from the book.
- Write a character analysis: Choose a character from The Glass Castle and
analyze them in detail. This analysis should include the character’s role in
the book, personal information, hobbies/interests, personality (at least five
traits with explanations), relationships with other characters, major conflicts,
and overall change throughout the course of the story. Try to use 5 direct
quotes from the book.