Glass Castle

what happens when dad comes home?

3 days later dad comes home drunk, smashes china cabinet, mom pulls a knife on him, they wrestle, dad disarms her and pins her down, they start laughing and hugging

what is the green lantern?

a "cathouse", brian (age 6) talks to woman outside often and tells jeanette that she is nice, the women wave to kids when they walk by

what do jeanette and brian find?

a diamond ring, they take it to mom hoping that she will sell it for food/home repairs, she wants to keep it bc dad pawned her wedding ring

what does dad come home with one day in the winter?

a golden cadillac, jeanette wonders why he didn't spend the money on food or clothes, fam uses cars at craft fairs, mom sells paintings, jeanette feels proud riding in the car

how is mom's new teaching job?

a lot like the last one, she is still bad a writing lesson plans and disciplining kids, kids have to drag her out of bed to go to work once a week

who shows up at the walls' house and what happens?

a man from child welfare comes when jeanette is home alone and asks her questions about her family, she tells him her mom is a teacher and her dad is an entrepreneur, he says he will be back to speak with her family

where do mom and dad live?

a month later they live in a squat

where do they go after midland?

a new town called blythe

how do jeanette and maureen get fed?

a nice teacher at school buys lunch for jeanette, maureen has friends whose families feed her

what does dad give jeanette for christmas?

a star, but she picks venus

order of places the walls lived

arizona (trailer) to vegas to san francisco to midland to blythe to battle mountain to phoenix to welch to new york

where does jeanette decide to go to college?

barnard (columbia's sister school), maureen moves in

where does the family go after blythe?

battle mountain

why does the family never stay with grandma smith for long?

because she always gets into fights with dad and they have to leave

why is jeanette worried about maureen?

because she has been hanging out at churches where they speak in tongues (pentecostals)

who takes a liking to 8 year old jeanette?

billy deel

what incident causes the family to leave battle mountain?

billy deel shoots a hole through their window with a BB gun, lori gets dad's gun and fires it at him, cops come and dad decides that they have to leave

who comes to live with lori and jeanette?

brian

where does the family move after living with erma?

broken home without plumbing, 93 Little Hobart Street, worst house they've had, no bathroom, wires in the kitchen electrocute people, ceiling leaks

how do jeanette and brian get spare change?

collecting cans and bottles to recycle

what happens when the family leaves the desert?

dad chucks their cat quixote out the window and when jeanette starts crying, her mom tells her not to be so sentimental

what happens with mom's sugar obsession?

dad disappears a lot, without money jeanette has to scavenge for food, whole family seems to be wasting away except mom, who they find eating a hershey's chocolate bar under her bed, kids are mad and brian eats the rest of the chocolate, she says she is a sugar addict just like dad is an alcoholic

how does the family get by in battle mountain?

dad gets a job as an electrician, family sometimes eats at Owl Club, but mostly they just buy a lot of beans to last them a month, they read in their free time

what is the story of how mom and dad met?

dad met mom when he was in the air force and mom was in USO, they were cliff diving and dad told her he would marry here and they got married

what happens at the phoenix zoo?

dad takes kids to zoo and criticizes people who keep animals in cages, dad climbs into the cheetah pen and brings kids with him, jeanette pets it, bystanders freak out and security makes them leave

what happens with the swimming incident?

dad throws jeanette into a hot spring to teach her how to swim, she keeps sinking but he keeps throwing her, she eventually learns how to swim

where do they take a detour and how long does it take to get to welch?

detour at the alama, month of traveling, they arrive at the home of Erma

what happens when mom and dad leave erma's?

erma becomes grouchier, erma molests brian when she is suppose to be sewing his pants, jeanette catches her and yells at her, erma tries to slap jeanette but lori stops her, erma slaps lori, lori punches erma in the face and she falls to the floor, kids are not allowed upstairs anymore (use a storm door to get in and out of basement)

why can't dinitia come over to erma's?

erma doesn't like black people, so they go to dinitia's house and do homework together

what is the kid's first encounter of the home in welch like?

erma says they cannot call her grandma, she lives with her husband (he's fine with being called grandpa), and uncle stanley (dad's brother)

who is brian & jeanette's new enemy?

ernie goad, he teases them and says that they live in garbage, he goes too far and throws rocks through the few windows that their fam has

how does jeanette cool off in the summer?

ernie is always taunting her at the pool, dinitia offers to take her in the morning when all the black people swim bc she says they wont care, everyone is nice to jeanette and she enjoys her time and feels really clean after

what happens with the kerosene mishap?

fam often burns wood to make heat but wood is wet and difficult to light in the winter, they douse it with kerosene to get the fire going, lori gets minor burns because of the kerosene (dad told them to be careful)

what does dad do with oz?

finds it and takes all the money, lori breaks down and is afraid she will never get out of welch

why do jeanette and brian dig a big hole at their new house?

for a foundation where dad says he will build a real house there

what is jeanette's 10th birthday wish?

for dad to stop drinking, he does, goes through major withdrawals and ties himself to the bed for days

what does mr. becker accuse jeanette of?

he accuses her of stealing every time she leaves, so she decides to steal a watch and gets away with it, ends up returning it bc she can't ever wear a stolen watch

what does billy deel do to jeanette?

he does not leave her alone, she wants to be friends not his gf, he gives her a ring and kisses her forcefully, tells everyone that he raped her (jeanette doesn't know what that means, but she looks it up), jeanette gives ring back to him

what happens to dad?

he gets tuberculosis and jeanette worries he might not pull through, but he gets out of the hospital six weeks later

what happens with dad's job?

he had it for 6 months but then lost it, the family now has to scavenge for food (margarine and sugar)

what happens to juju, the family dog in midland?

he is bitten by a snake and dies

what is dad's reaction to what happened?

he is furious, the kids wonder if erma did that to him when he was little

what happens to dad's phoenix job?

he loses it once again

what will dad do with the money from the prospector?

he plans to build a fancy house for the family with all natural energy and water purification ("glass castle")

how does dad blame mom for the money supply decreasing?

he says she spends too much on art supplies

what happens when dad takes jeanette to a bar?

he sends her into a room of drunk men after he wins money off them in a pool game, one of the men forces himself on her but backs off when he sees her burn scars, jeanette is mad at dad but he tells her he knew she could handle herself

what happens as jeanette is leaving the hospital?

her dad grabs her and runs out of the hospital without paying the bill

who does jeanette see searching through a dumpster on the way to a party?

her mom

how bad is the winter in welch?

it came hard that year, the family does not have heat, terribly cold, kids collect coal from the streets but it is never enough to get good heat

what happens with the chemical explosion caused by jeanette and brian?

jeanette and brian make a lab in a shack in the woods and mix chemicals, causes an explosion, luckily dad was walking by and rescues them

how does jeanette stand up to erma?

jeanette doesn't like how erma talks bad about black people so jeanette defends her friend at dinner, erma sends her "worthless ass" to the basement without dinner

what news does jeanette find out about her dad?

jeanette gets a call from dad bc he wants to see her (asks her to bring vodka), says he is dying of a "rare tropical disease" but she knows he is lying, they have a bittersweet conversation, jeanette says goodbye, 2 weeks later he dies of a heart attack

what happens when homeless people are brought up in jeanette's school?

jeanette gets into arguments with classmates & teachers about homeless people, she never admits her own parents are homeless

what happens when jeanette goes to their apartment?

jeanette goes to bathe there sometimes but stanley touches her thigh and unzips his pants, jeanette tells her mom that he groped her but her mom just feels bad for him bc he must be so lonely, jeanette starts to bathe at home in a metal tub

what happens to dad's arm?

jeanette hasn't seen him much lately, one night he comes home with a big bloody gash in his arm and makes her sew it up, she hesitates but does it anyway, he tells her he is proud of her, he disappears the next night

how do jeanette and dinitia become friends?

jeanette helps a little boy find his way home & escape a dog, the boy lives in dinitia's neighborhood, who becomes friends with jeanette after seeing her help her neighbor

what happens to the family's SRO?

jeanette likes lighting stuff on fire and flushing it down the toilet, one night the building catches on fire and they have to evactuate

why can't the family stay with grandma smith (mom's mom)?

jeanette really wants to stay with her, mom says no because she is dead, mom inherited property from her in phoenix and they are going to move there

who does jeanette remarry?

john, they live outside the city and invite all the walls' over for thanksgiving, jeanette shows everyone around

what happens with dinner at kathy pastor's house?

kathy asks jeanette over for dinner, kathy's mom (ginnie sue) is the "town wh0re", jeanette is excited to meet a pr0stitute, jeanette helps ginnie pick a chicken who says that she has never seen someone do it like jeanette before, jeanette learns that wh0ring puts chicken on the table (her fam doesn't have that luxury)

what does jeanette convince lori to do?

kick her parents out, they are now homeless, but mom thinks it is an adventure

what is erma's main rule for the kids?

kids live in the basement, no laughing in the house

how do they get to battle mountain?

kids sit in the back of a U-Haul with their furniture

what happens with lori's shakespeare bust?

lori is close to graduation and sculpts a bust of shakespeare to win a scholarship, dad ruins it

what is the family's reaction to erma's death?

lori says "ding-dong, the witch is dead", dad gets really mad at that comment so he leaves and doesn't come back for 4 days

how is jeanette welcomed to new york?

lori's friend meets her at the station and brings her to the german restaurant where lori waitresses, jeanette gets a job at a burger place and they buy an apartment in the bronx

what kids did mom and dad have?

lori, then jeanette, then brian, mary charlene died of crib death very young

what happens at christmas?

mom and dad give the kids presents they found in the trash, jeanette gives dad warm clothes and he feels like a charity case, mom loves getting presents

what happens in the winter?

mom breaks down crying in front of lori because the winter life is hard, jeanette considers dropping out to help them but lori convinces her not to

what happens to mom and dad in midland?

mom is pregnant (with maureen) and dad lost his mining job

what do mom and dad do when they get to phoenix?

mom is working on her art career, dad gets a job as an electrician, they buy a phone for the family

what happens with mom and dad's fight?

mom jumps out of the car, dad chases her with the car and almost runs her over, mom comes back into the car sobbing, they make up the next day

what happens at dinner?

mom says that she has been a squatter for 15 years but the city has agreed to sell all the squatters in her building the apartments they're in for a dollar each, fam talks about dad and they make a toast to him, mom says life with rex walls was never boring

where does jeanette find dad and what happens?

mom sends jeanette to go find dad and bring him home, she finds him at the Howdy House bar, a bar patron drives her and her drunk dad home, driver asks jeanette what she wants to be when she grows up (vet/geologist), he says that for the daughter of the town drunk, she has big plans, meant it as a compliment, jeanette is offended

how did the parents deal with mary charlene's death?

mom shook it off but dad was never emotionally the same

where do they live after their house burnt down?

on the beach and then in a desert town called Midland where dad gets a mining job and a house from a company

why does brian not want to wave to ginger, the woman outside the green lantern?

one night dad and ginger spent the night together (that's where the money was going), brian was with dad and reading a comic book in the other room of the hotel suite, after they were done dad made brian give ginger his book even though she can't read, brian is upset

where does the family sleep as they leave the desert?

outdoors & Lori thinks that they will live that way forever

what is the piggy bank named?

oz, they put all their money inside it (brian contributes too)

what is tug river?

river that divides welch, has the highest level of fecal bacteria in north america

where do they move after vegas?

san francisco into an SRO in Tenderloin District (single room occupancy)

what does mom do for a job at battle mountain?

she becomes a teacher and teaches lori's class, she is a bad teacher and lets the kids run wild

how does jeanette pursue the school paper?

she becomes editor of the paper and goes to every activity, spends all her time writing and editing articles, interviewed chuck yeager (man who broke sound barrier) when he spoke at her school, he is dad's idol and dad helped jeanette prepare on what to ask

what is jeanette's new outlook on fire?

she becomes fascinated by it and melts her tinker bell doll with a match

what happens to the new money from mom's teaching job?

she buys heaters and a refrigerator, money runs out quick bc dad takes it to bars, family is poor once again

what does everyone else think of jeanette moving to NY?

she decides to move there after her junior year, everyone says its a bad idea, but lori says she can live with her and help her pay rent

what does jeanette do after being whipped by her father?

she decides to save up money so she and lori can move away, buys a piggy bank, 2 filmmakers from NYC go to welch high to show movies, lori and jeanette decide they will go to NYC someday

what happens to jeanette's marriage?

she divorces eric because she didn't belong on park avenue, moves out on her own, goes for long walks at night, sometimes she looks up and sees venus that her dad gave her

how does jeanette's career take off in new york?

she enrolls in a public school that offers internships, internships lead to a job at a small paper called the phoenix

what happens to lori in phoenix?

she gets glasses and is amazed by the fact that she can see for the first time

what happens when jeanette goes to school in welch?

she goes to welch elementary, a tall black girl Dinitia stabs her with a pencil, dinitia and her friends torment jeanette every day

explain the time when jeanette's dress catches on fire.

she is 3 years old and is boiling hotdogs, her dress catches on fire and her mom smothers her with a blanket to put the fire out, she ends up with a big scar

what happens to jeanette on her first day of school in blythe?

she is beat up by 4 mexican girls, jeanette and brian then turn the tables on these girls and jeanette cracks one of the girl's head open with a rock

why is jeanette insecure and what does she do about it?

she is insecure about her overbite and messed up teeth, she makes braces with a coat hanger and rubber bands, dad tells her that she is a genius and that the braces are working

what happens when jeanette goes into 7th grade?

she isn't friends with dinitia anymore, jeanette thinks dinitia is pregnant with her mom's bf's baby, jeanette goes to visit but the mom's bf won't let her see her, jeanette finds out that dinitia was arrested for stabbing him to death

what is jeanette's new job like?

she lies about her age to a local jewelry store owner mr. becker & he hires her, sometimes he touches her inappropriately but she is used to it at this point, she pushes him away and he acts like nothing happened

what does jeanette think of the hospital?

she likes it because she has her own room and the food is better and more plentiful than it is at home

what happens for jeanette after college?

she marries eric, he lives on park avenue and she moves in with him, he has money, mom visits her and says she is disappointed in jeanette for talking to people high up in society

what causes jeanette to almost drop out of school?

she needs $1,000 to finish school and has no way to come up with the money, her dad gives her $950

what is mom's arrival back home like?

she quits her job right away, jeanette in an argument tells her mom that she should start acting like an actual mother, mom tells dad that she said that and he whips jeanette with a belt

why does jeanette decide to get a job?

she receives mom's check for the land in texas, dad takes it and she wants to get a job to have her own money that dad cannot touch

what does mom say to jeanette when they meet at the chinese restaurant?

she says that her values are all messed up and she lives a wasteful life in a fancy apartment, she thinks people should know the truth about her parents even though Jeanette doesn't want to say it

explain jeanette's encounter with a thermostat

she sees one at her friend's house & it can make heat appear out of nowhere, she dreams of having her own

what happened with maureen?

she stabbed mom, she had been living with just the parents and getting even crazier than both of them combined, she is sentenced to the hospital for a year, she moves to california when she gets out of the hospital, jeanette sees her off and appologizes for "everything"

what new hobby does jeanette acquire at school?

she starts working for the maroon wave (school newspaper), loves it and feels at home

how does jeanette convince mom to get a job?

she tells her that their family is in danger of being broken apart, mom paints a picture of a drowning woman and then decides she will get a job

what does jeanette tell mom to do and how does mom respond?

she tells her to leave dad, mom says its against her religion and that she is an excitement addict

how is mom being a hypocrite in this situation?

she tells jeanette to keep her mouth shut, even though she was always taught to stand up for her beliefs

what happens to jeanette's goal of painting the house?

she wants to cheer up the place and paint it yellow, no one helps her, gets about half of the front done when the paint freezes before she can finish

what happens to the family's trip to the grand canyon?

sober dad decides to take them to see it, car breaks down on the way, they begin the 80 mile walk home, old woman offers them a ride, dad doesn't come home that night

what happens to erma's house a few months after her death?

stanley burns it down, him and grandpa move into an apartment

what does dad say about the family when lori leaves?

that it is falling apart

what does jeanette discover about mom's land in texas?

that it is worth $1 million and she tries to convince her mom to sell it but she wouldn't budge

what happens when mom gives birth?

the baby remains unnamed for a few weeks but she is eventually named maureen

where is the first part of the story?

the desert

what does the hole end up being used for?

the family has so much garbage that they use the hole and fill it

what happens when jeanette falls out of the car?

the family is on the road looking for a home when jeanette falls out of the car, her dad keeps driving, her nose is bleeding on the side of the road and there are rocks in her skin, she waits for them for a long time, dad comes and says that she busted her "snot locker" and she laughs

what happens in vegas?

the family lives there until the casinos find out dad is cheating and chases them out of town

what happens in the trip to the laundromat?

the family splurges on a visit to the laundromat and its so warm in there, jeanette wishes she could stay

explain the "rufus" incident

the garbage hole attracts a giant rat, kids name it rufus, jeanette sleeps with a baseball bat to fend off rufus and it crawls onto maureen's sheets at night (she has nightmares for weeks), brian kills it and hangs it upside down outside the house & neighbor shoots it down

what happens to the walls' car on their road trip?

the hood has to be roped down and there are garbage bags over the open windows, they ride through oklahoma like that, mom thinks its funny

what happens in the u-haul?

the kids are supposed to be silent, its dark, when a truck hits a bump the door swings open and brian almost falls out, kids are scared, car honks/flashes at dad, dad pulls over and locks back door and tells kids they're lucky it wasn't a cop or they'd all be in jail

what happens to mom as a teacher?

the principal puts her on a warning, so lori and jeanette step in & help her with lesson plans, mom gets more money from her job, but dad depletes the money supply

what is the machine that dad is trying to create in the desert?

the prospector, he is trying to track gold

what happens with the family's christmas tree?

the salesman pities the family and sells them a tree for a dollar, dad yells blasphemies in xmas mass, goes home and burns down the tree laughing

how does lori get to NYC?

the woman who jeanette babysits for asks jeanette to spend 2 months over the summer w them, jeanette gives the job to lori and tells lady to buy her a ticket to NYC as payment (woman agrees)

how is life in phoenix at the beginning?

their house is nice (but has termites), the kids go to Emerson public school and are given eye exams

why is mom excited to live in welch?

there are no other artists so she will not have any competition

what does jeanette bring with her when she leaves battle mountain?

they are only allowed to bring one thing so jeanette brings a rock

how do brian and jeanette get revenge on ernie?

they build a catapult from a mattress, ropes, and a tree, catapult works and it sends an avalanche of rocks onto ernie and his gang, brian and jeanette do a victory dance

what happens with mom's piano in battle mountain?

they don't have furniture but they buy a piano, mom slams on the accelerator and drags the piano into the house & out, they leave it outside

what happens with mom & dad's big fight?

they fight about how dad isn't bringing in enough money to support the family, mom goes flying out the second-story bc the fight escalates, town is watching and calling them crazy, mom yells that dad is trying to kill her, dad pulls her inside and they make up

where do mom and dad go?

they go back to phoenix to get the rest of their stuff (left some in a ditch) and check on the house, kids wonder if they will ever return

where does the family go after phoenix?

they go to west virginia to live with dad's mom, dad doesn't want to come so mom says they will leave him, mom inherited some land in texas when her mom died and used some of that money to buy a used car, she is a really bad driver, dad makes the last-minute decision to go with his family & takes drivers seat

where do mom and dad move?

they move to NYC, live in a trashy boarding house but they get kicked out and live with lori who cannot stand them

what happens with the perverts in phoenix?

they wander in through the family's unlocked windows and doors, a creepy old man came in and started touching jeanette, brian and jeanette chase the perverts away but their parents still won't lock the doors

where does mom go for 8 weeks?

to take a college course to renew her teaching certificate, she leaves jeanette in charge and gives her $200 to last two months, jeanette wants to prove that its possible to stand up to dad and not give him money, but she ends up giving him $5 then $20

why does mom refuse to say goodbye to jeanette at the bus station?

too sentimental

what does dad do before jeanette leaves?

tries to convince her to stay and says he will start building the glass castle, she tells him he will never build it

what happens when mom's brother dies?

uncle jim dies, mom wants to buy his share of their mom's land, mom asks jeanette for $1 million to buy it, jeanette gets upset because that means the land mom wouldn't sell is worth that much and their family lived in poverty their whole life, jeanette declines moms request for the loan (mom is deeply disappointed)