The Glass Castle Section 1 Questions (Pages 3-57)

Walls includes various maxims from her parents throughout the memoir. Identify a maxim in this section.

"Never play the slots. [...] They're for suckers who rely on luck" said by Rex Walls.

What is the Glass Castle?

A dream house made entirely out of glass Dad wants to build in the desert with solar cells and water purification.

What is a biography?

A nonfiction story of a person's life from birth-death or to present day. It is as true as possible and based on factual evidence.

What is an autobiography?

A nonfiction story of a person's life, written by that person from bith-present day of their life.

What is a maxim?

A saying

What is comic relief?

An author's use of humor to give the reader or audience an emotional break from the tension and heavy mood of a serious or tragic plot. This can include humorous characters, clever dialogue, and funny scenes.

What does J say about riding in the back of the U-Haul? What does this proclamation indicate about her?

At first she says it's going to be an adventure. This indicates she's a bit of a daredevil and also optimistic.

In what city did Dad seem to have a stable job?

Battle Mountain

According to Walls, what is her earliest memory?

Being on fire while attempting to cook hotdogs

In what city did the kids go to school?

Blythe

What is Jeanette's younger brother's name?

Brian Walls

How do J and Brian handle the Mexican bullies together?

Brian threatens them with a branch. The bullies are not scared off. Brian fights with the branch while J throws rocks at their heads.

What is the irony behind the Walls parents saying Santa isn't real?

Dad says Santa is not real but then says the FBI is after him instead of the bill collectors

What happens during the drive after Mom and Dad leave the bar?

Dad takes a sharp turn, causing j to tumble out of the car. She stays in the same spot for hours waiting for her family to come back to get her.

What happens in the car that upsets J and what do her parents do to recitify the situation?

Dad throws the cat Quixote out of the car because he didn't like to travel. To recitify the situation, they sang songs and told her Quixote would be happier as a wild cat.

What happens to Brian while J is in the hospital?

He cracked his head open after falling off the couch. Instead of putting Brian in the hospital, he was wearing dirty bandages because the Walls parents did not want 2 kids in the hospital at the same time.

What happens to J's Tinkerbell doll?

Her face melts after J brings a match too close to it.

J comes home from school and calls her encounter with the Mexican girls "a little dustup," which is "the word Dad always used after he'd been in a fight." Based on his interaction, at this point in the memoir, how does J feel about her father's methods?

Her father's methods are all she knows. She thinks everyone fights like her dad does all the time.

Explain what J means when she says, "I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire."

Her life is inconsistent. One little thing could happen and her whole life could be destroyed. Her life is unpredictable and dangerous.

How does Mom and Dad's argument get resolved?

It doesn't. The next day they act as if nothing happened.

Describe the Joshua tree

Its branches twist and turn, moving the way the wind pushed it.

What is the Joshua Tree symbolism for?

Jeanette

What is Jeanette's younger sister's name?

Lilly Ruth Maureen. Lilly after Mom's mom, Ruth after Dad's mom, Maureen after Mom.

What is Jeanette's older sister's name?

Lori Walls

What item does J play with in the Tenderloin District?

Matches

How did Mom react to Mary Charlene's death?

Mom accepted it. What was meant to happen happens.

How does Mom and Dad's fight begin?

Mom says she had Lori for 14 months. Dad says there's no way unless Lori is part elephant. Mom gets mad and says her kids are extraordinary.

Who is Grandma Smith?

Mom's mom

Is J and Brian's plan against the bullies successful?

No; both of them got beat up.

Describe how Mom looks when J spots her on the street

Old, dirty, has rags on her shoulders to keep her warm. She is rummaging through the trash.

What is Jeanette's mom's name?

Rose Mary Walls

What significant event happens to Mom?

She becomes pregnant

What does Mom do in response to Dad's offensive comments?

She gets out of the car and tries to run away.

Explain Mom's philosophy towards art and writing.

She loves art and writing and does all different types of both. She says she does not want to be "pigeonholed"

How would you describe the way Walls organized her memoir?

She pulls pieces from her life here and there. Just enough so the reader can understand the story.

Describe the Owl Club.

The Owl Club claims to be world famous. It had a bar filled with men who all knew and joked with Dad. There were slot machines with flashing bright lights. The waitress was nice.

In what condition is the Prospector on the truck?

The Prospector is securely tied by ropes in the truck so it doesn't move and break.

How does the family prepare to leave?

The family shoves necessities into the car. Whatever can't fit doesn't go.

Why does the Walls family leave Blythe?

The police found the brake lights of the car were not working. If the cops stopped them, they would find out the car wasn't registered, he had no insurance, and the license plate was from another car.

What is an example of comic relief in this section?

The use of the word "snotlocker" by Dad.

What is the irony behind the Walls parents saying the way other families celebrate Christmas isn't normal?

They say how others celebrate Christmas is not normal while their lifestyle is not normal at all.

What inference can be drawn from the reactions of the nurses to J's answer about the hot dog incident?

They think she is abused and/or neglected at home.

What kinds of activities and games do J and her siblings partake in while living in Battle Mountain?

They would jump off the depot's roof, using a blanket as a parachute. They would put a piece of scrap metal at the railroad tracks and wait for the train to come and flatten it. They used a piece of cardboard to go toboganning down the depot's narrow staircase.

What is Grandma Smith's relationship to Dad like?

They're constantly arguing. Grandma Smith thinks Dad is a loser and doesn't understand why Mom married him.

Why does Dad want to go to Las Vegas?

To make money by gambling in casinos

What is juxtaposition?

To place two concepts, characters, ideas, or places near or next to each other so that the reader will compare and contrast them.

Why does dad awaken the family in the middle of the night?

To run away from their current home. They do the skedaddle.

What does it mean to "check out, Rex Walls-style"?

To sprint out of the hospital with Dad without paying any bills.

How do J and her siblings define "lived"?

Unpacking all your things

According to J, what does Dad smell like?

Vitalis, whiskey, and cigarettes. He smells like home.

Based on the descriptions provided in this section, how does Walls look back on her time in Battle Mountain?

Walls enjoyed living in Battle Mountain.

Identify an instance of juxtaposition in this section

When J is dressed elegantly for a party and sees her mom rummaging through the trash.

What are two significant events in the relationship between Mom and Dad?

When the two first met on Canyon Cliff and Mary Charlene's death.

How many places have the Wallses lived based on the children's definition?

11 they could name. After 11, they lost track.

What crisis occurs in the hotel room?

A fire starts

What is the Prospector?

A tool Dad wants to invent to help him find gold.

In what way does Dad's fabrication of "Demon" reflect his parenting style?

Dad believes J about the Demon when Lori said it was her overactive imagination. Dad doesn't make her feel like an idiot and makes them tougher, fearless.

What does Dad do in response to Mom getting out of the car?

Dad chases her with the car and it seems like he's going to run her over and kill her. Dad eventually corners mom and throws her back into the car.

What happens to the piano?

Dad designs a system of ropes and pulleys to get the piano into the house but mom drives the car a little too fast, breaking the door frame of the house.

What inference can be drawn from how Dad packs the Prospector?

Dad has a great care for the Prospector. This same care is not shown for the kids who were sliding around the back and screaming.

How does Dad react when he discovers the back doors of the U-Haul open?

Dad is angry, saying they could've gone to jail after the driver behind them signaled Dad to pull over. J says he is also scared.

This section provides details that characterize dad. What does the reader learn about him?

Dad is very smart, can't keep a job, cares about his children, gets abusive when drunk.

How does Dad feel about the stars?

Dad loves the stars

How did Dad react to Mary Charlene's death?

Dad screamed like a wounded animal when he saw her and still can't talk about her.

Describe Dad's paranoid tendencies

Dad smoked his cigarettes from the wrong end so no one could trace the brand of the cigarettes back to him

Describe Dad's job in Battle Mountain

Dad worked as an electrician in the barite mine. The rent of the house and the cost of food came directly out of his paycheck so he was not spending the money on drinking and such.

Explain the "Ergo Game."

Dad would make 2 statements of a fact and the kids would have to answer a question based on the facts or say "insufficient information to draw a conclusion" and explain why.

What do Dad's plans about the Glass Castle suggest about him?

He wants to provide but he may not have the skill set to. They need money to build the house!

Describe the weather-related oddities of living in the desert as described by J.

Hot in the day. Cold in the night. Dangerous sandstorms and once in a while thunderstorms.

What is a memoir?

Is written by an author about his/her own life telling about a certain period of time or about a certain part of their life. Come from the writer's memory and is understood to be as factual as memory permits.

What is unique about J's choice of star?

It's not a star. It's the planet Venus.

How does J feel about the fire after the hot dog accident?

J is fascinated by fire

Describe the hospital and how J is treated there. How does J feel about the hospital?

J likes the quietness of the hospital and that she has her own room. She also likes the food. She loves the hospital.

How does J feel about the bats in Midland?

J loves them and even wants to keep one as a pet.

When the hospital staff asks why j was cooking hot dogs, what answer does she give and what are their reactions?

J says cooking hotdogs was not hard and describes how she did it. The staff is shocked.

Describe J's experience at school in Blythe.

J was a great reader and her teacher always picked on her when the principal came in. Other students didn't like her because she was tall, pale, skinny, and participated in class a lot.

How does J feel about Mom and Dad's first meeting?

Jeannette thinks it's very romantic how they first met.

How does Mom feel about her meeting with Dad?

Mom says she really had no choice but to marry him because he wouldn't take no for an answer. Plus, Mom also wanted to get freedom from her mom.

How are the Walls children educated?

Mom seems to take care of the ELA, arts, humanities. Dad teaches mathematics and survival skills like shooting a gun or using a bow and arrow.

Why does the Walls family leave Las Vegas?

One of the dealers found out Dad was cheating and put the word out for him.

Characterize Mom using details from J's lunch with her.

Proud, simple, doesn't care what others think.

What is Jeanette's dad's name?

Rex Walls

Why does J drive away in the taxi without acknowledging her mother?

She does not want her mom to call out her name. She does not want people to know she knows the homeless woman. She is embarassed of her mother and ashamed of herself.

What does Mom mean when she says J's values are all confused?

She means that J is too worried about what others think of her.

Why does mom wait several weeks before naming her new daughter?

She wants to study her like a subject she'd painting

What do the Walls children receive from Dad for Christmas?

Stars

What is Mom's philosophy about tending to children's injuries?

Suffering when you're young is good for you because it immunizes your body and soul. Fussing over crying children is only positive reinforcement for negative behavior.

What promise does J make to her new baby sister?

That she'd always take care of her

Out in the desert, J tells Lori, "We could live like this forever," to which Lori replies, "I think we're going to." What could Lori's answer foreshadow?

That they would be moving a lot in the years to come.

What does Mom think of the Joshua tree?

The Joshua tree is beautiful

What does Jeannette think of the Joshua tree?

The Joshua tree is ugly

According to Mom, what makes the Joshua tree extraordinary?

The Joshua tree's struggle

What happens in the U-Haul while Dad is driving?

The back doors of the truck open

J says, "I was torturing the fire, giving it life, and snuffing it out." What occurrence is reminiscient of this same idea?

The cats the family rescued having kittens and then dad taking them to the mine leaving them to die.

Soon after moving to Battle Mountain, what item does Mom decide the house needs?

a piano