For those of you that haven't or couldn't attend book club lately, we'll be publishing the previous months' discussion questions here. I hope eventually to post discussion questions for all of the books we've covered since I took over a couple of years ago and beyond, all the way to the beginning over a decade and a half ago. We are heading in on the final books of the series. The plan is to have them all up by the end of December. Here are the questions from a 2005 title, The Glass Castle. We hope these questions spark discussions of your own.
The Glass Castle: A Memoir
by Jeannette Walls
Summary:
MORE THAN EIGHT YEARS ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST
The extraordinary, one-of-a-kind, “nothing short of spectacular” (Entertainment Weekly) memoir from one of the world’s most gifted storytellers.
The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette’s brilliant and charismatic father captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn’t want the responsibility of raising a family.
The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.
The Glass Castle is truly astonishing—a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar but loyal family.
The memoir was also made into a major motion picture from Lionsgate in 2017 starring Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, and Naomi Watts. -- Publisher description
Discussion Questions
In a somewhat unusual take on the book discussion, Jeannette Walls and her publisher each have separate discussion questions for you. You can choose which you like more or mix and match. There are plenty to choose from.
Official Questions As Presented On Her Website
Glass Castle Essential Questions:
How does her current economic status compare to her parents?
How does her current economic status affect the view of her parents?
How did her mother’s actions and their financial stability shape her childhood?
How did her mother’s actions influence her in the future?
Name one example of foreshadowing on page 18.
According to Piaget’s development theory, is Jeanette mentally mature enough to take care of a newborn and to make hot dogs at the age of three?
As a teacher, how would you handle the situation of having students that move around a lot and do not have stability in their lives?
According to Erikkson, how will her experiences as a child, such as falling out of the car and her father chasing after her mother with the car, affect her when she is older?
According to Maslow, because Jeannette’s psychological needs have not been met, will she be able to move up in the hierarchy and meet her other needs? Explain.
Jeannette believes that the way she is raised is normal. Do you believe that as children we are raised in bubbles and do not know what is going on around us? How would you safely and effectively integrate these different bubbles?
Jeannette doesn't say very much about her sister, Maureen, but what can we understand from how little she says? What has happened to Maureen at the end of the novel?
What is neglect? Was Jeannette neglected as a child? If she was, how was she neglected? Did the parents neglect their children on purpose? If so, why did Jeannette's parents treat her and her siblings in this way?
Describe the metaphor of the glass castle and what it signifies to Jeannette and her father. Why is it important that, just before she leaves for New York, Jeannette tells her father that she doesn't believe he will ever build it.
What is the overall message of the novel?
Glass Castle Discussion Questions
Does your school have a protocol for homeless students? If so, what is it?
If you were Jeannette, how would you handle instability?
Do you believe that Jeanette's parents truly do love their children, or do they just feel obligated since they brought them into the world?
Do you think John is a better match for Jeannette than Eric was? Explain why.
Do you believe that Jeannette is happy with her life at the end of the novel?
Simon and Schuster's Discussion Questions
Though The Glass Castle is brimming with unforgettable stories, which scenes were the most memorable for you? Which were the most shocking, the most inspiring, the funniest?
Discuss the metaphor of a glass castle and what it signifies to Jeannette and her father. Why is it important that, just before leaving for New York, Jeannette tells her father that she doesn't believe he'll ever build it? (p. 238).
The first story Walls tells of her childhood is that of her burning herself severely at age three, and her father dramatically takes her from the hospital: "You're safe now" (p. 14). Why do you think she opens with that story, and how does it set the stage for the rest of the memoir?
Rex Walls often asked his children, "Have I ever let you down?" Why was this question (and the required "No, Dad" response) so important for him -- and for his kids? On what occasions did he actually come through for them?
Jeannette's mother insists that, no matter what, "life with your father was never boring" (p. 288). What kind of man was Rex Walls? What were his strengths and weaknesses, his flaws and contradictions?
Discuss Rose Mary Walls. What did you think about her description of herself as an "excitement addict"? (p. 93).
Though it portrays an incredibly hardscrabble life, The Glass Castle is never sad or depressing. Discuss the tone of the book, and how do you think that Walls achieved that effect?
Describe Jeannette's relationship to her siblings and discuss the role they played in one another's lives.
In college, Jeannette is singled out by a professor for not understanding the plight of homeless people; instead of defending herself, she keeps quiet. Why do you think she does this?
The two major pieces of the memoir -- one half set in the desert and one half in West Virginia -- feel distinct. What effect did such a big move have on the family -- and on your reading of the story? How would you describe the shift in the book's tone?
Were you surprised to learn that, as adults, Jeannette and her siblings remained close to their parents? Why do you think this is?
What character traits -- both good and bad -- do you think that Jeannette inherited from her parents? And how do you think those traits shaped Jeannette's life?
For many reviewers and readers, the most extraordinary thing about The Glass Castle is that, despite everything, Jeannette Walls refuses to condemn her parents. Were you able to be equally nonjudgmental?
Like Mary Karr's Liars' Club and Rick Bragg's All Over But the Shoutin', Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle tells the story of a wildly original (and wildly dysfunctional) family with humor and compassion. Were their other comparable memoirs that came to mind? What distinguishes this book?
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