The Glass Castle

Talk and Questions with Jeannette Walls @ 2009 National Book Festival

Key Quotes:

1. “You’ve got to get right back in the saddle. You can’t live in fear of something as basic as fire.” (p. 15)

2. “When Dad wasn’t telling us about all the amazing things he had already done, he was telling us about the wondrous things he was going to do. Like build the Glass Castle....All we had to do was find gold, Dad said, and we were on the verge of that. Once he finished the Prospector and we struck it rich, he’d start work on our Glass Castle.” (pg 25)

3. “Mom always said people worried too much about their children. Suffering when you’re young is good for you, she said. It immunized your body and your soul, and that was why she ignored us kids when we cried. Fussing over children who cry only encourages them, she told us. That’s positive reinforcement for negative behavior.” (pg 28)

4. “I’d broken one of our unspoken rules: We were always supposed to pretend our life was one long and incredibly fun adventure.” (pg. 69)

5. “[Mom] had the same philosophy about educating children that she had about rearing them. She thought rules and discipline held people back and felt that the best way to let children fulfill their potential was by providing freedom.” (pg 73)

6. “…I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire. It was the sort of knowledge that kept you

on your toes.” (p. 34)

7. “It’s the Joshua Tree’s struggle that gives it its beauty.” pg 38

8. “Years from now, when all the junk they got is broken and long forgotten,” Dad said, you’ll still have your stars.” (pg 41)

9. “Most pianists never get a chance to play in the great out-of-doors.” (pg 53-54)

10. “Dad told us that zone was known in physics as the boundary between turbulence and order. It’s a place where no rules apply, or at least they haven’t figured them out yet.” (pg 61)

11. “When my daddy passes out, he never pisses himself!” (Billy Deel talking) (pg 83)

12. When Dad went crazy, we all had our own ways of shutting down and closing off, and that was what we did that night. (p.115)

13. “Life is a drama full of tragedy and comedy,” Mom told me. “You should learn to enjoy the comic episodes a little more.” (p. 129).

14. “Everyone has something good about them,” she said. “You have to find the redeeming quality and love the person for that.” (p.144)

15. “We can take care of our own,” Mom and Dad liked to say. “We don’t accept handouts from anyone.” (p. 159)

16. “Just remember,” Mom said after examining the blisters, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

“If that was true, I’d be Hercules by now,” Lori said.” (p. 179).

17. She said that sexual assault was a crime of perception. “If you don’t think you’re hurt, then you aren’t.” (pg 184).

18. “Welfare, she said, would cause irreparable psychological damage to us kids.” (p. 188)

19. ”...I swore to myself that it [my life] would never be like Mom’s, that I would not be crying my eyes out in an unheated shack in some godforsaken holler.” (p. 208).

20. “I wanted to look ahead to where I was going, not back at what I was leaving, but then I turned around anyway. (p. 241)

21. “Being homeless is an adventure.” (p. 255).

22. “I’ve spent my life taking care of other people” Mom said. “Now it’s time to take care of me.” (p. 258).

23. “I wanted the world to know that no one had a perfect life, that even the people who seemed to have it all had their secrets.” (p. 270).

24. “Your father is who he is,” Mom said. “It’s a little late in the game to try and reform him. Humor the man.”

(p. 277).

25. “Life with your father was never boring.” (p. 288).

Discussion Questions:

1. Which scenes were the most memorable for you? Which were the most shocking, the most inspiring, the funniest?

2. 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).

3. 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. He says, "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?

4. 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?

5. 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?

6. Discuss Rose Mary Walls. What did you think about her description of herself as an "excitement addict"? (p. 93).

7. 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?

8. Describe Jeannette's relationship with her siblings and discuss the role they played in one another's lives.

9. 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?

10. 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?

11. Were you surprised to learn that, as adults, Jeannette and her siblings remained close to their parents? Why do you think this is?

12. 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?

13. 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?

14. What did the Walls’ family (individually and collectively) value and how did that affect decisions they made and how they lived?

15. Consider the telling of the memoir and the perspective that Walls uses. How does her WAY of telling affect how we, as readers, respond?

16. There is a great deal of paradox and irony in this memoir. Explore some of these in the memoir.

17. What are some of the lessons this memoir teaches us -- not only about the Walls, but also about people in general and about ourselves?