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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Part 2, how old is Jeannette when she gets injured?

2. How does Jeannette explain her accident to the doctors and nurses at the hospital?

3. How does Rose Mary try to keep Rex from spending the family's money?

4. Why won't Rose Mary talk about her homelessness?

5. What is Rose Mary doing when Jeannette first sees her at the beginning of the book?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are Rex's feelings about how the family finances should be handled? How does he manage money?

2. How does Jeannette's adult life differ from her mother's?

3. "The Glass Castle" is the author's story of the unusual, and some would say tragic, circumstances of her childhood. What is the author's tone as she tells her story? How does this reflect who she is as a person?

4. What are some of the unorthodox ways that the Walls parents get money and items for the house?

5. What event happened the day that Rose Mary and Rex met, that Rex says caused him to fall in love with her?

6. Why does the Walls family frequently pack up and move in the middle of the night?

7. How is the accident when Jeannette gets burned symbolic of her childhood as a whole?

8. The author tells her story in a very straightforward manner. What does her style of writing say about her personality?

9. How was Jeannette's childhood atypical?

10. How do Lori and Jeannette help take responsibility for the new baby, Maureen, on the trip to their new home in Part 2?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Money is not important to Rose Mary and Rex Walls, which is demonstrated throughout the book. Although it may sometimes appear that the couple's actions are somewhat amoral or selfish, they are actually living according to their own set of moral values that do not agree with those of society. What are the values of Rose Mary and Rex and how do they demonstrate them to both their children and the world? What is it that really matters to Rex and Rose Mary?

Essay Topic 2

The author's views of what is important and what will bring her happiness change throughout the book. Discuss how her ideas of a good life evolve from childhood into adulthood. Consider:

1) What things does Jeannette hope for as a child?

2) What is her life like as an adult, and is she happy?

3) Do Jeannette's values change throughout her life, or is she essentially the same person?

4) What does Jeannette ultimately decide that she has been looking for, and where does she find it?

Essay Topic 3

In many ways, the author looks up to her father even as he makes poor decisions that affect the family negatively.

1) Discuss the author's conflicting view of her father as protector/provider and an alcoholic.

2) How does the author want the world to see or understand her father? What does she tell other people about him?

3) Do you think that she idealizes her father or that she is simply being fair in looking at the whole person, rather than the poor decisions that he makes?

Use specific examples from the book to illustrate your points.

(see the answer keys)

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