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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. Why does Rex tell his family that he has lost his job?

2. Why does Rex say that the family must leave Las Vegas?

3. Why does Brian go to investigate the Green Lantern?

4. Where did Jeannette grow up?

5. What else does Rose Mary tell Jeannette in their meeting that she should do?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does the glass castle represent, not only to Rex, but to the rest of the family as well?

3. Why do you think Rose Mary continues to refuse help from her adult children?

4. What is Rex's reaction to Rose Mary's plan to travel to West Virginia and what happens when the family gets ready to go?

5. What are some examples of the neglect that the children suffer during their time in both Battle Mountain and in Phoenix?

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

7. What is Rose Mary's reply in Part 1 to Jeannette's asking her what she should tell others about her mother?

8. How does the author describe her father in Part 2 of the book?

9. What does the author feel towards her parents in light of the circumstances of her childhood?

10. Why does Rex take the children over the safety fence to touch a cheetah at the zoo?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Jeannette's relationship with her mother is conflicted, yet she still feels a fondness and compassion for her as an adult. Discuss the relationship between these two women by answering the following questions:

1) How would you characterize the relationship between the two?

2) How does each of these women play both an adult and a child's role?

3) How does the relationship between them change over time?

Essay Topic 2

The title of the memoir is significant in its symbolism as something unfinished, or unrealized within the author's family. Discuss the title and its significance, considering the following:

1) How does the glass castle represent the unrealized dreams of the family, or the things that the family may never have?

2) What does the glass castle mean to Rex? How does it represent Rex's unrealized potential?

2) Why do you feel that the author chose this title? How does it relate to the memoir as a whole, and to her feelings about her childhood?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast Grandma Smith and Erma.

1) What, if any, traits or beliefs do the two women share?

2) How are there personalities different and how does this affect Jeannette's relationship with each of them?

3) How do the personalities of each of these grandmothers reflect on the behavior and personalities of their children (Rex and Rose Mary)?

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