Liz

Here are my answers:

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?
• I loved the story of her dad giving them stars for Christmas. At this point, the book is still beginning and the childhood still seems hopeful. They are poor, but there is hope for a better future. I loved how her mom and dad had such a different outlook on things. The star is just one example of that.
• The most shocking scene for me was probably when the grandmother violated Brian. I didn’t see that coming at all, and when Jeannette asked her siblings about her grandmother doing that to their father I think it was a significant moment in her life when her sister replied “You can’t think about things like that, they’ll drive you crazy.” Think about it – when was there another time Jeannette writes about her assumptions? She stopped thinking about things that made her crazy. Anyway, all that time her dad was refusing to move back home, never once did I consider that his parent’s weren’t great people. But when you think that their mom’s mom was a great woman… I guess it makes sense for us to wonder about her dad’s parents. Anyway, that was the most shocking for me.

What kind of man was Rex Walls? What were his strengths and weaknesses, his flaws and contradictions?
• His biggest weakness was his pride. He was too prideful to work for other men, to start from the bottom and work his way up. He was too prideful to admit defeat when he couldn’t provide for his family. I think it was his pride that set the stage for his children’s childhood.
• At the same time, I think his biggest strength what his unconditional love for his children. I was surprised when he didn’t want to protect Jeannette after the bar incident, and I hated the learning-to-swim scene, but in a weird way… the man loved his kids. It’s too bad that love wasn’t enough in this situation, you know?

What kind of woman was Rose Mary Walls? What did you think about her description of herself as an “excitement addict? (p. 93)"
• I think she was selfish and immature (re: the crying fits in FRONT of the children). I have to admit – I admired her for never leaving Rex. Actually, that’s something I have thought about significantly since I finished the book. She never considered the thought of leaving her husband. I know that can be a good and a bad thing, obviously (had she left, her children may have had a better childhood), but I do really admire that she didn’t even consider it. That’s just a rarity these days. Anyway, I still think she was very selfish and it was hard to even sense that she cared about her children. Jeannette didn’t write much about her mom consoling or comforting her and I think that’s a mother’s job.
• I think her “excitement addict” term was a bunch of crap. I still don’t understand why she continued to live homeless after her husband died. I guess she really just never wanted to work. But the excitement thing? Yeah right. I think she was just as miserable as her children, if not more. I think she just tried to remain some-what positive to keep her own sanity and if she told herself she was an excitement addict then her life just made a little bit more sense, and she needed that.

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?
• Oh the change in the tone was huge. It wasn’t until they moved to WVa that I started feeling sad for the kids. The move, losing all of their stuff in the process (except for some reason they ALWAYS had her mother’s paintings – imagine that?), a much worst lack of money, and the environment change was basically THE turn-for-the-worst in Jeannette’s life.

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?
• I think so, actually. Jeannette did a good job of helping us feel the love her dad had for her, and the protectiveness her brother had over his sisters. However, I am not a mom and I had a very good childhood, so maybe I am able to be nonjudgmental because the only thing I know of this terrible childhood is what I have read. I didn’t really feel the cold nights and the empty stomachs and the classmates beating Jeannette up. I don’t even think I can really imagine how all of that really was – on her level at least.
• I know that as an adult and in my past, I have been very judgmental to my own parents. In fact, the older I get and the more I learn about them and who they are and their pasts, I think I judge them more! I am terrible. But my point in saying that is that I still admire Jeannette and how she simply refuses to condemn her parents. I guess they must have done something right when they raised her. ☺