KEY FACTS

Title
The Glass Castle

Author
Jeannette Walls

Date Published
2005

Meaning of the Title
It refers to the dream that Dad had once his family is financially solvent - to build a glass home. He designs blueprints and swears that someday he will build the house. Everyone knows it will never happen.

Setting
The Places: Nevada, Arizona, California, West Virginia, and New York. The time: 1957 through 2005

Protagonist
Jeannette Walls

Antagonists
Rex and Rose Mary Walls

Mood
The mood is at times troubling and even quite sad, but for the most part is continuously hopeful and uplifting.

Point of View
The point of view is first person

Tense
The story is told in the past tense as a part of Jeannette's flashback on her life.

Rising Action
The rising action begins with Jeannette seeing her mother searching through a dumpster and then begins a series of flashbacks to being raised by the homeless woman she now sees. It ends with the mental breakdown of her sister and the temporary breakup of her family.

Exposition
The author tells us the story of the Walls family, which is extremely dysfunctional, and yet the members love each other deeply.

Climax
The climax occurs when Maureen is committed to a mental institution and the family blames each other for their failure to help her.

Outcome
Dad dies and for five years the family barely sees each other. Then all but Maureen meet for Thanksgiving with no recriminations

Major Themes
Forgiveness, sometimes the most mature and responsible people in a family are the children, not the parents, fearlessness and loyalty, and lost dreams.