The Glass Castle: Characters and Key Terms

Jeannette

The story's optimistic protagonist. This character is fearless and has unconditional love for her father.

Brian

Rex wonders what he did wrong to make this family member become a member of the gestapo.

Miss Katona

The guidance counselor who encourages Jeannette to go to college in West Virginia.

Jeanette Bivens

The only person, besides Jeannette, who ever had faith in Rex Walls.

Maureen

This character eventually moves to California, becoming estranged from her family.

Robbie

While Rex works to hustle this character out of money, Jeannette is put into a dangerous situation.

Rose Mary

This character values keeping her father's land in the family...apparently over many other things.

Blue goose

The family's beat-up, old car.

Battle Mountain

When living in this city, the Walls family took up residence in the railroad depot.

"Birthday Corner"

The feature that Jeannette adds to The Maroon Wave in order to showcase EVERY student and sell papers.

John Taylor

Jeannette's second husband. They are still married today.

Emerson

The school in Phoenix where Jeannette and Lori are promoted to gifted classes.

The Maroon Wave

Jeannette loved the work at this paper because it gave her a reason to attend high school activities like football games. Before becoming a reporter for this paper, Jeannette never felt right sitting alone at high school events.

Iggy

A tragic end comes to this family pet. He freezes to death.

Skedaddle

Moving in about an hour to avoid consequences and responsiibilities.

Zum Zum

The German restaurant where Lori is first employed in New York City.

Demon hunting

Rex gives Jeannette the knife from this past time when she leaves for New York.

Quixote

The family pet that gets thrown out the window because "cats don't like to travel."

Rex

This character dies after "getting into a bloddy fistfight with Nigerian drug dealers."

Geode

Jeannette eventually gives this possession to Maureen because she doesn't want to take anything from the past when she moves to New York.

The Woods

In this location, Jeannette and Brian test the balance between "turbulence and order" by mixing chemicals to create a fire.

Muskogee

One location where the Walls family car breaks down. Jeannette learns from Rose Mary to "enjoy the comic episodes a little more" when Okies surround the vehicle to laugh at the Walls' misfortune.

Namby pambies

The Walls children prove that they are NOT this term. The idea is reinforced when Jeannette is picked up from the train station, and Evan says, "You West Virginia girls sure are tough."

Snot locker

The mention of this word changes Jeannette's perspective when she falls out of the family car when it goes over some railroad tracks.

Eric

Jeannette says of this character, "He was a good man, but not the right one for me."

Mrs. Sanders

The character who offers Jeannette a summer babysitting job. Jeannette sacrifices for Lori, giving her the job instead.

Lori

This character is the first to move to New York. She pursues her dream of being an artist.

Loose-juice room

The kitchen in the house on Little Hobart Street.

Uncle Stanley

Rex's brother

Billy Deel

According to Rose Mary, this boy has not had all of the "advantages" that the Walls children have had; as a result, he turned out to be a juvenile delinquent.

Shakespeare

Lori creates a bust of this character for a scholarship. Rex ruins it, which breaks Lori's spirit.

Green Lantern

Jeannette and Brian are very curious about this place at first. Brian later discovers what REALLY takes place in this house of ill-repute (prostitution), but Jeannette never really finds out.

Becker's Jewel Box

The location of Jeannette's first real job.

LBJ Apartments

One of the benefits of living in this place was learning a second language. All of the neighbors spoke Spanish.

Mike Armstrong

This character is Jeannette's boss at The Phoenix and changes her mind about going to college.

Ginger

A prostitute who tries to befriend Brian at the Green Lantern.

The Prospector

Rex abandons the idea of this invention after they move to West Virginia, where there is no gold to be had.

Bob Fink/ Ken Gross

Two directors from New York who encourage Lori to move to the big city if she's serious about becoming an artist.

Grandma Smith

This woman was an inspiration to Jeannette. Jeannette loved the rules and order in her household, not to mention the haircuts and cream of wheat.

Ginnie Sue Pastor

Kathy's mom. Jeannette learns about personal sacrifice and what it sometimes takes to put food on the table from this character.

Elvis

Rex won this with an excellent hand and an even better bluff in a poker game.

Ernie Goad

This character calls the Walls family "garbage." The Walls children seek revenge in the form of a homemade catapult.

Tinkerbell

This poor girl gets left behind when the family does their first skedaddle. Her face was melted off by Jeannette.

Juju

The family's dog who is bitten by a rattlesnake.

The Phoenix

Jeannette gets a job at this newspaper working 90-hour weeks.

Chuck Yeager

Rex is more excited than Jeannette when this "hometown hero" vistits Welch.

Erma

The most likely source of Rex's problems. This character was unloving, abusive, and never left her house.

Dinitia Hewitt

This character eventually "loses her spark." She's sent to jail for stabbing her mom's boyfriend.

Lucy Jo Rose

The miserable woman who picks Rose Mary up for work in Welch.

Oz

The piggy bank where Brian, Jeannette and Lori deposit their earnings in an effort to get Lori to NYC.