The Glass Castle
In this excerpt, the author's vivid sensory details (e.g., “crackling,” “yellow-white flames,” “smell of burning”) are an example of what literary technique?
Imagery
What does the jacket symbolize in Gary Soto’s story?
A) Freedom and independence
B) Comfort and warmth
C) Embarrassment and social rejection
D) Wealth and success
C
What's the main type of conflict is central to Trevor Noah’s story in “Chameleon”?
Internal conflict (struggle with identity).
Which two statements most accurately explain how a memoir is different from an autobiography?
A) A memoir is structured around reflection and personal insight, while an autobiography is more chronological and fact-based.
B) A memoir includes fictional elements to enhance emotional truth, while autobiographies must stay strictly factual.
C) An autobiography typically covers the author’s entire life span, while a memoir centers on a specific time period, theme, or relationship.
D) Memoirs are usually written by famous people, while autobiographies are written by everyday individuals.
A, C
What does it mean if someone lets out a loud shriek?
They yelled in a high pitch tone.
How does the author’s use of a child’s point of view affect the reader’s understanding of the fire and the hospital stay?
A) It makes the events feel distant and unemotional
B) It adds humor and shows how little the narrator remembers
C) It creates a sense of innocence and shows how normalized chaos was
D) It confuses the reader with childish language
C
What is the main conflict in the story? What type of conflict is this?
The main conflict in "The Jacket" is the struggle between Gary’s desire to fit in and feel confident versus the embarrassment and social rejection caused by the ugly, ill-fitting jacket his mother gives him.
What does the phrase “I was left standing in the middle, totally confused” figuratively suggest about Trevor’s experience in the schoolyard?
It symbolizes Trevor’s feeling of being caught between two worlds—racially and socially divided—and his struggle to find where he belongs.
What are 3 things that a good memoir does?
A good memoir……
Connects to the audience
Is in 1st person point of view
features a hook/lead that grabs the reader’s attention immediately
“shows” doesn’t just “tell” by using descriptive language
Uses dialogue
Expresses the author’s thoughts and feelings
Reveals the importance of the memory to the reader
Describe the symbolic significance of Trevor’s ability to hover between different languages and cultures.How did he hover?
He hung over 2 words - black and white - trying to figure out where he fit.
Which of the following thematic statements is best supported by Jeannette’s observation that the hospital was quiet, clean, and orderly—and that she would’ve been happy staying there forever?
A) Hospitals are dangerous places that isolate people from real life.
B) In a chaotic and unpredictable childhood, moments of structure and safety can feel like sanctuary.
C) Family traditions should always be upheld, even in difficult times.
D) Children often prefer comfort and attention over being with their families.
B
The jacket becomes too small for Soto; what does this symbolize in his life?
It represents how he is changing and outgrowing the difficult, uncomfortable situation (the embarrassment and hardship the jacket caused) and moving toward a new phase in his life.
1. Personal reflection
2. Humor
3. Dialogue
4. Effective hook
Perspective or Point of View is important to memoir; what POV is reflected in the Glass Castle?
First/child-like
Describe a situtiion that might be described as pandemonium.
-circus
-concert
-Black Friday shopping
-People noticing Trevor on the street in South Africa as a colored boy.
What does the scene of Rex Walls “checking out” Jeannette from the hospital reveal about his character?
n the story, Soto describes his arms feeling "like Braille from goose bumps" when he takes off his jacket at lunch. What does this figurative expression most likely mean?
His arms were covered in raised bumps that he could read by touch.
What theme does Trevor Noah develop through his personal stories in “Chameleon”?
The struggle to find identity and a sense of belonging in a divided society.
How does Trevor Noah characterize his mother in his memoir?
Trevor Noah characterizes his mother as strong, resourceful, and fearless.
Give an example of something you would drape?
A jacket on a bed.
A blanket over a chair
A scarf arond your neck.
How does this part of the story show one of the main reasons Jeannette Walls wrote her memoir?
A) It gives facts about hospitals to teach people what care was like in the past.
B) It shows how hospitals can treat poor families unfairly.
C) It helps readers see that Jeannette loved and depended on her parents, even though they sometimes confused her, let her down, and made her grow up fast.
D) It shows that Jeannette had no idea her parents’ choices were affecting her.
C) It helps readers see that Jeannette loved and depended on her parents, even though they sometimes confused her, let her down, and made her grow up fast.
When Soto says the rip in his jacket was like “a cut on my arm,” what is he most likely trying to express?
The rip made him feel vulnerable and emotionally wounded.
Why was Trevor’s experience at Maryvale College described as an ‘oasis,’ and how did this contrast with his experience at H.A. Jack?
Maryvale was an idealized, racially integrated environment sheltered from apartheid realities; H.A. Jack exposed the harsh racial divisions and segregation of South Africa.
Memoirs explore the authors relationship to people, places, object and events, etc. - what relationship is Trevor Noah's memoir chapter, "Chameleon," about?
His relationship with his own identity and communities.
What do hurl, flap and slip on all have in common?
All verbs, actions