Vocabulary in The Glass Castle

Moved quickly and lightly in an unsteady, darting way, like a small animal scurrying across a surface.

Extremely thin and weak from lack of food or illness, to the point where bones are visibly prominent.

A person who never drinks alcohol at all, choosing complete abstinence rather than moderation.

Searching the ground in a specific area for valuable minerals, gold, or other natural resources, usually by digging or testing soil samples.

A distinctive desert plant with spiky, twisted branches native to the American Southwest, used here to evoke the harsh, remote landscape of the family's early life.

A state of filthy, degraded, and extremely poor living conditions, often involving dirt, disorder, and neglect.

The lack of basic necessities such as food, warmth, and shelter; a condition of serious hardship caused by poverty.

Able to provide for one's own needs without relying on outside help or resources, a value Rex Walls strongly promoted for his family.

Marked by constant disorder, instability, and unpredictable upheaval, used to describe the chaotic nature of the Walls family's life.

In a state of serious disrepair and decay from age or neglect, typically describing a building that is falling apart.

To search through discarded materials or waste in order to find something useful or edible, done out of necessity rather than choice.

To irritate or anger someone, provoking an emotional reaction, often used in informal or regional American speech.

Informal term for cheap or homemade alcoholic liquor, especially the kind associated with heavy, problematic drinking.

A prolonged period of heavy, uncontrolled drinking, typically lasting several days, used to describe Rex's alcoholic episodes.

Begging for money from strangers in a public place, typically on the street, as a means of survival.

A person who occupies an abandoned or unoccupied building or land without legal permission or paying rent.

A legal claim placed on a property by a creditor, giving them the right to take the property if a debt is not repaid.

A moment of confronting the consequences of past actions or decisions; a settling of accounts, literal or moral.

The gradual breakdown or disintegration of a person's health, character, or way of life, often through addiction or neglect.

To firmly warn or reprimand someone, urging them to correct their behavior, usually in a serious but not harshly punitive tone.

Moving from place to place without a permanent home, used to describe the Walls family's constant relocating across the American Southwest.

Distrustful of people's motives and skeptical that things will improve, often as a result of repeated disappointment or hardship.

To find a way to accept or make sense of two conflicting feelings or facts, such as loving a parent while also acknowledging their failures.

A run-down, overcrowded apartment building in a poor urban area, typically subdivided into many small, cheap units.

Behaving as though one is superior to others, treating them with a patronizing attitude that implies they are less intelligent or capable.