Rules of the Road

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. Gladstone’s shoe store (Chapter 1)

2. Murray Castlebaum (Chapter 1)

3. Her father, Jim (Chapter 1)

4. She is an Emergency Room (ER) Nurse. (Chapter 2)

Short Answer

1. Jenna is a quick learner and becomes good at selling shoes through Murray, her boss, who teaches her about customer service and quality. Jenna communicates well with customers and knows how to make each one feel special. She is also skilled at working with fussy children in the store. For example, she can calm children by having a “breath-holding contest.” (Chapter 1)

2. Jenna is estranged from her father. She is embarrassed and ashamed of his intoxicated behavior. Aside from his alcohol addiction, Jenna is resentful of her father’s failure to answer her letters and keep his promises to her. (Chapter 1)

3. Jenna does not yet feel confident in her driving abilities. She only recently received her driver’s license and feels panicked when Mrs. Gladstone asks her to drive her Cadillac. She tries to explain to Mrs. Gladstone that she has only driven her own Honda. (Various chapters)

Chapters 4-6

Reading Check

1. Her driver (Chapter 4)

2. Her son, Elden (Chapter 4)

3. As a “Hansel and Gretel-eating witch” (Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. Jenna makes several mistakes while she is driving Mrs. Gladstone. A mobile library almost hits her, and she runs out of gas before reaching the gas station. Mrs. Gladstone yells at Jenna several times during her drive. (Chapter 4)

2. Jenna says it appeals to her to drive Mrs. Gladstone and herself “away from everything.” Jenna feels this way because she has a lot of personal responsibility taking care of her father and her sister. She would like to escape her complicated home life. (Various chapters)

3. Initially, Jenna’s mother believes that Jenna is too inexperienced to drive Mrs. Gladstone. Still, when Jenna’s father continuously calls, she expresses her need to leave the house to escape him. Her mother consents after her father’s continued harassment. (Chapter 5)

4. Jenna’s grandmother has Alzheimer’s disease. Jenna likely uses the scrapbook to refresh her grandmother’s memory of her family and life story. She uses the memory board as a reminder for upcoming events and things she wishes her grandmother to remember. For example, she writes a message on the memory board that tells her grandmother when she will return. These items likely help Jenna’s grandmother cope with memory loss. (Chapter 6)

Chapters 7-11

Reading Check

1. Her son (Chapter 7)

2. Stocks (Chapter 8)

3. Her hip (Chapter 10)

4. St. Louis (Chapter 11)

Short Answer

1. Jenna believes the store is poorly managed. Miles Wurlitzer, the manager, attempts to clean the store when Mrs. Gladstone enters. The shoe salesperson permits a customer to leave the store unhappy and ignores Jenna because she is young. When he does address Jenna, he answers her questions about shoes poorly and tells her that tight shoes will break in, which Jenna knows is incorrect. (Chapter 7)

2. Mrs. Gladstone informs Jenna that she does not wish to retire, but her son, Elden, is forcing her into retirement. Mrs. Gladstone believes her company’s quality is slipping because Elden is only interested in making money. He fires managers who refuse to offer shoddy material and cancels rigorous training courses for employees. (Chapter 8)

3. Mrs. Gladstone’s company encourages quality and good customer service. The Shoe Warehouse, in contrast, is a company that does not have good customer service, has misleading labeling, and has a disheveled environment. The sales associate does not properly fit the customer for shoes and refuses to honor the customer’s coupon until Jenna intervenes. (Chapter 9)

Chapters 12-16

Reading Check

1. Jenna (Chapter 12)

2. Alcoholics Anonymous (Chapter 13)

3. Traveling car salesperson (Chapter 14)

Short Answer

1. Alice advises Jenna to wear green and add bangs to her hair. This advice makes Jenna feel unattractive and self-conscious, yet Alice is probably only trying to help Jenna feel better. (Chapter 13)

2. Mrs. Gladstone is passionate about her shoe sales. The managers she visits grant her love and appreciation for her philosophy of providing quality products, which lifts her mood. Her passion is evident when she meets Bob, a manager who offers low quality at high prices, and shames him for his immoral business practices. (Chapter 15)

3. Elden attempts to convince stockholders to sell Gladstone’s to Shoe Warehouse without his mother’s consent. Elden disrespects his mother, acting as though he is frustrated rather than sympathetic when he sees her in a wheelchair, tells her that decent shoes sell well enough, and calls Jenna names referring to her physique. Elden’s actions indicate that he is motivated by greed, and his interactions indicate he is selfish and unkind. (Various chapters)

Chapters 17-23

Reading Check

1. Harry Bender (Chapter 17)

2. Dance (Chapter 20)

3. Gladstone stock (Chapter 21)

4. Harry Bender (Chapter 22)

Short Answer

1. Jenna realizes that her relationship with her father is unhealthy through coaching from Harry Bender. Harry convinces Jenna she should look out for her well-being. When Jenna receives a letter from her mother detailing her father’s constant calling, Jenna visualizes herself refusing to answer the phone and lying for her father when she was younger. She finishes describing this action by saying, “Not this time, Daddy,” to indicate that her perspective has shifted. (Various chapters)

2. Jenna learns that Ken is a hard worker and generally a good character. Although he has the drive to make money, she respects that he came from a low-income family and built his business doing paper routes and lawn-mowing jobs. (Chapter 19)

3. At the funeral, Jenna describes Harry’s influence on her and how he inspired her “not to be afraid of the darkness.” When she says this, she refers to her father and Elden. Earlier in the novel, Harry encourages Jenna to discuss the difficulty her father’s alcohol addiction places on the family. She applies that same principle to Mrs. Gladstone when she encourages her to speak the truth about the situation with Elden and her company. (Various chapters)

Chapters 24-28

Reading Check

1. A plane ticket to Chicago (Chapter 24)

2. Drunk driving (Chapter 26)

3. Takes her on a picnic (Chapter 27)

Short Answer

1. Mrs. Gladstone states that her late husband said, “If the time ever comes when you can no longer look the customer in the eye, then it is time to get out of the business.” Mrs. Gladstone believes that the time for her to do this is now, given Elden’s preference for profit over quality. Mrs. Gladstone witnesses the poor conditions of her buildings, including mismanagement, inadequate quality, and poor customer service. (Various chapters)

2. Faith begins to realize the emotional pressure Jenna experiences by fielding the phone calls their father makes. She tells Jenna she never knew how much Jenna protected her from their father. (Chapter 26)

3. Jenna uses the strategy Harry suggested to her earlier in the novel. She confronts him about his alcohol use, refuses to participate in his misbelief that he has it under control, and informs him that she and Faith will no longer speak to him until the problem is resolved. (Chapter 28)