White Oleander

When Astrid is first separated from her mother, she is 12 years old. Over the next few years, she goes through many experiences which, through her narration, are told from the naïve perspective of someone who is still a child but thinks she is a woman. This question may also connect to the novel’s theme, What It Means to Be a Woman. What are these experiences, and how does Astrid’s retelling of them indicate her unreliability as a narrator?

Astrid goes from being a 12-year-old child to a woman by the novel’s conclusion. What experiences along the way force Astrid to mature faster than she perhaps should have? How does Astrid view a woman's role, and what traits does she feel a woman should possess? How do Astrid’s views of womanhood change as she grows up and through the people she interacts with and the separation from her mother? Consider the theme, What It Means to Be a Woman.

Astrid goes through countless traumatic experiences, first with her own mother and then in a series of dysfunctional foster homes. All the while, she is abused and treated like a commodity by the adults who are supposed to take care of her. How does Astrid’s story act as a commentary on the American foster care system, and on the dysfunction of adults in general?

Astrid is keenly observant of the world around her, describing in vivid detail the smells, sounds, people, and images she experiences daily. Astrid reflects this talent in her drawing abilities. What patterns of symbolism underlie Astrid’s pedantic observations, and how do these symbols help to characterize Astrid and the other major characters?

Over the course of her teenage life, Astrid is exposed to all different types of adults, each of whom have unique flaws that alter Astrid’s worldview and change her as a person, directly or indirectly. What kind of person is Astrid when the story begins and she is still living with her mother? How does she change throughout the novel, and how does she represent what she has learned when it concludes?

Astrid has never experienced a real family or real home. As a child, she moved from place to place with her mother, who told Astrid that home was only with her. As a teenager, she shifts from foster home to foster home, never being considered part of the family or permanent. What is the novel saying about the significance of home in a child’s life? How does Astrid learn to cope without a home, and how does she come to view the concept of home by the time she reaches adulthood? Incorporate the novel’s theme, The Meaning of Home.

Astrid eventually severs the connection with her mother completely, feeling like her mother never loved her, was trying to manipulate her, and left her to fend for herself in silence. How does Astrid’s relationship with her mother change throughout the novel as Astrid grows up? Consider the novel’s theme, The Delicate Balance of Mother-Daughter Relationships.

White Oleander tells the stories of major and minor characters who intersect with the protagonist as she goes through the formative years of her life. Each of these characters has their own problems, past, and ways of coping with the challenges of living. How do Astrid’s experiences, Ingrid’s imprisonment, and the addition of minor characters’ struggles illuminate The Capacity for Human Suffering?