White Oleander

Astrid’s relationship with her mother is complex and multi-faceted. How does Astrid truly feel about her mother, and what evidence is given throughout the novel to indicate this? What is Astrid’s conflict in regard to her relationship with her mother, and how does she finally start to resolve it? Consider the theme, The Delicate Balance of Mother-Daughter Relationships.

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,