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An Analysis Of Bette Greene's The Summer Of My German Soldier

Decent Essays

An action, a statement, one instant, has the power to alter your life and for young Patricia Bergen in the young adult fiction novel, The Summer of my German Soldier by Bette Greene, many different conflicts she had to face caused her to think very poorly of herself. Fortunately, with the influence of one German soldier her whole mindset was revised. In the beginning of the novel , Patty Bergen portrays as an insecure, desperate, and a solitary young girl, but at the resolution of the story we see Patty as a confident, mature, and hopeful young woman who dreams of life away from the hardships she faced.

When Patty Bergen is first introduced, we get an impression of Patty’s life at home and her parent’s behavior towards her. Patty’s father physically abuses her for misbehaving yet he beats Patty mercilessly for foolish reasons in particular Mr. Bergen on page 106 and 107, “ God damn you! He shouted at me. You’ll obey me if it kills you!”. In this quote, the harsh treatment Patty had to experienced is displayed, the reader can notice that at the point, the quote occurs, Henry Bergen assaults his daughter for a very foolish reason, explaining the reason why Patty is very unaccompanied and how she is very determined to be adored by her parents. Not only is Patty physically abused, but her mother verbally abuses her with insults and comments that cause Patty to think she needs to revise her appearance. Mrs. Bergen’s actions are demonstrated when Patty enters their general

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