Boekverslag: I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
I never promised you a rose garden
Joanne Greenberg
Plot
Deborah is a mentally ill girl. Most of the time she lives in Yr, a world that she has created, and in which she feels safe. After an attempted suicide she goes to a mental hospital. There she is a patient of Dr. Fried. They?ve a lot of conversations to find out what is the cause of her illness. Deborah has a lot of ups and downs in the time that she is in the hospital. After three years she starts to live on her own under supervision. She gets her school diploma but then she panics and goes back to the hospital. There she feels safe and decides to live in the real world and she says goodbye to Yr and its gods.
Summary
The book; I never promised you a rose garden, tells the story of Deborah Blau. She lives together with her mother, Esther Blau, her father Jacob Blau, and her little sister Suzy. The father of Esther is a Latvian emigrant. He used to work very hard for his money when he lived in Latvia. Even now, when he lives in America, he says to his family that they should work very hard. Deborah is his favourite granddaughter. He says to her that she is better than other people.
When she is five years old she gets an operation on her urethra, although she doesn?t want it. Because of that she hates doctors and it causes some kind of trauma.
After a while her little sister was born. Deborah doesn?t get the full attention anymore en she starts to fantasy about how she will throw Suzy out the window. When she is a little older she really does believe she almost throw her little sister out of the window. It gives her a sense of guilt but she doesn?t talk about it with anyone.
Just before the Second World War she suffers from anti-Semitism, because she is Jewish. A lot of people are all of a sudden against her. She starts to create her own world with its own gods, in which she feels safe. She calls it Yr. In the beginning Yr is a safe place to go to when she feels bad but after a while the gods of Yr also tells her that she doesn?t do the right things, and that she is not one of the other people. Then she gets in panic.
When she is sixteen years old she attempted suicide. Esther thinks Deborah needs to go to a mental hospital. Jacob doesn?t agree with it but Esther talks him round. Deborah comes on ward B in the mental hospital. Every day she went to Dr. Fried to talk about her problems. The confrontations with herself after a few meetings with Dr. Fried are very shocking and she gets more and more disturbed and tried to kill herself again. She comes on ward D. This ward is for the most disturbed people in the hospital.
Deborah kind of likes it there. She made friends with the other patients and feels safe. She still goes to Dr. Fried to talk with her. They try to figure out what caused her ?illness?. With these conversations they try to put Yr aside.
?Now that I have the? realness?will I have to give up Yr?all of it?right away?? ?Never pretend to give it up.?(?) ?Don?t let them torture you every time you let some of the world?s good light in you windows.?
After a while Dr. Fried leaves for a few months. Deborah is now a patient of Dr. Royson. The communication between Deborah and her new doctor does not go very well. Because of this and also because of the departure of Dr. Fried, Deborah starts to lose her confidence in people. She burns herself with cigarettes. When Dr. Fried returns, she becomes her patient again.
After three years she may finally live on her own. She finds out that she needs to graduate to become part of the society. She goes back to school and gets her diploma.
Instead of being happy with her diploma she realizes that she will never be the same as other people. She will always be some kind of outsider. Being totally confused, she goes back to the hospital and she comes on ward D again. She feels safe in this environment and she decides that she wants to live in the real world. She turns her back on Yr.
Characters
The main character in the book is Deborah Blau. She lives together with her mother, father and sister. She is a Jewish girl and just before the outbreak of the Second World War she suffers from anti-Semitism. She starts to create a world in which she feels safe, Yr.
In the real world she is a creative and intelligent girl. She really wants to have a couple of good friends, but she loses her confidence in people. This is caused by the anti-Semitism; a lot of friends suddenly were against her because she was Jewish.
After an attempted suicide she is taken to a mental hospital. There she tries to find out together with Dr. Fried what the causes of her illness are and how she can turn her back against Yr. In the beginning she feels uncomfortable when she is with Dr. Fried but after a while Dr. Fried gains her trust. After a lot of ups and downs it goes better with Deborah. She begins to like the world and makes the decision to turn her back on Yr.
Dr. Fried is also an important character in this story. Carla Fried is a Jewish German woman who escaped from Hitler?s Germany. She is a very intelligent and famous doctor. She treats her patients as normal people and not as some mad freaks. In the mental hospital she is the psychiatrist of Deborah. With a lot of devotion and patience she gains Deborah?s confidence and helps her to recover.
The parents of Deborah are Jacob and Esther Blau. Esther is a dominant woman who wants the best for her daughter. She tries to look objectively at the illness of her daughter and decides to put her in a mental hospital. She thinks that is the best for her daughter. Jacob denies the illness of his daughter. He thinks that she will recover when she is at home and that it isn?t necessary to put his daughter in a mental hospital.
Deborah?s friends in the mental hospital all play a part in Deborah?s recovery process. One woman teaches her Latin, Greek and poetry. Deborah really appreciates her. Another girl becomes her best friend in the hospital. She and Deborah understand each other very well.
Theme
The central theme of this book is being different than other people. Because her grandfather tells Deborah that she is better than other people and different she thinks she will never be the same as other people. This thought really scares her. Also an important theme is schizophrenia. Deborah hears voices that aren?t real, like the conversations with the gods of Yr.
Perspective
I never promised you a rose garden is written from the third person-point of view. The narrator is an omniscient person. He lets you see the world through the eyes of Deborah, her parents, Dr. Fried, her little sister and other people. Because of this you can better imagine how people feel and you can identify with them.
Time, place and structure
The story takes place from 1948-1951. Those three years are the years that Deborah spent in the hospital. In the beginning Deborah is sixteen and taken to the mental hospital. At the end of the story she is nineteen.
There are a lot of flashbacks, especially during the conversations with Dr. Fried. So the story isn?t told chronologically.
The story takes place in two different worlds:
- The real world, a mental hospital somewhere in America
- The fantasy of Deborah, Yr.
Symbolism
I think Deborah is a symbol for all the children who are also some kind of outsiders, and what can happen when you talk with nobody about it. And that places where you first feel save (Yr) can have a bad affection at you if you feel lonely or different than other people.
The explanation of the title
The title directs to the words of Dr. Fried during a session with Deborah. She tells Deborah that the life in the real world isn?t perfect. She knows that Deborah is very sensitive for lies so she tells the truth, she doesn?t say that life is all sunshine. Not everybody is nice. Dr. Fried also wants to pretend, that when Deborah takes part in the real world, she will not get in panic when someone isn?t kind to her.
She tells Deborah that if she will live in the real world she must fight for happiness.
?I never promised you a rose garden. I never promised you perfect justice... (?)? and I never promised you peace or happiness. My help is so that you can be free to fight for all of these things. The only reality I offer is challenge, and being well is being free to accept it or not at whatever level you are capable. I never promise lies, and the rose-garden world of perfection is a lie?and a bore, too!?
My own opinion
?I never promised you a rose garden? is a fascinating book. Once there was a program on television about schizophrenia. But it was an objective program with only facts.
Because of the perspective you could imagine how Deborah, a schizophrenic person, felt.
It is a bit difficult to read because sometimes it isn?t clear if she lives in the real world or in Yr.
I recommend this book to everyone who is interested in this kind of books. The language that is used is good to understand.
After this book I will probably read more books like this because they are interesting, fascinating and you can also learn things about, in this case schizophrenia.
What I noticed is that the year of birth of the writer is the same as the year of birth of Deborah. I think that is very funny and I wonder why the writer did this?
Joanne Greenberg
Plot
Deborah is a mentally ill girl. Most of the time she lives in Yr, a world that she has created, and in which she feels safe. After an attempted suicide she goes to a mental hospital. There she is a patient of Dr. Fried. They?ve a lot of conversations to find out what is the cause of her illness. Deborah has a lot of ups and downs in the time that she is in the hospital. After three years she starts to live on her own under supervision. She gets her school diploma but then she panics and goes back to the hospital. There she feels safe and decides to live in the real world and she says goodbye to Yr and its gods.
Summary
The book; I never promised you a rose garden, tells the story of Deborah Blau. She lives together with her mother, Esther Blau, her father Jacob Blau, and her little sister Suzy. The father of Esther is a Latvian emigrant. He used to work very hard for his money when he lived in Latvia. Even now, when he lives in America, he says to his family that they should work very hard. Deborah is his favourite granddaughter. He says to her that she is better than other people.
When she is five years old she gets an operation on her urethra, although she doesn?t want it. Because of that she hates doctors and it causes some kind of trauma.
After a while her little sister was born. Deborah doesn?t get the full attention anymore en she starts to fantasy about how she will throw Suzy out the window. When she is a little older she really does believe she almost throw her little sister out of the window. It gives her a sense of guilt but she doesn?t talk about it with anyone.
Just before the Second World War she suffers from anti-Semitism, because she is Jewish. A lot of people are all of a sudden against her. She starts to create her own world with its own gods, in which she feels safe. She calls it Yr. In the beginning Yr is a safe place to go to when she feels bad but after a while the gods of Yr also tells her that she doesn?t do the right things, and that she is not one of the other people. Then she gets in panic.
When she is sixteen years old she attempted suicide. Esther thinks Deborah needs to go to a mental hospital. Jacob doesn?t agree with it but Esther talks him round. Deborah comes on ward B in the mental hospital. Every day she went to Dr. Fried to talk about her problems. The confrontations with herself after a few meetings with Dr. Fried are very shocking and she gets more and more disturbed and tried to kill herself again. She comes on ward D. This ward is for the most disturbed people in the hospital.
Deborah kind of likes it there. She made friends with the other patients and feels safe. She still goes to Dr. Fried to talk with her. They try to figure out what caused her ?illness?. With these conversations they try to put Yr aside.
?Now that I have the? realness?will I have to give up Yr?all of it?right away?? ?Never pretend to give it up.?(?) ?Don?t let them torture you every time you let some of the world?s good light in you windows.?
After a while Dr. Fried leaves for a few months. Deborah is now a patient of Dr. Royson. The communication between Deborah and her new doctor does not go very well. Because of this and also because of the departure of Dr. Fried, Deborah starts to lose her confidence in people. She burns herself with cigarettes. When Dr. Fried returns, she becomes her patient again.
After three years she may finally live on her own. She finds out that she needs to graduate to become part of the society. She goes back to school and gets her diploma.
Instead of being happy with her diploma she realizes that she will never be the same as other people. She will always be some kind of outsider. Being totally confused, she goes back to the hospital and she comes on ward D again. She feels safe in this environment and she decides that she wants to live in the real world. She turns her back on Yr.
Characters
The main character in the book is Deborah Blau. She lives together with her mother, father and sister. She is a Jewish girl and just before the outbreak of the Second World War she suffers from anti-Semitism. She starts to create a world in which she feels safe, Yr.
In the real world she is a creative and intelligent girl. She really wants to have a couple of good friends, but she loses her confidence in people. This is caused by the anti-Semitism; a lot of friends suddenly were against her because she was Jewish.
After an attempted suicide she is taken to a mental hospital. There she tries to find out together with Dr. Fried what the causes of her illness are and how she can turn her back against Yr. In the beginning she feels uncomfortable when she is with Dr. Fried but after a while Dr. Fried gains her trust. After a lot of ups and downs it goes better with Deborah. She begins to like the world and makes the decision to turn her back on Yr.
Dr. Fried is also an important character in this story. Carla Fried is a Jewish German woman who escaped from Hitler?s Germany. She is a very intelligent and famous doctor. She treats her patients as normal people and not as some mad freaks. In the mental hospital she is the psychiatrist of Deborah. With a lot of devotion and patience she gains Deborah?s confidence and helps her to recover.
The parents of Deborah are Jacob and Esther Blau. Esther is a dominant woman who wants the best for her daughter. She tries to look objectively at the illness of her daughter and decides to put her in a mental hospital. She thinks that is the best for her daughter. Jacob denies the illness of his daughter. He thinks that she will recover when she is at home and that it isn?t necessary to put his daughter in a mental hospital.
Deborah?s friends in the mental hospital all play a part in Deborah?s recovery process. One woman teaches her Latin, Greek and poetry. Deborah really appreciates her. Another girl becomes her best friend in the hospital. She and Deborah understand each other very well.
Theme
The central theme of this book is being different than other people. Because her grandfather tells Deborah that she is better than other people and different she thinks she will never be the same as other people. This thought really scares her. Also an important theme is schizophrenia. Deborah hears voices that aren?t real, like the conversations with the gods of Yr.
Perspective
I never promised you a rose garden is written from the third person-point of view. The narrator is an omniscient person. He lets you see the world through the eyes of Deborah, her parents, Dr. Fried, her little sister and other people. Because of this you can better imagine how people feel and you can identify with them.
Time, place and structure
The story takes place from 1948-1951. Those three years are the years that Deborah spent in the hospital. In the beginning Deborah is sixteen and taken to the mental hospital. At the end of the story she is nineteen.
There are a lot of flashbacks, especially during the conversations with Dr. Fried. So the story isn?t told chronologically.
The story takes place in two different worlds:
- The real world, a mental hospital somewhere in America
- The fantasy of Deborah, Yr.
Symbolism
I think Deborah is a symbol for all the children who are also some kind of outsiders, and what can happen when you talk with nobody about it. And that places where you first feel save (Yr) can have a bad affection at you if you feel lonely or different than other people.
The explanation of the title
The title directs to the words of Dr. Fried during a session with Deborah. She tells Deborah that the life in the real world isn?t perfect. She knows that Deborah is very sensitive for lies so she tells the truth, she doesn?t say that life is all sunshine. Not everybody is nice. Dr. Fried also wants to pretend, that when Deborah takes part in the real world, she will not get in panic when someone isn?t kind to her.
She tells Deborah that if she will live in the real world she must fight for happiness.
?I never promised you a rose garden. I never promised you perfect justice... (?)? and I never promised you peace or happiness. My help is so that you can be free to fight for all of these things. The only reality I offer is challenge, and being well is being free to accept it or not at whatever level you are capable. I never promise lies, and the rose-garden world of perfection is a lie?and a bore, too!?
My own opinion
?I never promised you a rose garden? is a fascinating book. Once there was a program on television about schizophrenia. But it was an objective program with only facts.
Because of the perspective you could imagine how Deborah, a schizophrenic person, felt.
It is a bit difficult to read because sometimes it isn?t clear if she lives in the real world or in Yr.
I recommend this book to everyone who is interested in this kind of books. The language that is used is good to understand.
After this book I will probably read more books like this because they are interesting, fascinating and you can also learn things about, in this case schizophrenia.
What I noticed is that the year of birth of the writer is the same as the year of birth of Deborah. I think that is very funny and I wonder why the writer did this?
Hannah Green (1932), pseudoniem van Joanne Greenberg, is een Amerikaanse schrijfster. Haar bekendste boek is I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1964) (Nederlandse vertaling: Ik heb je nooit een rozentuin beloofd), een semi-autobiografische roman, handelend over een schizofreen meisje. In haar jeugd leed Green zelf aan een psychische stoornis, maar kwam hier overheen. Haar boeken gaan meestal over minderheden, outsiders, mensen die afwijken van wat als normaal wordt beschouwd.
Boek informatie
- I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
- Joanne Greenberg
- Nederlands
Handige opties
- Meer boeken van:Hannah Green