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Essay / The Character Building of The Summer of My German Soldier
The Summer of My German Soldier is set in Jenkinsville, Arkansas, during World War II. The story is told in the first person point of view. The atmosphere of the story is depressing. The main character is Patty Bergen. She is a twelve-year-old girl, intelligent and questioning. Patty always makes fun of being so skinny. His mother criticizes his brown hair and his boyish appearance. Patty loves attention and loves to talk. Patty often lies just to get noticed. Patty's father, Harry Bergen, is a harsh man who has no sense of humor. He beats Patty and verbally abuses her. However, Mr. Bergen is respected by many people in town. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Ruth Hughs is Patty's black nanny. Ruth cares about Patty and is kind to everyone. Ruth is Bergen's cook, housekeeper and babysitter. She is very religious and one of Patty's few friends. Charlene Madlee is a journalist who befriends Patty. Charlene teaches Patty all the basic journalism skills and also supports Patty when no one else does. Anton Reiker was a prisoner of war. After escaping from the POW camp, he hides in the room above Patty's garage. Patty feeds and clothes Anton. Anton is kind and generous to others, but more than anything, he wants to protect Patty. He is one of Patty's only supporters. Pearl Bergen is Patty's mother. She is nervous and quick to judge people, but especially Patty. She is rude and does not protect Patty from her father when he decides to beat her. FBI agent Pierce is the man who comes to question Patty before and after Anton's death. He is a harsh man and rude to Patty during interrogation. There are many conflicts in the novel. One of the main conflicts is between Patty and her father; (and Patty against her company). They fight constantly. When her father gets really angry, he decides to beat her. He constantly criticizes her and tells her she's worthless. Patty's company isn't very caring either. The townspeople are not nice to Patty. Patty and her mother are always arguing about what they should wear and what suits Patty. Patty doesn't like to dress and shower often like her sister does. Her mother is very particular about this. Patty has an internal conflict with herself and her love for Anton, she is not sure if he loves her the way she loves him. The turning point of Summer of My German Soldier begins when Patty's father and FBI agent Pierce came to question Patty about Anton's love. shirt. The FBI agent begins by questioning Patty about Anton. He then pulls out a shirt with Patty's father's initials on it. Patty says she's never seen the shirt before. She looks over the shirt and notices a hole with bloodstains around it. Agent Pierce informs Patty that Anton was killed. “You killed him!” » Patty shouts. She jumps and claws his face, making him bleed. The falling action begins when Patty is sent to Memphis to live with her grandparents while awaiting trial. The falling action ends when Patty is put on trial. The climax is the end of the trial. Patty is sentenced to attend a girls' reformatory in Bolton, Arkansas. Mr. Grimes, Patty's escort for the trip, has picked her up in Memphis and they begin their journey to Bolton. The ending is when Ruth comes to visit Patty at the reformatory. Ruth leaves Patty with a word of hope, saying, "You have love to give Honeybabe, there's nothing better than that." » The theme of Summer of My German Soldier.