Analysis of Schizophrenia in Adolescence: I Never Promised You a Rose Garden.

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In the story “I never promised you a Rose Garden” written by Joanne Greenberg, the main character Deborah Blau suffers from a mental illness called schizophrenia at the of age sixteen. “Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe brain disorder that causes certain characteristics, abnormal experiences and behaviors” (National Institutes of Mental Health (2006). In the beginning of the story we learned that Deborah’s mother was very concerned about her after she was hospitalized for slitting her wrists and was not sure what was going on with Deborah, but realized that there was something not quite right about her. Esther and Jacob, Deborah’s parents, decided to take Deborah to a mental hospital for treatment after her failed suicide attempt. A famous therapist (Dr. Clara Fried) agrees to work with Deborah to help her sort out her problems. Deborah spends 3 years of her life in a mental hospital hoping to battle and overcome her mental illness of schizophrenia. Deborah Blau who is very bright and artistically talented has created a make believe world which she calls the Kingdom of Yr, as a form of defense from a confusing and frightening reality. At the age of five Deborah undergoes a surgery to remove a tumor in her urethra, which was causing her to be incontinent. This experience was very traumatic for her as she suffered a great deal of physical pain and shame. During her childhood, Deborah suffers frequent abuse from her anti-Semitic peers and neighbors. This causes a great deal of shame for her and affects the way in how she views herself and herself identity. Deborah grew up at a time when the world was at war and anti-Semitism was just beginning to be formed due to many differences and beliefs of different cultures. She was bullied for being Jewish and was ashamed of her ethnicity. The hatred that was bestowed upon her was more than a young child could

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