Deborah and the folks at the mental institution in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden are just like regular folks in a lot of ways. They've got the same hopes and dreams as any of us. The difference is that they've got a few extra obstacles on their way to achieving those dreams. Some feel like they don't even have the right to hope for a better, independent life outside the hospital walls. The word "maybe" becomes dangerous. Tales of other patients who've tried to make it and failed only make things more confusing.
It's a hard knock life, and Deborah's going to be battling for her dreams right up to the novel's conclusion.
Questions About Dreams, Hopes, and Plans
- How does hope both frighten and encourage Deborah and the other D ward patients?
- Explain how Deborah becomes like Doris Rivera. How is hope involved?
- How do Deborah's plans for her own future differ from her parents' plans for her? How does this change over the course of the book?
- How is "the little Maybe" an appropriate phrase to represent hope and the future?
Chew on This
The future can be a frightening and exciting thing to think about—even if you're in a mental institution.
Parents often project their hopes and dreams onto their children, and that can be dangerous.