Anton's Ring As A Symbol Of Their Love
Anton gives Patty a ring that he treasures and that is clearly very valuable as a symbol of their special relationship and burgeoning love and also to symbolize the value he places on her character. It is a symbol that their relationship really happened and that he feels the same way Patty does. After he has left town it symbolizes the secret that Patty keeps close within her that they feel a deep bond and it also symbolizes the hope of seeing him again. When she discovers he has been killed the ring is also a symbol of the veracity of her story of their love for each other should she one day travel to meet his family in Germany.
Patty's Hair As A Symbol Of Her Not Fitting In
Whilst Patty's personality makes her father dislike her, it is her appearance, and lack of concern about it, that infuriates her mother and chief among the annoyances is Patty's hair which is the opposite of the naturally beautiful pageant-ready hair that her sister has. Her hair also symbolizes the power struggle between her mother and herself and each time her mother spitefully sends her to get a permanent wave it is to show Patty that she is boss and that Patty's wishes are of no consequence to her whatsoever.
Ruth's Taking Care of The Ring AsA Symbol Of Ruth As Caretaker of Patty
As Patty is being taken away by the FBI she gives Ruth the ring to look after as she doesn't want her father to get hold of it. This symbolizes Ruth as caretaker of Patty and her heart. It also symbolizes Ruth as the person who prevents Patty's father from getting hold of his daughter's spirits and breaking them.
Motif of Cruelty
Cruelty is a recurring motif throughout the novel. The entire war is basically caused by Hitler's cruelty and need to physically overpower those weaker than himself. This is also reflected in Patty's father's physical cruelty towards his daughter. Patty's mother is also cruel mentally and emotionally towards Patty. Patty's father also has a Hitler-esque hatred of those with any kind of disability, as he will not have his daughter associating with a boy who is a little backward or "slow"; mentally challenged people were rounded up and put into death camps in Hitler's Germany.
Motif of Feeling Unloved
Feeling unloved is a motif throughout the novel. Because they demonstrate constantly their absence of love for her Patty yearns for her parents to love her. She keeps a notebook to record her mothers criticisms which she intends to be a tool for self-improvement that will engender her mother's love but it actually serves as a document of how much her mother dislikes her. Similarly she tries to impress her father in the hopes of him suddenly realizing that he loves her after all although the brutality of his abuse clearly shows his total absence of love. Surprisingly her father also feels unloved and is overheard by Anton repeating a sort of mantra that nobody loves him and nobody ever has. Patty's grandparents also discuss feeling unloved by their daughter since she married Patty's father who makes his loveless disdain for them obvious.
