The reader by Bernhard Schlink was published in 1995, as a parable on the post-war reactions to the atrocities of the past by the second generation of Germans towards the actions of the first generation. The book was written in the first person view of the narrator Michael Berg, from the perspective of himself as a 15 year old boy, and later as an approximately 50 year old man. This allows the novel to illustrate the ideas of relationships, guild and responsibility and an attempt to cope with the past in the view of a second generation German to seduce and challenge the views of the 2nd and 3rd generation of Germans.
Within the relationships of the book, Michael’s and Hanna’s relationship cannot simply describe as intimate, it’s a lustful …show more content…
"No, Hanna had not decided in favour of the crime… And no she had not dispatched the delicate and the weak on transports to Auschwitz because they read to her; she had chosen them to read to her to make their last month bearable before their inevitable dispatch towards Auschwitz." The German audience is seduced by this thought of the Hanna being innocent through Michael’s denials of Hanna being guilty. This reveals the cyclical nature of history as this is Michael's betrayal of Hanna by the thoughts of redeeming her in the court despite her admitting to responsibility. And later this can be seen through the betrayal of Hanna by becoming numb to her. This is similar to the first generation's actions by becoming "numb" to the war atrocities. "I felt a great emptiness inside, as if I had been searching for some glimpse not outside but within myself, and had discovered that there was nothing to be found." The audience is led to believe that the numbness that caused desensitizing in previous generation still exists with Michael. This confirms the existence of the numbness which prevailed throughout the first generation. The reader is challenged by realizing this, and can be seen through Michael’s questioning of himself. “How
Within the relationships of the book, Michael’s and Hanna’s relationship cannot simply describe as intimate, it’s a lustful …show more content…
"No, Hanna had not decided in favour of the crime… And no she had not dispatched the delicate and the weak on transports to Auschwitz because they read to her; she had chosen them to read to her to make their last month bearable before their inevitable dispatch towards Auschwitz." The German audience is seduced by this thought of the Hanna being innocent through Michael’s denials of Hanna being guilty. This reveals the cyclical nature of history as this is Michael's betrayal of Hanna by the thoughts of redeeming her in the court despite her admitting to responsibility. And later this can be seen through the betrayal of Hanna by becoming numb to her. This is similar to the first generation's actions by becoming "numb" to the war atrocities. "I felt a great emptiness inside, as if I had been searching for some glimpse not outside but within myself, and had discovered that there was nothing to be found." The audience is led to believe that the numbness that caused desensitizing in previous generation still exists with Michael. This confirms the existence of the numbness which prevailed throughout the first generation. The reader is challenged by realizing this, and can be seen through Michael’s questioning of himself. “How