Skip to main content

What is the theme of The Reader by Bernhard Schlink?

One of the most dominant themes in Schlink's story is the approach human beings take towards accepting responsibility.


Set amidst the backdrop of post-Holocaust Germany, a major theme seen in the actions of Hanna and Michael is how they approach responsibility for their actions. Michael is not able to affirm full responsibility for his relationship with Hanna.  He cannot vouch support for her in court, when he knows that his version of the truth is significant to her defense.  As he tries to sort out his feelings towards her, his inability to accept full emotional responsibility is displayed. Even though he makes books on tape for her, he is unable to fully embrace his obligation to her. At the end of the novel, Michael makes the donation of money in Hanna's name, but struggles in acknowledging the emotional connection between them.


In much the same way, Hanna struggles to take responsibility for her role in the Holocaust.  Even though she accepts blame in order to conceal her illiteracy in court, she does not fully acknowledge the role she played in the perpetuation of human suffering. Her suicide reveals her grasp of the full implications of her actions. After reading works by authors of the Holocaust, Hanna understands that her negation is the only way to accept blame for what she has done. Michael's and Hanna's emotional struggles prove that the way in which human beings attempt to take responsibility for their actions is a significant theme in The Reader.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.
Post a Comment
Read more