Though I had seen the movie
a few years back, reading the book truly was a different experience, and one I
enjoyed thoroughly. I knew the storyline
of the plot, but the third person experience that people are forced to
experience while watching a movie often prevents them from really feeling and
understanding the characters on a personal level. The access that Schlink gifts the reader into
the nuances of the dynamic characters led to my appreciation for the work of
beauty that is The Reader. Unlike most, I was not as surprised to find
out that Hanna committed suicide. We
knew from the beginning of the novel that Hanna was a woman of pride; if she
believed that an act of her or even Michael could tarnish her pride, she
negated it immediately. Not only was she racked with guilt over her involvement
with the death of the people within the church; she knew that when she got out,
she would have to depend on Michael to aid her transition into the real
world. In the early days of their
relationship, Hanna always wanted to be in control. When she couldn’t, she would throw a tantrum
until Michael apologized, which she always knew he would. When she left him, it would be easy to assume
that she did it so that Michael would be able to have a normal youth, but I also
believe it was because she saw herself getting too attached to Michael. For her to depend on him to survive would
have taken a huge toll on her pride. I
also believe that she truly did not believe that she was worth the effort based
on her actions and morals, and that her existence would have been a waste of
space and an inconvenience; an unwanted burden.
She had nothing and no one to live for, so based on her character, her
choice did not come as a surprise to me. I appreciated the ending; I believe
the character traits attributed to each character stayed true from start to
finish.
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