The second section was very intense. The trial and Hanna's secret undoubtedly provided the tense atmosphere, but what stuck with me was Michael's emotional turmoil as he witnessed the woman he once loved accused of a heinous crime. Looking back, Hanna's illiteracy was hinted to all along. I specifically remembered when she exploded over Michael skipping school. She did not want him to live a shamed life as she did and must also feel slighted and jealous that he could educated himself and was willingly "throwing it away." I did sympathize with not only the entire blame that the other defendants were placing on her, but also that her own sense of dignity is her worst enemy. She is unaware of how fatal that consequence would be. And if she is aware, she would rather protect her image than tell what is to her a humiliating truth. It was her own choices that led her to decide her fate.
Michael's conflict is almost as important as Hanna's secret. He is torn on what to do; does he save Hanna though she herself chose to never reveal? Does he have the responsibility to her or even morality to tell the judge? And Michael further has to reconcile the fact that he so willingly loved a woman that he now knows committed a terrible crime. It inadvertently makes him question his own self. How could he have not seen any signs?
Another section that really affected me was when Michael's memories of Hanna are tainted with the image of her in Auschwitz. He cannot reconcile the old Hanna and his feelings for her since he only sees the criminal. His now somewhat happy memories are tarnished by a woman that he no longer knows.
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