Natalies Reaction

Part Two of the reader is very different to part one. I feel like in a way Michael has grown up, which is evident in the way that he speaks and acts. I feel like Michael saying he does not have any feelings, is actually quite the opposite. Clearly he is acting this way because he was hurt by Hanna, and does not want that to happen again. Even when he sees Hanna again we know this is not true, because he has to constantly remind himself that he does not love her. I knew that the novel had something to do with the holocaust but I did not except her to be a nazi. That changes a lot of my feelings and now I like her even less. Not only did I feel she emotionally took advantage of Michael, but she is also a nazi.

Learning that Hanna is illiterate changes many things, and how I perceived Part One. This changes the dynamic of Hanna and Michael’s relationship. I feel like the entire time in Part One, Michael was looking up to Hanna and viewed her as this older, smart woman. Likewise she treated him that way which is kind of ironic since she could not even read. The fact that she made him read to him, gives him the upper hand in that aspect.  Also it explains many events that happened before. For example when she got mad at Michael even though he had left a note, but now it is evident because she couldn’t read it. Also it explains why she got angry with him for not going to school and visiting her instead, but then I don’t understand why she did not learn when she was older. Also it explains that one part that Michael talks about Hanna running her fingers over all the books in the library, and why he spent so much time reflecting on it when he looked back.