Sharon's 3rd Post

All in all, I enjoyed reading “The Reader” immensely. In Part I, I was not too sure what direction the book was headed, but the introduction of topics such as post-Holocaust feelings, ethical dilemmas and Hanna’s illiteracy made for an extremely compelling read. That being said, I did not expect Hanna’s suicide in Part III at all; it had seemed to me that she was finally beginning to embrace her secret by attempting to learn to read, and thus had no reason for wanting to end her life. I understand how the guilt must have overwhelmed her; it is one thing to send off people to their deaths, but another to hear about the experience from their own perspectives. Yet it puzzles me why she did it right after being released after waiting for so long in prison. In fact, the warden mentioned Hanna, at one point, suddenly completely disregarded her appearances and interactions with other women, yet it was not to be seen as giving up, but rather redefining herself -I began to think she had persevered through the knowledge with the toughness she’d always displayed. This detail also struck me as touching upon the idea of change; for years, it seemed that Michael had lived in the past because everything he did went back to his relationship with Hanna. He even notes how her voice is still young despite her physical appearance. For this reason, I think Part III was the one I found to be most interesting –besides elaborating upon the surprising intensity of the novel’s title, it also created a sort of balance at the end, or an “at peace” moment.