The Reader by Bernard Schlink is an excellent story with themes such as guilt, secrets,
conflict, loss, and love. One could say that most of these themes are very apparent when you
introduce the relationship between Michael Berg and Hanna Schmitz. Michael and Hanna were
an unlikely combination that ended up finding each other for better or worse; [it is evident that
Michael falls in love with Hanna, but Hanna is an older woman, which makes it somewhat clear
that she understands she and Michael are an unrealistic pairing.] This is where we can seek the
theme of love, and guilt and blame follow closely after. The reason guilt and blame are so
intertwined is that Michael blindly blames himself for carrying responsibility for the relationship
he and Hanna possessed with the events that took place afterward. Eventually, Hanna leaves, and
she doesn’t leave a trace for Michael; at 15 years of age, it is easy to see Michael hasn’t fully
developed his emotional maturity, so he corners himself into taking the blame for her leaving as
well as being the cause for her death even though [Michael did show symptoms of love and even
after his divorce and throughout the novel he reads to Hanna, writes to Hanna, and always looks
for a glimpse of Hanna in his current and future relationships with other women,] it is also
noteworthy to mention that Hanna’s death is a significant factor into the theme of loss Michael
faces along with other losses such as his father’s death. Another theme point in the story is
conflict, and one of the biggest conflicting arguments in the story would be the trial where
Michael sees Hanna as a defendant in court as she was a Guard at Auschwitz being tried for war
crimes. Michael must decide whether he should stand up for Hanna by saying something on
behalf of the woman he loved, or he can stay quiet and do absolutely nothing as he can hardly
recognize her. This elusive quest for love shows the obstacles Michael faces with Hanna and the
conflict he has throughout the novel, finding his path to make peace with himself and past
generations to look towards the future.
Bernhard Schlink's The Reader utilizes the contexual setting to convey the main thoughts
of the book. In part 1 of the novel, the setting is vigorously based around Hanna and her life, the
two transcendently communicate at her home, the structure on Bahnhofstrasse, exhibiting
Michael's degree of mystery and distance among himself and Hanna as he doesn't involve Hanna
in his own life. The setting of the court, an image of good and bad, conveys the focal thought of
Hanna's culpability around her cooperation in the violations committed and uncovers the effect
of her lack of education. The focal thought of inability and Hanna's responsibility encompassing
her lack of education is depicted using the setting of prison. The possibility of a court has
implications for a reader, with the court addressing good and bad, equity and responsibility. The
affiliation that the reader brings to the novel during this scene impacts their view on the plot. As
Hanna is convicted for atrocities "sentenced to life" in jail while others simply "got terms in
prison", the reader is informed Hanna is incorrect, and a criminal who is completely to blame
here (p 160). The logical setting of the court likewise remains as an image of irrevocability in a
legitimate court administering, and this leads the reader to see Hanna's discipline as justified
because of her activities, accepting she merits the discipline she has gotten. The reader is now
presented to the possibility of Hanna's ignorance and this influences their viewpoint on Hanna's
condemnation. Hanna's guilt is a critical idea inside Schlink's novel and the reader sees, through
the setting of the court, how Hanna is sentenced guilty. The reader's earlier information on
Hanna's personality, and her ignorance drives them to feel compassionate towards Hanna,
accepting she isn't altogether to blame and has been impeded in the trial. Hannah shows a strong
sense of violence as well as being guilty. Hanna frequently shows unexpected violence to
Michael. She shouts at him, or even harms him. The yelling harms him inwardly. This
additionally turns out to be clear when he needs to surprise her in the first part of the day by
utilizing the train Hanna is working in. That evening, she blames him for having not known her,
since he was in the subsequent wagon, trusting that she will come over.This thought of Hanna
being sentenced guilty is a principal idea of The Reader, as she feels disgraced by her lack of
education and at fault for violations she was in company to commit. As the book advances,
Hanna's liable decision at last prompts her suicide.
Bernhard Schlink's The Reader, set in Germany in post-World War II time, investigates
the social pressures between the Nazi and Post-Nazi ages as a consequence of the Third Reich.
Schlink's literary elements in The Reader expose the reader's compassion toward imperfect
characters. Schlink does this by utilizing motifs, imagery, and foreshadowing to depict the hero's
flaw of mediocrity and Hanna's lack of education. Characterization and symbolism are used to
describe the character's activities; thus, the reader's view of the characters changes throughout
the book. Schlink utilizes tone and juxtaposition to pass on to the reader the tedious manner in
which Michael portrays the story. Schlink uses characterization toward the start of the novel to
tell the reader that Michael is a fifteen-year-old kid, restless to grow up, battling with the
contention inside that is felt by most teenagers. When Michael meets Hanna Schmidt, he is
described as the inferior in their relationship and is very quickly both the superior and inferior at
the same time throughout their relationship; as Michael does as Hanna asks, he reads and
complies with them all her orders. He isn't simply in love with Hanna but obsessed with her and
is very sly in figuring out how to see her without his family's information. Schlink's account
utilizes methods to improve the reader's compassion toward imperfect characters through themes
and imagery to show Hanna's lack of education, characterization, and symbolism to raise
sensations of compassion toward Michael regarding how he was abused all through the book.
Tone and juxtaposition were additionally used to withdraw feelings of empathy toward both
Hannah and Michael after the awfulness of Hanna taking her own life.