Part 3

        Towards the end of the book I began to like Hanna more rather than hate her. She truly did care for Michael throughout the years, same way Michael has always cared for her. As the book progresses Michael continues on to law school and eventually gets married. When he mentioned his wife I immediately knew that he did not truly love her. It is frustrating to see that he is still so caught up with his feelings towards Hanna, even after 30 years. I believe that the only reason why Michael was still constantly thinking about her and comparing his wife and later other women to her was because he never got closure when it came to his relationship with Hanna. The two didn't get into a fight and break up or even grow apart, she just simply disappeared one day, nothing was discussed. Regardless, Michael decides to take responsibility for Hanna after she is released from prison.
        During Hanna's last couple months in prison Michael begins to show his love and affection towards her once again. He sends her tape recordings of him reading books knowing how much she enjoyed that. At the same time, he was able to teach Hanna to read and write which was possibly one of the greatest things he could have done for her. I found it strange how he was willing to help Hanna with her new life out of prison and help her read and write by sending her tape recordings, but wouldn't visit her. Hanna didn't have anyone but Michael in her life and even though Michael had a right to be upset due to their past history I think he could have shown a little bit more interest considering that she was now old and living in her last couple of years. When he eventually did visit her it seemed very awkward and uncomfortable for both of them, but I do not think that is why Hanna committed suicide.
       The end of the book was my favorite part even though it was extremely depressing. I think Hanna didn't want to be a burden on Michael and add to his list of responsibilities. But after she committed suicide Michael seemed to have felt all those feelings and emotions that he had been bottling up for the last couple of years. He never tells anyone from the prison what his relationship with Hanna was, but he allows himself to feel and act the way one would when a loved one has passed away, which is something he wouldn't do when she disappeared, while she was on trial, and during her time in prison.

Part 3

I never truly understood why Michael was so numb and impervious to any emotions. I guess it was some sort of subconscious innate defense system to stop himself from hurting and missing Hanna. However, it did make sense that he had to somewhat reach rock bottom in order to feel again. It's almost as if he realized that he could not go on living numb anymore because he was going on through life without really living and enjoying it.

I started to like Michael more as a person in the beginning of part three because he had in fact gotten married and had a daughter. I thought there was a small chance that he had finally gotten over Hanna and fallen in love with someone else. Yet, when he said that they go married when she got Gertrude got pregnant, I realized it wasn't a marriage out of love, but rather because they kind of had to get married. Nevertheless, he loved his daughter greatly even if he didn't love her mother. 

Then, i was pretty bothered by the fact that Michael still cared so much about Hanna. It is understandable that she was a big part of his childhood, but everything took place when he was fifteen. Thirty years later and he's still living in the past. However, I began to realize that he wasnt making tapes for her because he was still in love with her and wanted her back, he just cared about her, I'm assuming as some sort of mother figure because he even mentions that he doesn't talk much about his mother. If you really take it into consideration, it is very nice and caring of him to send her tapes. Without knowing it, he was helping her become literate and as a result making her happy. 

By the end I realized that Hanna really did care for Michael too, also in a mothering type of way. The fact that she had his graduation picture on her cell what is creepy, but it shows how much she cares. The way the warden described her longing for his handwritten letters shows that she wanted a connection with Michael. Yet, I do not get her reasons for suicide. I think it is that she realized Michael was annoyed by the comment she made and she didn't want to make him go through all that or she didn't want to. Be with Michael without actually being able to be with him. Whatever her reasons were, I still find the book somewhat odd and creepy, but entertaining and worth reading, 

I was honestly shocked when I read this portion of the book. It is almost like a different author is writing this part, because it is written completely different. I can’t really say that I loved the first part, however, I do think that it had significantly more of a plot. The beginning of this novel, although really odd, was undoubtedly thought-provoking. The second part of the novel seems much more serious, far less whimsical, and almost entirely different that the first part of the story. I had a feeling that something was going to be related to the Nazi party in this book just because of the time period that it took place and the place in which the book took place. I can’t say that I necessarily feel bad for Hannah, after all anybody who was engaged in the Nazi party was certainly at some fault during their military career, but I do not think that it’s fair that she get all of the blame in the war trial. I think that, in the end, she will get all of the blame, because of the fact that she cannot read and she is too stubborn to admit this. It’s amazing to me that someone would rather take the fall for other people for a crime that they did not personally commit, although in no way shape or form is Hannah innocent, rather than show any weakness. I think that perfectly represents who Hannah is as a person, entirely focused on her image and loving to be in a place of power. 

Reactivou part 2

When I first started reading part 2, i was confused. It seemed to me like I was reading a completely different book with the same characters in it. Going from part 1 which focuses solely on the relationship between Hanna and Michael to part 2 which focuses solely on Hanma's trial and what she was involved with in the past was a drastic change over. Nevertheless, it was interesting to learn about Hanna's past, and it helped me explain for myslef the reasons behind some of the actions Hanna took when seeing Michael in part 1.

Hanna's trial is extremely complex and difficult to understand. Her actions and decisions wothon the trial are also mind boggling as she doesn't act towards her own good. As the reader finds out from Michael that Hanna is illiterate, many answers are given, and I was able to connect the dots from part 1. However what I am still trying to figure out is the main reason for Hanna assuming that she was the one that wrote the report when she didn't. She is ruining her life in order to protect the truth that she is illiterate? I believe that is too radical. In my opinion, Part 3 will disclose new truths about Hanna and who knows what is coming up next.

part two (done)

Wendell Pfeffer

4/13/14

            Well I thought part one would lead into part two quite similarly but I was wrong. The whole story has changed completely thus making part two a little bit less exciting than part one. Part two lacks the sexual arousal that was constantly provided to us in part one. That is what I miss the most; however, I still did enjoy reading part two. As predicted Hannah did not return and the boy was left in sorrow. After finishing part one I thought that he was going to be hurt due to her absence but I was wrong. The boy actually turned out to be quite successful; he forgot about Hannah and was getting involved in many seminars that discussed the significance of the Nazi trials. Michael was an active participant in these trials. He even went and witnessed it first hand. The strange thing about this was that he saw Hannah at the defendant stand at the trials. She was being charged with war crimes and at first I couldn’t believe it but later after thinking about it all makes sense. She never told anyone about her past even Michael whom she referred to as a kid. Michael was also surprised and even disgusted with having ever been with a person that was an active participant in the SS. She was responsible for the deaths of many people. After finding out who she really was Michael felt no contempt, and sorrow for Hannah. He felt nothing as stated in the book. I am actually glad he is done with her; I was waiting for this to happen in part one. A night in bed is okay but when it becomes extensive and involves her taking advantage of you then it has to stop. He later discovers this and becomes angry with himself about it. I can’t wait to see what happens in part three!

Part Two

The style of writing has changed tremendously from the first part to the next. While the writing still has great merit to it, I liked the first part much better. It is not that the author just fails to include any detail in part two, there is still great detail, its just that the subject matter is much more mundane. Nevertheless, I do like how the author chose to shift the way in which the story was being seen. Before, the reader received a first hand account of the relationship: you were able to see things almost as if they were happening in the moment and you were there. Now, the story feels like its being told by an outsider. I feel much more distant from the characters than I did before.
I can't say I'm all too shocked the author chose to have Hanna be involved with the Nazi's, but I'm not  completely unsurprised either. I'm not too sure I like how the trial is going, I wish the author would have chosen to play it out in a different way. Nevertheless, the way Hanna almost incriminates herself does show how the legal system is not about telling the truth anywhere: it is about saying what you must to save yourself. I find it upsetting how the other defendants chose to lie about what occurred (or so it seems) and leave Hanna to take the blame as she is the only one to tell the truth. I did very much like when the girl who wrote the novel being used as evidence talks about how Hanna had girls read to her. It was slightly strange at first but it was also slightly endearing to think that she was trying to fill some void within her.

Nazis=Sheep

The trials that are being held against these old Nazis seem to be very one-sided indeed. It would seem obvious that any morally-sane person who was in charge of the Jewish camps during WWII would have provided better living conditions for the inmates and would not have committed hideous crimes such as torture and mass murder. However, the judges at these trials make a huge error in thinking that anyone could have easily made rational decisions with such people like Hitler and Goebbels as commanding figureheads who could have easily had any officer that disobeyed their orders to be put against the wall and shot to death or worse. The fear that Hitler instilled in his "minions" caused them to obey without hesitation since any rational human being would be willing to sacrifice other strangers' lives to save their own. Also, recent psychological studies point out that groups of people act as if they were sheep being huddled together and driven in a direction; the direction did not matter to them, only whether or not they would be fed in the end. Soldiers under the Third Reich were proven to be under this influence of disregard for where their leader was taking them and decided to follow him for the sake of following someone who seemed to be in charge. Now, the judges during the trial are wrong to think that the soldiers' action of inaction against their manacle leader was their own choice when, in fact, it can and has already been proven that most soldiers in any army do as their leaders command because, instinctively, we need to be commanded to do things if anything is to ever be done. Also, though Michael shows restraint in cursing Hanna, I do believe he still has feelings for her but has buried them so deeply within himself that he cannot reach them any longer and instead, fills his heart with hatred for the world in an effort to keep those feelings of love and affection from ever coming out again.