Throughout the trial, Hanna is portrayed as a camp guard who has no choice, but to do her job. Everyone in the courtroom is silent when Hanna asks the judge, “I…I mean…so what would you have done?” when the judge questions if she sent the old prisoners to death just to create room for the new prisoners (Schlink 111). There was nothing that Hanna could have done to save the Jewish prisoners without endangering herself. By questioning the judge about the morals behind sending the old prisoners to death due to new prisoners arriving gives us a sense of her moral standards. Furthermore, we acquire a sense that Hanna truly wants to learn what she could have done differently to save them because it was not her intention to send all these prisoners
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The judge tries to have Hanna imprisoned for events that were out of her control. However, the choice to either endanger your own life or others is not an easy choice to make as mentioned before. Michael understands this and struggles to understand Hanna’s choices because he “simultaneously [tries] to understand Hanna’s crime and to condemn it….But it was impossible to do both.” (Schlink 157). There was nothing that could have led Hanna to choose differently once she had accepted her job as a camp guard. Moreover, Donahue says, “Most of us can only deal with the Holocaust by relying on blanket condemnation, and Schlink wants to shake us from that position.” which further enforces that Hanna’s choices represent moral dilemma because her choices act as a grey area where it is hard to differentiate between right and wrong (61). Hence, even the judge stays silent both times Hanna questions him because he would not have acted differently from …show more content…
The portrayal of Hanna also leads her to acts as a symbol for moral dilemma encountered during the Holocaust and as a symbol of the perpetrators tolerated by society after the Holocaust. Hanna’s portrayal in the first half of the story shows the effects of the Holocaust since Hanna is emotionally unstable and detached towards Michael. The second half of the story reveals Hanna as symbols for moral dilemma and perpetrators that society turned a blind eye to because we see Hanna struggle to explain her intentions and understand the ridiculous reason behind her choice to become a camp guard. The two terms go hand in hand as society only tolerated these perpetrators because their actions were a cause of the result of their moral dilemma. Through Hanna’s character, the perspective of Bernard Schlink is clear. It seems that Schlink wants the perpetrators that society tolerated to take up the responsibility for their actions regardless if they encountered a moral dilemma. Not only were the perpetrators criticized, but society as well. The bus driver is an example of the perpetrators that society turned a blind eye to. The bus driver did not feel any guilt for his actions, yet what he did was more horrifying than Hanna’s crimes. It seems Schlink is criticizing society for letting these remorseless perpetrators go free (Donahue 57). Schlink also criticizes the perpetrators
The judge tries to have Hanna imprisoned for events that were out of her control. However, the choice to either endanger your own life or others is not an easy choice to make as mentioned before. Michael understands this and struggles to understand Hanna’s choices because he “simultaneously [tries] to understand Hanna’s crime and to condemn it….But it was impossible to do both.” (Schlink 157). There was nothing that could have led Hanna to choose differently once she had accepted her job as a camp guard. Moreover, Donahue says, “Most of us can only deal with the Holocaust by relying on blanket condemnation, and Schlink wants to shake us from that position.” which further enforces that Hanna’s choices represent moral dilemma because her choices act as a grey area where it is hard to differentiate between right and wrong (61). Hence, even the judge stays silent both times Hanna questions him because he would not have acted differently from …show more content…
The portrayal of Hanna also leads her to acts as a symbol for moral dilemma encountered during the Holocaust and as a symbol of the perpetrators tolerated by society after the Holocaust. Hanna’s portrayal in the first half of the story shows the effects of the Holocaust since Hanna is emotionally unstable and detached towards Michael. The second half of the story reveals Hanna as symbols for moral dilemma and perpetrators that society turned a blind eye to because we see Hanna struggle to explain her intentions and understand the ridiculous reason behind her choice to become a camp guard. The two terms go hand in hand as society only tolerated these perpetrators because their actions were a cause of the result of their moral dilemma. Through Hanna’s character, the perspective of Bernard Schlink is clear. It seems that Schlink wants the perpetrators that society tolerated to take up the responsibility for their actions regardless if they encountered a moral dilemma. Not only were the perpetrators criticized, but society as well. The bus driver is an example of the perpetrators that society turned a blind eye to. The bus driver did not feel any guilt for his actions, yet what he did was more horrifying than Hanna’s crimes. It seems Schlink is criticizing society for letting these remorseless perpetrators go free (Donahue 57). Schlink also criticizes the perpetrators