Paper 2 Exemplar – May 2014 – Question 6

“Looking closely at how weakness and strength are represented in at least two works you have studied, discuss the significance of the relationship between the two.” 

Within both The Reader by Bernhard Schlink published in 1995, and The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy published in 1997, weakness and strength are represented through the power dynamics amongst the characters within each text.  The significance of the relationship between both weakness and strength is explored through the themes of silence, love and betrayal within both texts.  Each author has used different ways of portraying power dynamics, such as through the struggle of Germans who were involved in the Second World War and 2^nd generation Germans, the children of those involved in the Nazi regime within The Reader.  Furthermore, the rigidity of the Indian caste system explored in The God of Small Things enriches the understanding of the power dynamics within Indian society.  The use of motifs and symbols also allows the readers to see the shift of power within characters.

Silence is one of the themes in which both Schlink and Roy show the shift in power within their novels.  Estha’s literal silence is mentioned in the first few pages of The God of Small Things: “once the silence arrived, it only spread in Esta.”  This foreshadows what is to come and the reasons why Estha has stopped talking.  Estha’s silence is his weakness as it does not allow him to show emotions when his mother Ammu “died a diable viable age.”  The use of rhyme in the above phrase is a technique Roy employs to potentially make the readers not forget all that Ammu has done; she follows who she loves rather than conform to the caste system.  Even though Estha is seen to stop talking he has his non-verbal communication with Rahel, his twin sister.  By the end of the novel, Estha does not speak and Rahel is left to deal with Ammu’s staining of the Ipe family’s reputation.  This could explain Estha and Rahel’s incestuous love making and it may potentially be symbolic of them being both weak and finding strength within each other.  The shifting in power from Estha being a talkative young boy to a mute man is foreshadowed throughout the novel’s non-chronological structure.  It proves effective as the characters who seemed strong at first turn out to be the weakest. 

Conversely, the theme of silence is explored within The Reader through Schlink’s use of Hanna Schmitz and Michael Berg’s relationship as a microcosm for the relationship between first and second generation of Germans after WWII.  In part 1 of the chronological novel, Michael who is a 16 year old boy and Hanna who is a 36 year old woman begin to have a sexual relationship.  Michael who is a naïve young boy falls in love with Hanna “the next day” after they have sex.  After Michael finds out 26 years later that Hanna was a camp guard during the 2^nd World War he and he fellow classmates become “radical explorers” “condemning” all those involved in the 3^rd Reich.  Hanna is silenced by the twin events in the courtroom as well as by her loss of Michael.  She says, “What would you have done?” The simple question firstly shows Hanna’s lack of understanding the situation and ultimately her loss of power.  It also shows that symbolically those of the 1^st generation “did not have the dispensation to murder back then” making the 2^nd generation’s condemnation seem radical.  However, the novel Eichmann in Jerusalem, a novel Hanna reads while in prison, states that the cruelest of people look “terrifyingly, terribly normal.”  This makes us question who really has all the strength.  Michael’s “exploring [of] the past” ultimately symbolizes the story of many 2^nd generation children who discovered someone  they loved did horrible things during the war.

Both Roy and Schlink use the theme of love as a downfall to the character’s power.  Ammu and Velutha’s relationship is a breach of the “Love Laws” which decides “who you should love, how and how much.”  Roy’s use of capitalization with “Love Laws” emphasizes how seriously they should be taken.  The “Love Laws” continue to be a motif throughout the novel, which is a reminder of how the characters in the novel must live with them their entire life, almost continually oppressing those of the lowest caste with any power at all.  Ammu and Velutha’s relationship at first blinds them to one another’s power due do their love.  Ammu is of a higher class than Velutha, but once caught, Ammu loses all power and is left to ultimately die in an “old grimy room.”  Likewise, Velutha is “beaten to a pulp” by “Touchable policemen.”  Again, Roy’s use of capitalization emphasizes their power and rank of those of a higher caste, reminding readers of the “Love Laws” and how they weaken the initial strength these characters may have had. 

Within The Reader however, love blinds Michael of all Hanna’s past actions.  Hanna’s emphasis of “washing, reading, making love” does not make Michael question her dominance.  This is further suggested through Michael’s unquestioning of Hanna’s violence towards him when he leaves her to go buy bread.  At this point in the novel, Hanna is at her peak of power, but begins to lose it as Michael beings to detach himself from her.  Furthermore, during the court scene reader witness Michael portraying his anger against her through his “silence, revulsion and shame.”  The diction of revulsion represents his extreme disgust towards her.  However, he also silently sympathizes with Hanna which is shown through his temptations of reviling Hanna’s illiteracy.  Hanna’s illiteracy is her weakest trait as she would rather be “condemned to a tram nowhere” than have her illiteracy exposed.  Being in love in itself is empowering, but it seems to blind Michael to the extent that he can no longer love any other woman after Hanna, including his first wife, weakening him as a character.

Finally, the relationship between weakness and strength can also be shown through the theme of betrayal.  Within The God of Small Things this is seen when Velutha seeks Comrade Pillei’s help as they are communist comrades but he denies it.  He also denies helping Chako who was seen to ironically disassociate himself from Ammu as she has slept with a man of a lower caste after he does as well.  Furthermore, Estha’s comment “you can never expect the unexpected and always be prepared” foreshadows Velutha’s downfall.  The caste system and the “Love Laws” unanimously have the power within society.  Not only is loving someone of another caste level a betrayal but so is getting divorced.  Mammachi ironically judges both Ammu and Rahel for marring “half Hindu hibrydes” as well as for getting divorced to them.  The alliteration emphasizes that non-conforming individuals will be exposed, as many people in Ayemeneme, the setting of the novel, are Syrian Christians.  The characters are weak at this point because of the betrayal. 

On the other hand, in The Reader, betrayal does not give the betrayer anymore power.  This is seen when Michael does not seem to have made peace once Hanna is “condemn[ed] to 18 years in prison.”  It only continues to affect him.  This includes him having to record stories and send sending them to her rather than talking to her directly.  This is a parallel to the 1^st generation and 2^nd generation relationship, as the 2^nd generation does not realize how many people are involved in the 3^rd Reich due to the lack of recorded evidence.  Whereas Michael’s subservience to Hanna is recorded until “The next day she was dead.”  Schlink’s use of a short line to make this incredibly significant statement almost symbolizes Michael’s lack of peace when he finds out.  Furthermore, Michael is much more affected by “having loved a criminal” rather than “having betrayed a criminal.”  It is a microcosm for what an entire generation feels towards their parents.  Even though Michael seems to have betrayed Hanna by not saving her from being put in jail, he – the betrayer – does not gain any more strength, as he feels guilty for loving her and it affects him for the rest of his life.

In conclusion, both authors demonstrate the weakness and strength amongst characters within both The Reader and The God of Small Things due to the shifting power dynamics.  The themes of silence, love and betrayal show the changing of power dynamics best as they seems to cause characters to make harsh discoveries or make decisions that have such tough consequences.