Sample Response: Looking closely at how weakness and strength are represented in the two works you have studied, discuss the significance of the relationship between the two. 

In 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 between the characters in both works. The significance of the relationship between weakness and strength is explored through themes such as silence, love, and betrayal. Schlink and Roy use different ways of portraying power dynamics. In The Reader this is revealed through the struggle between those Germans who were involved in WWII and 2^nd generation Germans, the children of those who participated in the Nazi regime. By contrast, it is the rigidity of the Indian caste system explored in The God of Small Things that enriches the understanding of the power dynamics within Indian society. Roy’s use of motifs and symbols allows 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 Estha.”  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 emotion when his mother Ammu “died a diable viable age.”  The use of rhyme in this phrase is a technique Roy employs to potentially help readers not to 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 may 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 portrayal of Hanna Schmitz and Michael Berg’s relationship, intended as a microcosm of the relationship between 1st and 2nd generation 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 is a naïve young boy and he 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 his 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 shows both Hanna’s lack of understanding of her 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 cruellest 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 discover that someone they loved did horrible things during the war.

Both Roy and Schlink use the theme of love in representing the downfall to the character’s power.  Ammu and Velutha’s relationship is a breach of the “Love Laws”, which decide “who you should love, how and how much.”  Roy’s capitalization of “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 for the entirety of their lives, 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. 

In 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 to buy bread.  At this point in the novel, Hanna is at the peak of her power, but begins to lose it as Michael beings to detach himself from her. Furthermore, during the court scene, readers witness Michael portraying his anger against her through his “silence, revulsion and shame.”  The diction of revulsion represents his extreme disgust towards Hanna. However, he also silently sympathizes with her which is shown through his temptation to reveal 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. In The Reader, as in Roy’s The God of Small Things, love functions to limit and weaken characters, and ultimately determines their destiny.

The relationship between weakness and strength can also be shown through the theme of betrayal. In The God of Small Things this is seen when Velutha seeks Comrade Pillei’s help, as they are communist comrades, but is denied 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 the same thing. Furthermore, Estha’s comment that “you can never expect the unexpected and always be prepared” foreshadows Velutha’s downfall.  The caste system and the “Love Laws” structure power relations within the novel’s 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 marrying “half Hindu hybrids” 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 any more power.  This is seen when Michael does not seem to have made peace once Hanna is “condemn[ed] to 18 years in prison.”  Instead, It continues to affect him. This includes him having to record stories and send them to Hanna rather than talking to her directly. This is a parallel to the 1^st generation and 2^nd generation German relationship, as the 2^nd generation does not realize how many people were 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 seems to symbolize 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 of 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 seem to cause characters to make harsh discoveries or make decisions that have such tough consequences.    

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