Pt. 1

                When I was a sophomore, my Spanish teacher mentioned this novel during one of her lectures; I don’t remember how it was relevant, but what I do remember is that she spoiled the novel a bit for me, so all of this erotic content is not much of a shocker. I really dislike knowing what is coming.

                Anyway, I wanted to talk about the building that Hanna lived in, and how it changed from the beginning of Michael’s illness to the end of it. Michael was only sick for four months, but it seemed that within that short span of time, the building had changed considerably. I am not one to pull drastic metaphors out from analysis, but since it is a topic my group needs to consider, I will attempt to do it, because I felt a strong connection while reading.

                The lavish, old, velvety building that Hanna lived in when she helped Michael in the beginning is much like Nazi Germany in its prime. Germany had fallen into economic despair after the First World War, so when everything began to change for the better, the German officials took all the lavish material products for themselves. However, Michael mentions feeling as though the people on the inside of the lavish old complex could have very well been crooked, battered, unappealing people (minus Hanna, of course), and this also could represent the “true colors” of the Nazi’s at the time. Perhaps it is a personal commentary by the author.

                After Michael stops being as sick, and months pass, he returns to a totally new apartment building, which is not nearly as grand as it used to be. It is modern, lined with linoleum, and reeks of cleaning detergent and fried food, and this accurately represents what the Nazi’s had to turn to after losing the war. Germany would not only fall once more into economic debt, but also in shame, and I think this change is an appropriate metaphor for it.