part 2

     Unexpectedly, my opinion on Hanna has done a 360. Initially, I thought Hanna was creepy and prayed on Michael because he was innocent and naïve. Although she still is somewhat of a sexual predator, I have more sympathy for her. In the second part of the novel we find out she is illiterate, which explains a lot of things. I thought she left Michael and the town because she was simply sick of her life there and desired change. In reality, Hanna could not accept the seemingly ideal promotion because it required the employee to be literate. As a result, Hanna joins Hitler’s regime and participates in one of the world’s cruelest events in history, the Holocaust. Although she is solely to blame for her peculiar actions during the Holocaust, during her trial I felt sympathetic towards her. When she finally decides to own up to her wrongdoings, all of the other defendants blame their crimes on her. Hanna no longer defends herself, but rather accepts her punishment. Even now, reviewing Hanna’s life, she does appear to be a psychopathic sex addict. However, I feel like she was seriously troubled in her childhood which may have left everlasting mental scars.
     Aside from Hanna, Michael did not surprise me in the slightest bit. Near the end of Hanna’s trial, Michael fantasizes about Hanna in an S&M manner. He becomes sexually attracted to her again, and imagines her doing sexual deeds.  
      As I reflect on the first and second part of the book, I feel like Michael and Hanna switched roles. Hanna played the dominant and aggressive role, while Michael was more submissive, timid, and weak. Now, the tables have turned and Hanna is weak and no longer the dominant figure.
-morgan mills