Post One

            To be honest, I found Michael’s relationship with Hanna a little strange and vulgar, but I tried to ignore the obvious racy and risqué nature of their relationship and I noticed that there is a lot that of interesting characteristics that can be observed. Their relationship in the beginning works perfectly because Hanna gives Michael the confidence he lost during his sickness, and he became the person he always dreamt of being. Michael says that before meeting Hanna that he was self-cautious of the way he looked and of his performance in class and that “there was so much energy in me, such belief that one day I’d be handsome and clever and superior and admired”  (38). In the beginning Michael is sad and lonely, but under the influence of Hanna his “success at school got my (his) teachers’ attention and assured me (him) of their respect. The girls I (he) met noticed and liked it that I (he) wasn’t afraid of them. I (he) felt at ease in my (his) own body” (41). Hanna fills the empty void left by his parents. His father is a fool and simply doesn’t care about the family, and then there is the mother who stopped concerning herself over the welling being of Michael once he is no longer sick. Hanna benefits from the relationship because it gives her a feeling of power and control. Early in the relationship Michael needs and worships her, which makes her feel good about herself. After realizing this I have concluded that, considering the substantial age difference of over 15 years, both are equally as immature and dependent on each other.

Michael, reflecting back on his experiences as an adolescent, says, “Sometimes the memory of happiness cannot stay true because it ended unhappily. Because happiness is only real if it lasts forever?” (37-38). During this passage the reader is introduced to a very interesting commentary on how we remember the past. Our memories seemed to always be spoiled by the unhappy the outcomes that followed. Michael is questioning why we cannot solely look back on the happy times without having to be reminded of the unhappy ones that followed.