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The Connection Between Literacy And Morality In Bernard Schlink's The Reader

1378 Words6 Pages
Despite the society has a shared opinion of what’s morally correct and incorrect, one’s morality has always been more internal to an individual due to the social, historical and personal circumstances they are in, therefore it is difficult for us to evaluate one’s morality. The connection between literacy and morality is one of the themes that appears in the book The Reader, written by Bernard Schlink. In the book, the character Hanna Schmitz becomes literate and makes both right and wrong decisions when she is literate and illiterate. Literacy has an effect on one’s morality because being literate allows one to have a better comprehension on a matter, which allows one to be more rational. On the contrary, our emotions are often connected with irrationality, and always involved in the decision making process, therefore we don’t always end up in the most ideal situations. Schlink presents a connection between literacy and morality in an ambiguous and unclear way that impels the readers to examine the relationship between the two. Schlink’s presentation of the early stages of Hanna and Michael’s relationship conflicts the readers’ understanding in Hanna’s morality when she is illiterate. Despite Hanna’s first encounter with Michael seems to be innocent, Hanna later initiates the first sexual act between the two. When Hanna first encounters Michael, she makes a friendly gesture by taking care of Michael after he has vomited. “[She] turned on the tap, washed [Michael’s ]
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