The Reader

1. The Reader Close Study of Chapters 14 and 15

2. Chapter 14 Plot • Michael remembers his summer with Hanna • Michael reads “War and Peace” to Hanna • Michael states that he and Hanna are new to “War and Peace. We took the long journey together.” - Ironically War is not new to Hanna as she has been apart of it -Michael gradually begins to spend more time with his friends and Sophie and less time with Hanna. -Their fighting continues.

3. Chapter 14 Characterization • Michael calls Hanna a horse and thinks that it is a compliment – “You feel so good, smooth and soft and all firm and strong underneath. And because your calf twitches.” • Symbolizes her personality and his first impressions • Hanna response is, “Horse…I don’t know” – First time she is unsure about the world as she usually is very opinionated. • Uncertainty begins

4. Chapter 14 Setting • Hanna’s Bed “Ritual of reading aloud, showering, making loved and then lying together” “Snuggled close together” (pg. 68) • Theatre “We went to the theatre in the next town to see Schiller’s Intrigues and Love.” • Swimming Pool “I came from the swimming pool.”

5. Chapter 15 Plot • Michael thinks about telling his class mates or anyone about Hanna and their relationship • One day, while Sophie and Michael are sharing a private moment, she asks him what is wrong in his life. She wonders where he goes, and why he spends so much time away. She suggests that it perhaps has something to do with his past illness.

6. Chapter 15 Characterization • Michael internally starts to feel like he’s betraying her • Sophie unknowingly diagnoses Michael's relationship with Hanna as a form of illness

7. Chapter 15 Setting • Raining “rain fell in big drops” took shelter from the rain • Michael begins not to see Hanna as often

8. Style The use of motif is established in these first seven chapters including: • Rain - Illness • War and Peace • Swimming Pool – Youth