Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Hans Huberman: Still Alive
As we all know, Hans has returned home safely from two wars. The first war he survived by being saved by a friend, Erik Vandenburg, and the second, seemed to be pure luck, because it just so happened that the exact day when they had the accident with the truck, Hans wasn't sitting in his usual seat, so he survived the accident. Although Death has only made small mention of this yet, I've begun to question why he is so often kept safe. Death's only reference to this curiosity of Han's constant survival is near the beginning of the book, when Death states that Hans has "avoided" him before. So I would think, perhaps Zusak has surely kept Hans in the book for a reason, maybe simply for plot purposes, yet, Death tells us that Hans soon dies on account of a bombing on Himmel Street. I figured if he's taken out of the story somewhat soon after his return home from surviving the war, why was it so important that he survived that short period of time? I've been questioning the purpose of Hans' survival constantly, and the more I think about it, the less important his survival seems for the story's purposes.
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Though now a cliché opening to a response, you raise an interesting point, Christina.
ReplyDeleteHans had to survive WWI, of course, so that he could become Leisel's foster parent. However, once Hans jeapordized Max's hiding by offering bread to a parade of Jews, just as you mentioned, his purpose in the book starts becoming less and less important.
I would think that Hans's leaving to fight (technically not even that) gives a more realistic sense of WWII, since it would actually be ridiculous for a healthy german citizen not to be drafted into the army JUST because he's a main character's father. Zusak probably made Hans leave to show that Leisel's life is slowly beginning to crumble, and through that create an accurate and logical description that illustrtates show what state Germany was in at that time.
However, Hans's surviving his duty is just as mystifying to me. I would think that Zusak made Hans survive only for plot, like you said; Hans survives only so that he can die. Hans's being among a combination of people that Leisel loved further accentuates the bombing of Mochling not only for Leisel, but for the reader too. I personally enjoyed Hans's character in the novel, and though this sound silly when I form it into words, losing a character that I loved helped convey how devastated Leisel was when Mochling was bombed.
I agree with Arda. I would also like to point out that since Hans kept escaping death, the reader starts to expect him to keep surviving. So when we find out he is going to die, it makes the reader a lot more interested and it shocks them.
ReplyDeleteI also think that Zusak wanted him to die towards of the end of the book so we can take the time to like Hans. When he dies there would be a greater effect because if the reader likes him, then they won't want him to die.