The Metamorphosis Of Identity: A Reading Of Hanna In “The Reader’’

Abstract

The paper examines Stephen Daldry’s Hollywood movie “The Reader” (2008), which is set against the backdrop of Holocaust. World War II is one of the traumatising incidents in world history. The Holocaust, also known as Shoah, refers to the mass genocide of the Jews of Europe between 1941 and 1945 across several German occupied provinces of Europe. This has been a part of the ethnic cleansing process. It has been difficult for the victims to recover from the harrowing experience of holocaust. While a few lived with the survivor’s guilt, another group remained unaware of their victimhood. The study focuses on the metamorphosis of the identity of Hanna who plays the dual role of the victim and victimiser in “The Reader”.