"Initiation","Guilt" And "Vagabondage":Aesthetic Metaphor Interpretation Of "Reading" In The Reader

This paper aims at the emphasis of the metaphor interpretation of "reading" in the novel, The Reader. By using the unique view of reading, the metaphor relationships of reading and initiation, guilt and vagabondage are discussed.In this research, metaphor theory of narratology was introduced to analyze this novel. In addition, this novel was intensively read by the text attentively reading law and the questions in the text were also studied via other research methods.The first part of this paper states the initiation interpretation of "reading", revealing the effect of reading to Michael and Hanna. The religion initiation exerted by reading was illustrated from the point of reading, that is, religion speech. While discussing the literature and religion initiation effect of reading, the defect of emphasis on the audio reading by Schlink, which is analogous to western logos, are rethought. We also look again at the exaggeration of reading by the wishful thinking of the author’s subjective idea, which only represents the civilization of knowledge,The second part of this paper illustrated the guilt of metaphor, discussing the original sins shown by Schlink and the sense of shame induced by the disability of reading from hanna. Banality of evil and the social root are analyzed. The causes of this evil banality are discussed from the view of social authority and legal myth. By thinking about the sins of Hanna, elder generations and national history, the reflections to oneself and the whole German nation are aroused.The third part of this paper elucidated the vagabondage of reading and returning metaphor, revealing the meaning of Odyssey’s appearance in reading, explicating the metaphor relationships of The Reader and the Greek myth, Odyssey. In this paper, we try to study from the vagabondage and return which appears time and again, discussing the metaphor effect of Odyssey on the novel, explore the charm of "long wanderings, back to home"in this novel.The novel, The Reader, draws a lot of attentions at present when literature is being marginalized. This is because Schlink does not only discuss the old topic about war crimes of Germany. In addition, she goes deeply into how younger and elder generations resolve conflicts brought by the war as well as get rid of the shadows in the public caused by Nazi, through one’s individual experience. Thus, the practical significance of The Reader is more than the appreciations of the critics or readers. This novel provides a solemn and inevitable history topic for the humanity retrospecting history, reestablishing civilization, looking to the future in such a complex cultural background.