The Assault Harry Mulisch Analysis
I.B. English 11 21, March 2011
World Literature Paper 2 – draft
In his novel The Assault, Harry Mulisch illustrates a clear example at how human memory can aid us in pursuing a better future ahead of us. As Anton watched the motor boats on the first page of the novel he was amazed at how fast the motor boats moved and the wake they left behind. Each time he saw them zoom by he would try to follow their wake however its pattern became so distorted he could not follow it. Along side the motor boats were the gondolas where they were propelled by the captain pushing a stick back thus moving his boat forward. He then takes this approach on life and lives while constantly bringing up his past. Every time he attempted to look at what the …show more content…
It is only when Anton is taken out of the cell and sees blood that his curiosity raises even more. This along with the assault itself fades away into Anton’s memory like the wake of the motor boats. As he grows older he begins to think about this woman even more. This is particularly set on by a man named Cor Takes who talks to him about his girlfriend. With this new found information Anton keeps attempting to put a face on the woman in the cell for he thinks it is the woman Takes was talking about (Truus Coster). Anton keeps looking forward to who the woman in the cell was and during this time period, episode three to the final episode, he has constant migraines which plunge him into darkness in order to stop the pain. Mulisch structured this episode as this to show the reader that looking towards the future is dangerous and we should rely on our past before we make assumptions. Mulisch then has Anton stop thinking about Truus for he concurs that she must look like Saskia. Anton accepts this conclusion and his migraines start diminishing. This further extends the conceit of dark and light as ways of representing past and future, good and bad.
At the end of the final episode Anton has now spent 36 years searching for his past and finally he comes to a conclusion when he meets his old neighbor Karin Korteweg. Anton finally hears the whole story about his past and he is unusually at ease with this information. Mulisch used this to state that Anton had finally been vindicated of his past. The book ends in mid day, commonly known as when the sun is at its brightest point. Mulisch uses this structure and juxtaposition of the begging of the book to extend the light and darkness motifs in the
World Literature Paper 2 – draft
In his novel The Assault, Harry Mulisch illustrates a clear example at how human memory can aid us in pursuing a better future ahead of us. As Anton watched the motor boats on the first page of the novel he was amazed at how fast the motor boats moved and the wake they left behind. Each time he saw them zoom by he would try to follow their wake however its pattern became so distorted he could not follow it. Along side the motor boats were the gondolas where they were propelled by the captain pushing a stick back thus moving his boat forward. He then takes this approach on life and lives while constantly bringing up his past. Every time he attempted to look at what the …show more content…
It is only when Anton is taken out of the cell and sees blood that his curiosity raises even more. This along with the assault itself fades away into Anton’s memory like the wake of the motor boats. As he grows older he begins to think about this woman even more. This is particularly set on by a man named Cor Takes who talks to him about his girlfriend. With this new found information Anton keeps attempting to put a face on the woman in the cell for he thinks it is the woman Takes was talking about (Truus Coster). Anton keeps looking forward to who the woman in the cell was and during this time period, episode three to the final episode, he has constant migraines which plunge him into darkness in order to stop the pain. Mulisch structured this episode as this to show the reader that looking towards the future is dangerous and we should rely on our past before we make assumptions. Mulisch then has Anton stop thinking about Truus for he concurs that she must look like Saskia. Anton accepts this conclusion and his migraines start diminishing. This further extends the conceit of dark and light as ways of representing past and future, good and bad.
At the end of the final episode Anton has now spent 36 years searching for his past and finally he comes to a conclusion when he meets his old neighbor Karin Korteweg. Anton finally hears the whole story about his past and he is unusually at ease with this information. Mulisch used this to state that Anton had finally been vindicated of his past. The book ends in mid day, commonly known as when the sun is at its brightest point. Mulisch uses this structure and juxtaposition of the begging of the book to extend the light and darkness motifs in the