The Analysis of Michael’s Perception Towards Hanna in The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

Keywords: perception, phenomenology, attitude This study discusses the main character’s perception towards the other character from a novel entitled The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. The main character, Michael Berg, has a relationship with an older woman named Hanna Schmitz. This study uses a descriptive qualitative as the method to give a more detail explanation about the analysis. The researcher uses two theories to analyze perception and the characterization of the character. Phenomenology is applied to analyze the perception of Michael Berg towards Hanna Schmitz. New criticism is also used to analyze the Hanna’s characterization from Michael’s point of view.The result of this study shows that Hanna’s characterization based on Michael point of view such as kindness, independence, struggling person, commanding, dominance, dismissive, blaming other person, and the last illiterate. All of the characterization makes Michael wants to have more intimate things in their relationship. The writer of this novel makes the perception about Hanna. The kindness, independence and all of that makes Michael want to give feedback to Hanna especially from sex. They had sex frequently. Because of that, Michael always thinks about Hanna, Michael lying to his family to spending more time with Hanna, Michael want to always feel close and spend more time with Hanna and the last is Michael is proud of Hanna because she can write and read after a long time trying in the prison. Beside that there is also Michael’s guilty because Hanna left Michael and he did not get sex and intimate things again and his body feel not comfortable with that condition.