Reading it this time, I noticed a lot of stuff that I hadn't noticed before. I still haven't sorted through everything, so the only thing I have to say about it now is pretty low-hanging fruit (figuratively speaking) about wheels in the book. Judging by the title, wheels are pretty important, yet I'd failed to notice them the other two times I read the book.
The rest of this post contains spoilers.
The rest of this post contains spoilers.
It's pretty hard to miss the significance of one of the wheels because it's in the line that provides the book's title. After Hans' performance in Hebrew has started to flag, the headmaster talks to him and encourages him: "That's the way, that's the way, my boy. Just don't let up or you'll get dragged beneath the wheel." In this context, the wheel represents academic work. If Hans doesn't keep up with his studies, he'll find later lessons and such to be more difficult, and he'll eventually fall behind.
Despite this encouragement (or perhaps warning) Hans eventually does fall behind and has to leave the academy. After he comes back to the village, he goes to watch the other villagers make cider. He becomes attracted to the shoemaker's niece, but he's nervous about talking to her, "so he withdrew his feelers awkwardly and a little offended and crawled back into himself like a snail brushed by a cartwheel."
It was at this point that I started paying attention to the wheels that appear in the book. I don't know if there's an instance where Hans is actually described as encountering the crushing metaphorical wheel of academia, but this is an instance where the wheel starts to get closer, merely "brush[ing]" him.
Because he no longer attends the academy, he starts an apprenticeship as a mechanic. His first task is to file off the rough edges of a cog-wheel. The metaphorical wheel has now become an actual wheel, and it starts to affect Hans physically. At first, it's just that his hands become black with the work, but later "his arm hurt and his left hand with which he pressed down on the file had become red and began to smart." The next day, "his hands burned, [and] the swellings had turned into blisters."
As the book progresses, the wheel becomes less of a conceit and more of a physical object that Hans interacts with. First, it's just the idea of a wheel. Then it's a simile that just misses him, and finally, it's an iron cog-wheel that he tears up his hands trying to smooth. Interestingly, the wheel gets closer to reality as it gets closer to rolling over Hans (it's like a meta-metaphor; as the wheel becomes more concrete, it becomes more impending). Each of these three instances corresponds to different areas of Hans' life too. The first is the crushing wheel of academia, the second is the pressure of socialization, and the third is the strain of intense physical work.
I think the last two of these wheels provide examples of how the pressure put on Hans to succeed academically has ultimately had a negative effect on him. Because of the narrowly-directed and persistent pressure put on academic matters, he no longer knows how to communicate (or maybe even understand) his feelings, particularly his love for Emma, the shoemaker's niece. (To some degree, his being out-of-touch with his feelings is also shown through his relationship with his friend Heilner while he's still at the academy.) His body has also withered away. Because he's pushed himself (and been pushed) so much academically, he's no longer able to do physical work. There are also multiple instances throughout the book where he mentions headaches he gets because of his frequent and intense studying.
I think these instances of wheels and how they affect Hans could be read other ways too, but the crushing nature of them was particularly prevalent to me as I read the book this time. Probably because I just recently finished my formal education and am glad to be avoiding it this year.
Despite this encouragement (or perhaps warning) Hans eventually does fall behind and has to leave the academy. After he comes back to the village, he goes to watch the other villagers make cider. He becomes attracted to the shoemaker's niece, but he's nervous about talking to her, "so he withdrew his feelers awkwardly and a little offended and crawled back into himself like a snail brushed by a cartwheel."
It was at this point that I started paying attention to the wheels that appear in the book. I don't know if there's an instance where Hans is actually described as encountering the crushing metaphorical wheel of academia, but this is an instance where the wheel starts to get closer, merely "brush[ing]" him.
Because he no longer attends the academy, he starts an apprenticeship as a mechanic. His first task is to file off the rough edges of a cog-wheel. The metaphorical wheel has now become an actual wheel, and it starts to affect Hans physically. At first, it's just that his hands become black with the work, but later "his arm hurt and his left hand with which he pressed down on the file had become red and began to smart." The next day, "his hands burned, [and] the swellings had turned into blisters."
As the book progresses, the wheel becomes less of a conceit and more of a physical object that Hans interacts with. First, it's just the idea of a wheel. Then it's a simile that just misses him, and finally, it's an iron cog-wheel that he tears up his hands trying to smooth. Interestingly, the wheel gets closer to reality as it gets closer to rolling over Hans (it's like a meta-metaphor; as the wheel becomes more concrete, it becomes more impending). Each of these three instances corresponds to different areas of Hans' life too. The first is the crushing wheel of academia, the second is the pressure of socialization, and the third is the strain of intense physical work.
I think the last two of these wheels provide examples of how the pressure put on Hans to succeed academically has ultimately had a negative effect on him. Because of the narrowly-directed and persistent pressure put on academic matters, he no longer knows how to communicate (or maybe even understand) his feelings, particularly his love for Emma, the shoemaker's niece. (To some degree, his being out-of-touch with his feelings is also shown through his relationship with his friend Heilner while he's still at the academy.) His body has also withered away. Because he's pushed himself (and been pushed) so much academically, he's no longer able to do physical work. There are also multiple instances throughout the book where he mentions headaches he gets because of his frequent and intense studying.
I think these instances of wheels and how they affect Hans could be read other ways too, but the crushing nature of them was particularly prevalent to me as I read the book this time. Probably because I just recently finished my formal education and am glad to be avoiding it this year.
