Symbolism In Harry Mulisch's The Assault

Harry Mulisch’s The Assault is a self-proclaimed “story of an incident,” with “all the rest [of the events being] a postscript” (Mulisch 3 and 55). Despite Harry Mulisch’s straightforward distinction between events, however, the incident itself is complex and dynamic, changing over time. Through narration, characterization, and character foil, Mulisch effectively conveyed a message within The Assault: the futility of blame due to varied perspectives and moral ambiguity. The Assault follows the story of Anton Steenwijk, the protagonist who comes of age after experiencing a traumatic event. Mulisch utilizes an omniscient third person narrator who narrates through descriptions and dialogue rather than outright statements or judgements, which allow the novel to maintain an unbiased …show more content…
At a funeral, while Anton and Sandra were “perspiring in their dark clothes … Sandra, dressed in white, didn’t mind the sun” (Mulisch 101). Throughout the novel, light and dark act as symbols: while white symbolizes truth, good, and revealment while black represents the unknown, evil, and concealment. In general, white can represent purity and innocence while black is the polar opposite. Given these meanings, it can be seen that while the adults were dressed in black — affected by their experiences during the war, something that had become a part of their identity and personalities — Sandra was sheltered from these horrors — as signified by her white dress, which represented innocence. In addition, the sun holds a significance within The Assault. Following his encounter with Takes, Anton was sunbathing at the beach and received a sunburn, which was “unusual” given his olive complexion (Mulisch 128). The sun can be seen as a component of light itself and given Anton’s conversation with Takes and how he came to numerous revelations that he did not wish to be a part of, the sun in this case is a symbol of the

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