Trauma survivors often cope by putting all their energy into silencing and suppressing the harrowing events of the past. One such survivor is Anton Steenwijk, the protagonist of Harry Mulisch's 1982 novel, The Assault. Especially in the first chapter following the “accident,” set during the liberation of Amsterdam, Mulisch portrays Anton's experiences and condition as a trauma survivor. By introducing one of the novel's main conflicts, furthering Anton's characterization, and through the use of symbolism, Mulisch illustrates how, despite the best attempts to suppress the past, it is rooted in the subconscious and cannot be escaped. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One of the main conflicts in Mulisch's novel is an internal conflict between Anton's desire to move on with his life and his inability to face his past to gain closure. This ties directly into the idea that you cannot escape your past unless you are willing to face it. This chapter is crucial in introducing this conflict as it describes Anton's development in the years following the “accident,” in which his family was murdered, his house burned, and everything he knew destroyed. Although Anton believes that the war “has never really been a part of him nor would it ever be” (Mulisch, 55), he is unable to carry on with his usual life because “[the war] was a part of him so that all in all he didn't have much left"" (56). This indicates that his entire life was now marked by these atrocious events. To avoid reliving that pain and anguish, he believes it is best to try to forget the past. However, by doing so, he also prevents himself from living a life full of happiness, comfort, and hope. For example, Anton prefers to “not [feel] like [his aunt and uncle's] son” (56) because this may reduce the creation of emotional or deep connections similar to those from his past. Clearly, Anton longs to forget the past and move forward as he has never even “bothered to read any” (57) of the publications on the German occupation. However, this keeps him cemented in his past as he does not face the events and allows the memories to live in his subconscious. Hence his recurring nightmares about the “accident”. This internal conflict between the desire to move forward and the refusal to face the past is the reason why Anton is unhappy for many years and unable to create meaningful connections with others. The introduction of this conflict is vital to the novel's progression, as it relates to one of the novel's major themes of the deleterious effects of suppressing one's past and justifies many of Anton's decisions and actions in the future. Furthermore, Mulisch illustrates a crucial dynamic change in Anton's personality, and thus suggests that despite Anton's desire to escape the past, it continually influences his life. During the first episode, Anton is portrayed as a curious and joyful boy who played with other children and spent his time reflecting and contemplating ordinary scenes he often encountered. However, after the accident, Anton “had no desire to know” (57) anything about the war or his family's fate. This drastic change in his level of curiosity is illustrated primarily through the repetition of Anton's indifferent attitude towards all information regarding the past. Through indirect characterization, the reader can infer that Anton's refusal to "read any [war documentspublished]" (57) and his lack of desire to know "any [detail]" (56) about his family's death demonstrate the rapid dissipation of his curiosity present during his childhood. Furthermore, before the accident Anton was indirectly characterized as a sensitive boy who did not like to be forgotten by his family and who desired the company and affection of others, as demonstrated when he is comforted by Truus in the prison cell is a clear contrast to the first chapter of the second episode in which Anton isolates himself from society and does not "take part" in the activities of other "boys of his age" (55). Furthermore, Anton felt like a guest at his uncle's house and not "like their son" (56), which indicates a more distant relationship and suggests that he does not wish to become attached to other people. This isolation highlights how the past continues to haunt him despite his efforts to suppress it because he is unable to move on with his life. These dynamic characteristics of Anton are vital as they indicate how the past continues to influence his development and character, despite his attempts to separate himself from the painful events of his past. Despite these aspects of his dynamic characterization, some of Anton's characteristics remain static. Above all, his indifference and impartiality towards the people involved in the war remain the same. During the incident, the Nazis are presented through Anton's perspective as it is written in limited third person. In his portrayal of the Nazis he rarely uses biased or judgmental language, but perceives them simply as “soldiers” or “officers” carrying out their duties. Anton harbors no prejudice against the Nazis and sees them as ordinary human beings, while others like Truus, his cellmate, call them “bastards” (37). Anton is able to recognize when they give him a “friendly nod” (43) and was devastated and “breathing [...] convulsively” (49) when Schulz, an officer accompanying Anton to Amsterdam, died. This indifference and lack of discrimination reappears in the second episode through indirect characterization, when Anton struggles to determine whether “the German man with the scar” (57) was compassionate for not killing Anton as the Nazis would have done “in Poland and Russia” (58). have, or cruel because he “execute[ed] the inhabitants” (58) of Anton's house. Anton's inability to form an opinion about the Nazis is a consequence of his internal conflict and refusal to process his past. Furthermore, this describes Mulisch's critique of people's predetermined views of others and their inability to perceive Nazis as other human beings simply doing their jobs to get by. Additionally, Mulisch reinforces the idea that one cannot escape the past through his use of symbolism. . Mulisch uses symbolism to open the second episode with the depiction of an “ash cloud rising [into the air] from a volcano […] and continuing to rain […] for years” (55). This prominent image symbolizes how an accident, like an erupting volcano, creates a chain of events that can persist for years. Depicting this through a natural disaster, such as a volcanic eruption, indicates that the repercussions cannot be prevented as it is a natural progression or fate. Likewise, the terms, such as “volcano,” “ash,” and “rain,” contain a negative and pernicious connotation related to the “incident” in Anton's life. The volcanic eruption stands as a symbol of his burned home and the murder of his family, and how, although unwelcome, this incident will continually haunt Anton “for years” (55). Likewise, the image of “complicated,.