After watching Bent and reading Good, I can see how on one hand, John Halder is the victimizer and Max is the victim, but on the other hand, I can really see Halder as the victim and Max as the victimizer.
John Halder is the victimizer because he wrote a book about euthanasia. He started the idea of euthanizing Jews with this book, but like I said before, I see him more as a victim than a victimizer. He wrote a about practicing euthanasia with compassion, not just willy-nilly killing people. Also, he wrote a book. That’s it. He didn’t force the Nazi Party to read it and put it into practice. The Nazi’s were the victimizer’s, not Halder. He is most definitely a victim not only because of his book being put into practice, but also because he was dealt a bad hand for life. He has an unstable wife, a senile mother, and two children that need him more than usual because of their mother. He definitely gets my sympathy vote, but Max? Not so much.
Max is a victim because he was a victim of the Holocaust. He was taken from his home and sent with the Jews because he was a gay man. He went through a lot, but I have a hard time seeing him as a victim in any other sense than that he was singled out by the Nazi’s. From the beginning, he treats others poorly. He brought a soldier home to sleep with while Rudy was there. When they are fleeing from the Nazi’s, Rudy is working and Max just sits around and works on “deals.” Eventually the Nazi’s find them and put them on a train. On the train, Rudy is beaten and cries out for Max, but what does Max do? Nothing. No, he actually beats on Rudy when he is told to and actually loses it while beating on Rudy. Rudy dies on the train and Max, from the on to the end, cannot remember Rudy’s name. A little later we find out that Max has a yellow Star of David instead of a pink triangle because he didn’t want people to see him as a gay man. Really? His friend Horst, who took the place of Rudy, told Max that he loved him, but Max deliberately said, “Do not love me.” At the end of the movie, Max realizes that he loved both men, but it is too late to do anything about it, so he touches the electric fence and kills himself.
Both characters can be seen as a victim and victimizer. In my opinion, however, Halder is more of a victim and Max is more of a victimizer.
I agree with your argument that both protagonists in "Good" and "Bent" can be seen as both victim and victimizer. Like Wiesel in "Night," Max represents a victim of the Holocaust on the basis of who he is as a person. Max and Wiesel cannot escape the fact that they are gay and Jewish, respectively. These are intrinsically part of who they are. Max becomes a victimizer in the sense that he suppresses who he is and as a result, victimizes himself in the process. Halder in “Good” is a victim in the sense that he begins the play with uncertainty about where his allegiance lies, either in line with his morals or with his country’s superiors. Halder is blinded by the notion that he can still consider himself a good man in spite of his involvement in the mass extermination of people. He presents no legitimate justification for his actions other than cowardice, which propels him from victim to victimizer as the play progresses.
ReplyDeleteMiller-Comment on Campbell's blog on Bent & Good
ReplyDeleteWhile protagonists in both "Good" and "Brent" can be seen as both victims and victimizers, I think that the roles are more defined than that. In other words, while the roles *could* be reversed, it is important to look at why each person does the actions he does. For example, the scene in "Bent" where Max joins in the beating of Rudy is a very emotional scene. However, it seems doubtful that Max would take part in this had he not been under order to from the Nazis. While taking a yellow star over a pink triangle is less than admirable, one could argue that Max did what was necessary to survive.
While Max is ultimately a victim in this story, I do agree that he makes it extremely easy to view him as a victimizer. He has betrayed everything and everyone so it is hard to see him as being helpless once he is taken by the Nazis. Before he was sent to the camp, Max had indulged in a lifestyle in which he cheats on his boyfriend, drinks all night and does drugs all day. He appeared to be lazy and didn’t pay rent. Even after him and Rudy are captured he still doesn’t make an effort to work and lets Rudy do all the work. He is used to slacking off and having everything going his way. This is shown when he bribes a guard so that he can work together with Horst.He doesn’t even consider if Horst would like to come work with him. Max believes so strongly that he will survive that it leads him to lie and betray everything dear to him, including homosexuality. He only regains his title of victim at the end when he realizes he has betrayed all that he loves and decided to put on the pink star and kill himself.
ReplyDeleteJohn wrote a book, but, remember, he also joined the Nazi party because it allowed him more prestige. His chair told him he should, so, when he was invited, he saw the advantages, became a member and was promoted at the University. The play is very different from the film, GOOD. What does the play do to comment on Halder's behavior? That is very important.
ReplyDeleteMax refused to dump Rudy to save himself when his uncle said he could get one exit visa, but not two. Keep that in mind.