Midwest Modern Language Association

From East Berlin to Hollywood: Literary Resistance in Jurek Becker's "Jakob Der Lgner"
Author(s): Jennifer Bjornstad
Source: The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Spring,
2008), pp. 56-66
Published by: Midwest Modern Language Association
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From East Berlin toHollywood:

Literary Resistance in JurekBecker's
JakobderLiugner
Jennifer
Bjornstad
To those of us who value literaturefor its unique means ofwritten
works often compare unfavorablyto
expression, filmsbased on literary
theiroriginals,thegains ofvisual immediacyinevitably
outweighedby the
losses of compressed plots, reduced character constellations, changed
emphases, and curtailedor eliminatednarrativereflection.The two film
versionsofJurekBecker's 1969 Holocaust novelJakobderLiignerJakobthe
many of these cinematic limitations;both theEast Ger
Liar) sufferfrom
man filmfrom19751 and theHollywood filmfrom1999 divergein signifi
cantways fromtheoriginaltext,losing,in theprocess, some of thenovel's
best traits.
One of themost compellingfeaturesof thenovel is the salience of its
narratorand theway inwhich the storyhe tellsconstitutesa kindof liter
ary resistance.As a Holocaust survivor,thenarratorfindshis lifecircum
prone to angryout
scribedby the factsof his past; bereftof his family,
he is plagued by thedesire to
bursts,and surroundedbymorbid curiosity,
tellamore satisfying
storythantheone forwhich the factsallow, tomove
himselfand the storybeyond the jurisdictionof theHolocaust. Although
material resistanceto theeventsof theHolocaust itselfis no longerpossi
ble, defianceof itscontinuedinfluenceis.By allowingmultiple versionsof
events to co-existwithin his story(includingtwodifferent
endings),Beck
er's narratorcreates an ambiguitythatencompasses both factand fiction
and resiststhenotionof a singularHolocaust narrative.
which is
Unfortunately,theEast German version of JakobderLiigner,
generallyconsidered the superiorcinematicadaptation,essentiallydeletes
thenarrativeframethatcarriesthebulk of thisresistive
move. The Ameri
can version,on theotherhand,maintains the idea of narrativeambiguity
captures thenovel's fundamentalspirit
and, in doing so,more effectively
of resiliencein the faceof tragedy.2
The preservationof thedouble ending,
especially,is preciselyinkeepingwith thecentral themeof thenovel: the
capacityof the literaryimaginationtomitigate thedestructivepower the
Holocaust continues towield not onlyover its survivors,but also over its
perpetratorsand allwho exercise thegiftof empathy.In this study,I focus
on thesecond filmversion's faithfulness
to thenovel's narrativeframeand
the literaryresistanceitembodies.
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East German Portrayals of Resistance

JakobderLugner
was initiallyconceivedas a filmscriptratherthanas a
novel. Becker,who had been interredin theLodz ghetto and inRavens
briickas a youngboy,worked fortheEast German filmcompanyDEFA3 in
the 1960s and 70s,writing televisionandmovie scripts.In 1963, he sub
mitted a screenplaylooselybased on his experienceas a Jewduring
World
War II.Deeply disappointedwith its rejection,hemade his firstforayinto
the fieldof prose fiction;he rewrotethe storyas what turnedout to be a
remarkablysuccessful novel thatwas published inboth East andWest
Germany,was translatedinto several languages,and earned theHeinrich
Mann prizeof theAkademiederKiinste(AcademyofArts) and Switzerland's
CharlesVeillon prize.4
With JakobderLugner,
Beckerdecisivelybroke fromtheestablishedcon
ventions ofHolocaust literature.
Avoiding the typicalfocuson dramatic
heroism thatwas particularlystrongin theEast, Beckerwrote a novel of
quiet grace andmodesty,one thathonored thevictimsof theHolocaust
regardlessofwhat they,in the faceof itshorrors,were able or unable to
do. In his story,thereare no organizeduprisings,daringescapes, or defi
ant speeches.The narratorstatesdefinitively:
"Where Iwas, therewas no
resistance" (81). Instead,what heroism exists is played out on a small
scale: a religiousJewwears a hatwith earflapseven in theheat of summer
inorder to safeguardhis offendingorthodox sidelocks, a formerlawyer
audaciouslydisplayshis IronCross fromtheFirstWorldWar, an unassum
ingbachelor Jakobhimself)shareshis daily foodrationswith a younggirl
whose parentshave been deported.This abandonmentof the typicalrepre
sentationof bold acts of resistancein favorof a portrayalof a more mun
dane existencewas no accident.Becker believed stronglythat resistance
had been over-portrayedin literatureabout thewar and was intenton
writingat least thebeginningof a remedy.
The anecdote aroundwhich Becker built his novelwas, ironically,the
verysortof taleof heroism thathemost disliked.Years afterthewar, his
fathertoldhim about an acquaintance in theghettowho had listened to
broadcastsfroma hidden radio;untilhewas discovered,theman's reports
fromtheworld outside theghettohad broughthope to thoseconfined
with
in it. 5Becker's father
hoped hiswriter-son
would immortalize
thisman and
his heroic deeds by tellingthe story.In "Resistance inJakobderLiigner,"
Beckerdescribestheconversationand his reactiontohis father'srequest:
He had been a big hero said my fatherwith tears in his eyes, and it really
would be worthwhile towrite about him. I also found thisman to be a
hero, but I didn't have the slightest desire towrite about him. Because I
had often read about thisman-thousands
of books had already been
written about him. Strictly speaking almost every book that I had read
about the fascist era was about this veryman. (272)

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57

Becker's eventual adaptation of the anecdote adds a comic twist that

underminestheheroicnatureof the story.In his version,the radio listener
is not a listenerat all, but a man who findshimselfin theawkwardsitua
tionof having theentireghetto thinkhe has a radiowhen in facthe does
not,which makes him feelcompelled to inventfictionalnews itemshe
believes himself incapable of inventing.For Becker, this transformation
fromhero to antiherowas key:"Now that,I thought,
was a good idea fora
story" (Lewis 103).
Becker's rejectionof an exaggeratedportrayalof resistancewas formed
in reactionto the literary
and cinematicworks about theNazi era thathad
come out of postwar East Germany,novels such as Anna Seghers' Das
siebteKreuz (The Seventh Cross)6 and Bruno Apitz's Nackt unterWolfen
(NakedAmongWolves) and filmssuch asWolfgang Staudte's Rotation
(Rotation) and Slaton Dudow's Stdrkerals dieNacht (Strongerthan the
Night). These works andmany otherswere built around portrayalsof
would come to be referredto as the "antifa
what inEast German rhetoric
sistischerWiderstand" (antifascistresistance), stories of concentration
camp inmatesopposing theircaptivityand thoseoutside thecamps devot
movement.Seghers' novel
ing themselvesin solidarityto theunderground
tellsof theescape of seven prisoners froma concentrationcamp;Apitz's
novel involvesa groupofBuchenwald inmateswho hide a Jewishboy and
plan an uprisingagainst thecamp authorities;Staudte's filmcenterson a
man who rejects his formerpro-Nazi ideologyafterhe sees his Jewish
neighborstakenaway;andDudow's filmfeaturesa similarlyheroiccharac
terwho risksall byparticipatinginantifascistactivities.
In an articleoutliningtheGermanDemocraticRepublic's discourse on
concentrationcamps,Thomas Taterka shows how the rhetoricof resist
ance in these literaryand cinematicworkswas centralto theCommunist
Party'sdesired course forEast German culturalproduction.Drawing on a
wide varietyof originaldocuments,he details an enduringpartycommit
ment to framingthehistoryof resistancetoHitler's governmentexpressly
as a productof theMarxist movement and describes theway inwhich an
imaginativelyrecreated"Buchenwald" (whichhe differentiatesfromthe
actual concentrationcamp) servedas a handy rallyingpoint fortheparty.
In this reframed"Buchenwald," liberationcame not fromthe conquering
American troops,but fromtheCommunistprisoners,in an act of self-lib
eration.Accounts thatdid notmatch thisversion ofwhat had happened
were repressed,while artisticrepresentationsofwartime resistancewere
activelysoughtand encouraged.Such representationshelped solidifythe
position of thenewly established East German societyas discontinuous
with theHitler regimeand solidlygrounded inCommunist ideology.In
1958, theBuchenwaldmyth coalesced: a museum dedicated to the resist
ancemovementwas createdon thegroundsof the formercamp, a Buchen

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wald monument was erected, a Buchenwald cantatawas composed and

Wblfenwas published.Apitz's
performed,and BrunoApitz's Nackt unter
novelwas later to become a radioplay,a TV-movie,and a DEFA produc
tion.Many East German authors followedApitz's lead.7Becker's exasper
ated referenceto "thisman"-the resistancehero aboutwhom everyHolo
caust novel seemed to have been written-shows his acute frustration
sanctioned,paradigm.
with thisdominating,officially
The Literary Imagination
While Becker eschewed a depiction of the rareactive resistancepor
his novel constructsa resistance
trayedin thebulk ofHolocaust literature,
of its own, an imaginative,literaryresistance thatderives its authority
fromtheautonomyof thenarrativevoice.The narratorof JakobderLiigner,
theghetto's sole survivor,is a ubiquitouspresence in thenovel, frequently
breakinginto the storyto comment,hypothesize,or give additionalexpla
nation, devotingwhole passages to describinghis previous attemptsat
tellingthestoryand todisclosing theoriginsof his sourcematerial.Confi
dent in his role as storyteller,he opens with a bold declaration: "It is
evening"(3). On thatevening,as thenarratortells it,JakobHeym, former
of a
latkeand ice cream seller,findshimselfunexpectedlyin theproximity
radio. Sent to theheadquarters building forallegedlybreaking evening
curfew,he is leftalone in an emptyhallway,unsurewhere to findtheoffi
When a door opens, he overhearsa preciouspiece of informa
ceron duty.
tion froma radio news broadcast: theRussian troops are just outside
Bezanika, a townonly severalhundredkilometersfromtheghetto.Con
with whom Jakobspeaks
traryto all reasonable expectations,theofficer
spares him the "well-deservedpunishment" (4) he has been directed to
ask for,and he returnshomewith renewedhope forsurvival.The next
Mischa
morning,unable to keep thenews tohimself,he tellshis coworker
he accompanies
what he has heard. In order to lendhis reportcredibility,
initiat
white lie-"I have a radio!" (22)-thus inadvertently
itwith a little
inghis reluctantcareeras ghettonewsbringer.
The narratorproceeds chronologicallythroughthe storyof Jakoband
his "radio," fromJakob's initialattempts to pretend the radio is broken,
his desperate schemes to findadditional sources of verifiablenews, and
his gradualdiscoveryof his creativeimpulse.But it is not an easy storyto
tell.Like Jakob,who built a series of elaborate news reports fromone
small piece of actual information,thenarratorof JakobderLiignerfinds
himself cobbling together a storyout of an inadequate selection of
observations,recollectedeyewitnessaccounts,
resources-scantyfirsthand
and research done aftermost traces of the events have been erased.
Despite all of his efforts,the story is impossible to reconstructin its
entirety:"Then thereis a big gap forwhich thereare simplynowitnesses"

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59

(33). The narrator,sensitivetoboth thehistoricalrealitiesof his storyand

to itsaestheticrequirements,strugglesto dealwith thisgap.At one point,
he resolvesto fillit in fromhis own imagination
without restraint:
I tellmyself that itmust have happened more or less in such and such a
way, or that itwould be best if it had happened in such and such a way,
and then I tell it and pretend that's how itwas. And that is how itwas;
it's not my fault that thewitnesses who could confirm it can no longer be

found.(33)

To a certainextent,he does follow throughon his resolution; thedetail

with which he relatesmany conversationsand events can only represent
imaginativeextrapolationor outrightinvention.
Yet he neverappears to be
quite at peace with theaudacityof this resolution,repeatedlyreturningto
thequestion of his sources and identifying
certainpassages as fictions.
Most markedly,he refuses tomake certainnarrativechoices thatwould
seem to be imperative,insteadofferinga set of alternatives:Jakobwill be
either castigatedwhen theRussians take longer thanexpected to reach
themor, "let's look at anotherpossibility"(18), he will be suspected as a
spy;Mischa is "maybeoffended,
maybe not" (71); a woman wipes awayher
tearsor leaves them (43); a cardboardbox iswhite or brown,"in any case
a cardboardbox" (46). The sense of the storyas an explicitlynarratedone
isnever lost,and thedifficulty
of its tellingpermeatesthenarration.
These smaller instancesof narrativeambiguitythatoccur throughout
the storyprepare the readerforthe final,elaborate instanceof ambiguity:
thedouble ending.Before thenarratorrelates theactual ending,"the one
experiencedbyJakoband the restof us" (222), he allows his poetic license
freereinby creatinga completelyfictionalending forthe story,one thathe
more successful"(222) than the factualone. In this
says is "incomparably
alternateending,thenarratorhas Jakobtireofmaking up news storiesand
resolveto leave theghetto.He removesthegold star fromhis chest, slides
a pair of pliers intohis pocket, and attemptshis escape.Whether Jakob
leaves to save his own life,to escape theconstantdemands of his curious
friendsand neighbors,or to return
with realnews, thenarratorcannot or
will not determine.Jakob is shot and killed as he cuts throughthewire
fence surrounding the ghetto, but the sound of the shotmingles with
Russian artilleryfirein thedistance,and theRussian troopsarrivejust in
time to save theothersandmake Jakoba martyr.
Acknowledgingthatthis
alternateversionof eventsas he presents themhere is a fiction,thenarra
torends his storywith a second ending trueto the factsof theHolocaust,
the facts that color his existence as a survivor: "But finally,after the
inventedending,here is thepallid and depressing,the trueand unimagi
native ending thatmakes one inclined to ask the foolishquestion:What
was thepoint of it all?" (234). The novel comes to a closewith Jakoband
thenarratortogetherin a freightcar headed to the campswhere, as the
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readerknows,Jakobwill entrusthis storyto thenarrator,one of the few

who manages to survive.
Althoughhe feelsobligatedto endwith thebleak truth,
which lendshis
storya fundamentalauthenticity,
thenarratorclearlyprefershis fictional
conclusion to the story.By givinghis happierendinga place alongside the
realone, he exercises theone formof resistanceavailable to him afterthe
fact,a resistance that is purely literary.
Weak and limited,such literary
resistancecannotchange thepast,which is irrevocably
determined,and it
can hardlyhope to change the future.
What itcan do is simplyexist, in the
timelesspresentof theaestheticwork.8Although thenarrator'sresistance
ismaterially ineffectual,it retains thepower of a straightforward
state
ment. The insistentpresence of thealternateending stands in eloquent
protest against an intolerablehistory;by holding up an alternative,he
declares thattherecould have been otherpossibilities,thatthe evil of the
Holocaust was not inevitablebutwas ratherbased on deplorablehuman
choiceswith disastrous consequences that, together,added up to utter
tragedy.In thisway, thenarrativeframeand especially thedouble ending
rejectthenotion thattheHolocaust was the sole possible outcome of his
tory.
The literaryresistanceof JakobderLiigneris quite differentfromthe
active and heroic resistance that formedthebasis ofmuch of theHolo
caust literaturewith which JurekBecker was familiar.It nevertheless
marks thenovel as one centrallyconcernedwith thevery idea of resist
ance.Despite his blustering,Becker apparently
would not have disagreed;
inhis remarkson resistanceinJakobderLiigner,
he closedwith this state
ment:
I have one more thing to saywhich will spoil everything,with which I
will probably destroy the small impressionmy argumentsmay have made
on one or another of you. But I'm going to have to say it anyway
because it also belongs here. The only theme in this book, so it seems to
me, is resistance. (273)

Resistance certainlyis one of themajor themesof the story,but itgoes

much beyond that;with the inclusionof thenarrativeframeand itsdelib
erate ambiguities,thenarrativebecomes an embodimentof the resistance
itself.
When assessing, therefore,
the relativeachievementof the filmver
sions of JakobderLiigner,theextent towhich the filmscapture thenarra
tiveambiguitythatcreates theresistanceof theoriginalnovel is key.
JakobderLiigner:The 1975 Film
FrankBeyer's 1975 adaptationof the storyremovesthenarrativeframe
of thenovel almost entirely,
making only a briefnod to the idea of narra
tiveambiguityat theverybeginningof the film.In theopening sequence,
Jakob is leavinghis apartment;as he locks thedoor, stows thekey in its
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61

hiding spot fortheday,andwalks down thehallway,theaction is briefly

interrupted
by a seriesof threeintertitle
screens:
"The tale of Jakob the liar is not true."

"Honest."

"Butmaybe it is true after all."

This set of statementsdoes, to some degree,mimic thenarrativevoice of

the novel, but ratherthan suggestingindividualalternatives,itputs the
storyas a whole intoquestion:maybe ithappened thisway andmaybe it
did not. The bulk of the themeof lies, truth,and storytellingthatperme
ates everyaspect of thenovel, includingthenarrationitself,has to be car
ried by the storylinealone inBeyer's version of the story.Perhapsmost
notably,the idea of thedouble ending is completelyeliminated.InBeyer's
version,thereis onlyone ending:deportationand an assumed destination
of death forall. Because thenarrativeframeisminimized to these isolated
elements, the filmlacks the concretemove of resistance thatunderpins
thenovel.9
Jakob theLiar: The 1999 Film
PeterKassovitz's 1999 adaptationof the story,on theotherhand,main
tains a narrativeframe,
with a conspicuous narrator (in this case, Jakob
himself)and theambiguityof a double ending. In thenovel, thenarrator
indulgeshis fancyfirst,thencloses with theharsh truth;inKassovitz's
When he learns thatcamp authori
film,he relates the tragicending first.
ties are lookingforthe radio,Jakobturnshimself in and eventuallyman
ages to convincetheguards thathe has beenmaking up thenews reports.
Broughtbeforetheghetto to tell the truth,he refusesto speak and is shot,
and thedeportationcommences.As the trainis shownmoving away from
theghetto,thevoiceoverfromthebeginningof the filmreturns,and Jakob
says: "So that'show itended.And theyallwent offto thecamps andwere
never seen again."Then, as ifa wonderful idea has just occurred to him,
his voice picks up a bit,and he adds: "Butmaybe itwasn't likethatat all."
He thenshiftsinto fullstorytelling
mode forthesecond ending: 'About50
kilometersout of town,the trainwas stoppedbyRussian troopswho had
just takenBezanika and Pry."The trainslows,Lina-the girlwith whom
Jakobsharedhis rations-jumps to themesh window of the traincar,and
thereare the long-awaited
Russian tanks.She stands transfixed,
gazing at
two approaching soldiers playing a Russian tune on accordion and har
monica. In amove thatapproximatesthewild abandon thatovercomes the
narratorof thenovel fromtime to time,the storyconcludes in totalfanta
sy: theRussian melodymodulates to a snappyversionof the "BeerBarrel
Polka" and, as a blast of steam fromthe engine clears,Lina sees not the
soldiers,but a tanktoppedwith an energeticjazz band of tuxedoedinstru

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mentalists and a trioof singing ladies inbright red evening gowns and
furs.As she continues to stare in amazementat the surreal scene before
her,Linamouths thename "Jakob"and the filmends.
The extremefantasyof this second endinghas troubledsome scholars
and critics. In "AmericanizingtheHolocaust," Pol O'Dochartaigh refers
brieflyto thefilm's"confusedconclusion" (467). Annlee EllingsonofBox
office.comsays: "The potentiallysincereending is negatedby another lie,
giving the filma boxofficefriendlyfeelingof hope but lessening itsdra
detailed inhis criticism.First,
matic intensity."
Roger Ebert is particularly
he claims that the finalsequence is implausible.The vision of the jazz
with thegirl'sperspective:"This
band on the tank is,he says, incongruent
who wouldn't have the slightest
shot is a fantasy,imaginedby a character
of course,
notionwhat such a performance
would look like."It is a fantasy,
and one which Lina would have been unable to envision.She has grown
up in such impoverishedconditions in theghetto thatshemistakes a gas
lamp fora radio,does not know thatmost children spend theirdays at
school, and cannot imagineeatinguntil she is full.But just because Lina
cannotpossiblyknowwhat a jazz band looks likedoes notmean thisscene
is implausible.Ebert seems to have forgottenthatthewhole story,includ
ing thissecond ending, is a narratedone,whichmeans thattheband is a
productnot of thegirl's imagination,but ratherof thenarrator's,and he
Lina imaginingsuch a scene.
chooses to end his storyby imagining
Ebert's second criticismis that the finalsequence is out of place. He
asks: "What is itdoing in themovie? I fearit is thereforone reasononly:
to provide an upliftingconclusion even if ithas to be hauled in by the
ears."Again, Ebert is right,but only to a point.This last scene is indeed
out of place,but it is somuch beyondanypossible realitythatitcan hard
lybe perceived as anythingbut an extreme indulgenceon Jakob'spart.
Ebert calls the image "manipulative,"but it is only so ifviewers fail to
sympathizewith Jakob'splight as narrator:he simplywants something
a happyending to a tragical
betterforLina and forall his fellowsufferers,
lyunhappystory.Because he has ultimatecontrolover theway thestoryis
told, thenarrator simplyappends to the storyan ending thathe finds
In short,the film'scrazilyupbeat conclusionhas indeed
more satisfactory.
in
hauled
been
by theears-not byKassovitz orWilliams, however,but by
JakobHeym, in amoment of impulsiveresistanceto thegrim realitythat
necessarilyshapeshis story.
Taken as a whole, Kassovitz's filmdoes havemany faults,and the two
star ratingthatEbert gives it is not undeserved.But thereis good reason
toquestionwhether thedouble ending isweak, especiallywhen it success
fullycapturesmuch of thepower of thenovel's narrativeframe.The pres
ence of thealternateending-which does not eclipse the first,but stands
beside itas a fictionalalternative-worksin the sameway as itdoes in the

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63

novel, implyingthatthereare alwaysmultiple possibilities,in the realmof

history as well as in the realm of story.Thus, thenarrative ambiguity
Jakob introducesserves as a reminderthat the tragedyof theHolocaust
was based on a seriesof individualchoicesmade by actualpeople, not on a
predeterminedand inescapablestreamof events.The narrativeambiguity
stands as an ethical indictmentof thebehavior thatenabled such a tragic
historicaloutcome.Things could have happened differently,
Jakobinsists,
and theyshouldhave.
At the same time,Jakobdoes not allow thissober reflectionto pull him
intodespair.By simplyexercisingthe rightto create thisother reality
one that is clearlymarked as wish-fulfillment-he asserts the resistive
power of the imaginationas a means of transcendingthe tragedyand of
returning
ameasure of dignityto thevictims.He refusesto lethimself,his
story,and thecharactersaroundwhom the storyis lovingly
builtbe deter
mined by thecheerlesshistorical truth.Instead, takingfulladvantageof
his authorityas narrator,he ends the storyin theway he wants by giving
preferenceto an imaginativereinterpretationthatallows his characters,
especiallyLina, thechance to experiencethehappyendingdenied them.In
pairing thehappier outcomewith the terribleone he cannot deny,Jakob
demonstratesa resilientspirit.As thenovel's narratorexplains: "Besides,
theyall deserveda betterending" (222).
ValparaisoUniversity
Notes
1. The theater release inApril 1975 was preceded by a television premiere on
December 23, 1974 (Gilman 92).
2. The East German film, directed by Frank Beyer, received the Silver Berlin Bear
award in 1975 and a nomination forBest Foreign Language Film at the 1977 Acad
emy Awards. The American film, directed by Peter Kassovitz and starringRobin
as Jakob,

Williams

received

a much

less positive

critical

response.

Various

review

ers dismissed it as "manipulative" (Roger Ebert), "maudlin" (James Berardinelli),

"strained" (JanetMaslin), and "forced" (Kenneth Turan). In his biography of Jurek
Becker, Sander Gilman maintains that it "so violated [Becker's] concept of Jacob's
character that the entire film failed" (201).
3. Deutsche FilmAktiengesellschaft(German Film Company).
4. For a detailed biography of Jurek Becker based on numerous
other

primary

sources,

interviews and

see Gilman.

5. Gilman suggests thatMax Becker may have actually told this anecdote about
himself. On a formhe filled out in 1946, Becker's father stated that he had listened
to a radio

in the ghetto

and had

passed

on news

reports

to others

(16-18,

60-61).

6. Das siebteKreuz was published first in an English edition inMexico in 1942, five
years before Seghers returned to Germany. The German publication followed in
1946. (SeeFrenzel621.)
7. Taterka characterizes Nackt unterW?lfen as the definitive literarywork on the

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Holocaust

in the East:

"All other

concentration

camp

texts

can

only

the sta

claim

tus of relative texts. They stand in relation to the hegemonic discursive field that
was newly founded byNackt unterW?lfen and persisted until the end of the GDR,
whether they do this intentionallyor mandatorily, whether they ignore the novel,
attempt congruency with it, or take a stand against it" (317-18, my translation).
For furtherexamples of literaryworks in this vein, see Eke 91-96.

8. The present-tense nature of the resistance inJakobderL?gnerhas been acknowl

edged by at least two different scholars, Birgit Dahlke and Simone Barck, in their
mutual use of the term "Widerstehen" instead of "Widerstand," that is, resisting (a
state of being, in the present) rather than resistance (a completed action in the
past). In German, both "Widerstehen" and "Widerstand" are made up of the
preposition "wider" (against) and a form of the verb "stehen" (to stand). In
"Widerstehen" the verb is in the infinitiveform,which is used forpresent tense; in
"Widerstand" the verb is in the past tense.
9. One modestly used cinematic device thatmight be said to extend the idea of
multiple possibilities is a series of fantasy sequences in bright color that stand in
sharp contrast to the sepia tones of the rest of the film.These scenes do present, in
a limitedway, another reality that stands alongside the one seen in themain body
of the film.

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