On THE WALL JUMPER

“Where does the state end and a self begin?” (125)

After WWII the German state and geography were effectively, successfully split in two.  With a mechanical precision the communist East was split from the capitalist West, and in a few historical moments tremendous divisions were carved into the formerly unified Germany.   These divisions were terribly effective politically and logistically.

The divisions that were so effective at dividing Germany were much less effective at dividing the Germans.   When mentioning Germany, the narrator of The Wall Jumper refers, “neither to the DDR nor ­­to the BRD but to a country which exists only in my memory or in my imagination.  If I were asked where it (Germany) lies, I could only locate it in its history and in the language I speak.” (127)  The narrator has experienced and still identifies with a unified German people, and this prevents him from embracing the relatively new distinction between East and West.

Contrast between the stark political division of the two Germanys and the continuity of social, relational, and historical ties among Germans is a central theme in The Wall Jumper.  The narrator has conversations and drinks with people on both sides and often times it is unclear which side of the wall he is on.  Out of all of this confusion emerges the understanding that people are a messy, unpredictable, and confusing bunch that can be transformed by a wall but can’t be contained or defined by it.