Essay Questions

How does the irony of Dite manifest itself in the book I served the King of England by Bohumil Hrabal?

Dite finds himself in a quandary because he is encountering strange things in his life. As a man, Dite believes that he is in control of whatever he does and especially when it comes to his family. However, it is ironic that he finds himself doing things beyond his will. For instance, he is required to seek permission from authorities to impregnate her! When he moves into the Nazi camp with his wife, he is considered an outsider because he is not of German origin. Therefore, Germans are the ones who instruct him on what to do including impregnating his wife. This is an embarrassing situation but he has no option but to comply.

How does Nazi empathy and subsidiarity complex emerge as the two main ironies used by the author?

It is astonishing that besides Dite being opposed to Nazi philosophies, he goes ahead to marry a woman who is an intransigent devotee of the Nazi principles. Therefore, Nazi empathy emerges as one of the main ironies used by the author in this narration. The reader finds it unrealistic that people who share different political beliefs can live together in harmony. The subsidiarity complex irony is predominant in the book because Dite believes that he needs to do miracles to disapprove people. He is a short person and he feels inferior in front of everyone including his wife. Ironically, no individual is looking down upon Dite for his shortness.

How does the narrative prove that love is blind?

The one reality the reader learns from I served the King of England story is that love is blind and has no boundaries. Despite Dite being a short man, he goes ahead to date Lise and she falls in love with him. Similarly, both share different political ideologies but that does not stop them from loving one another. Additionally, notwithstanding the strict rules requiring him to seek permission to impregnate Lise, he does not despair because he follows those rules even if they are embarrassing.