come that quickly. His first contact with failure is with his rock band ‘Rough Stuff’, in which they have the potential to win a band competition in Adelaide, but they don’t. And yet again, when he dedicates some of his time in 1974 to travelling around the world from piano competition to piano competition, his efforts prove futile, and the most he can achieve is an ‘honourable mention’. He blames others – the critics, judges, competitors – and even Keller for not encouraging him enough. In Paul’s eyes, Keller probably insulted him more than he did inspire, so he uses him as a scapegoat for all his problems. But he does learn from him in the long run, perhaps in a more in a subconscious way.Keller taught him ‘life lessons’, which was derived from his own life, plagued with suffering. Paul becomes fascinated with his past, and later discovers through Henisch how hard a life he led after the death of his wife and child. Keller blamed himself for losing them, because like Paul, he also had too much pride, and thought nothing would harm the family of the man ‘who played for Hitler’. He was so hurt by his own arrogance that he wanted to kill himself.However, Keller survives. His suffering remains in him and caused him to withdraw from society, but he gives himself a chance to get back on the road to recovery. Despite feelings of regret and bitterness, he learns to open up again, and even love Paul like a son. He is rewarded just before his death, with the knowledge that Paul loves him back. And so Keller too, grows and matures through suffering.However, maturity is gained through various other ways and not only by suffering alone. One of them is the presence of Paul’s role models. He has respectable parents and a remarkable teacher. Though he treats both with contempt at various points, he does take from them the appropriate values, which shapes him as a person. He...
