Girl In The Blue Coat Literary Analysis

In order to be a good friend you must be trustworthy and a good listener. In Girl In The Blue Coat, Monica Hesse illustrates the main character, Hanneke, with many qualities of a good friend, but also of a bad friend. She takes on the trait of being a bad friend with her friend Elsbeth when she wishes that her boyfriend is dead. This is being a bad friend because she isn’t paying attention to the fact that Elsbeth clearly loves Rolf, her boyfriend. Hanneke demonstrates the qualities of a good friend when she asks Ollie who he loves. Ollie tells Hanneke that he “[doesn’t] love Judith. [He loves] Willem.” (Hesse, 230). Hanneke listens, and she promises not to tell anybody, thereby exhibiting the two traits of a good friend; trustworthy and a good listener. Hanneke, based upon the way Hesse creates her character, would be a good person to tell your secrets to, but you should not criticize her in return. Therefore, she would make a good friend as long as you treat her fairly, and all good friends treat each other fairly.