Maestro EssayPeter Goldworthy's Maestro reaches its climax when Keller is about to reveal everything about his past to Paul. Paul realises afterwards that he "should have stayed, listened, poured out his schnapps, lubricated his tongue", "but the aroused, sexual present overwhelmed the past", and Paul left Keller and drove to Melbourne with Rosie.In the beginning Paul is unimpressed with Keller and Labels him as a "Nazi". Even when Paul's parents discover how important and great Herr Keller is, Paul remains unmoved. Yet by the time Paul grows up his attitude has changed completely.It is obvious from the start that there is something wrong with Keller. The drunkenness and his hate for the human race (shown by his collection of freak newspaper items), have nothing to do with economic problems. They are signs of the death of his spirit, and his loss of faith in human nature and himself, all of which are caused by his experience in the Holocaust. In Keller's eyes he lost his loved ones through his own arrogance, and he feels that love has betrayed him.Against Keller's will, Paul Crabbe draws him out of his self-imposed living death. Paul is in a sense like Keller when he was young and a reminder to Keller of his own lost son, Eric. Keller loved Paul even though he would never admit it, and as Paul grew so did his love for Keller.The boy Paul is arrogant and self-indulgent. He takes from Keller and gives almost nothing back, and goes through life believing in the greatness of his destiny, regardless of the maestro's warnings. There are many clues that Paul is not great, but Paul refuses to believe it.From the moment we meet Keller we want to know about his mysterious past, and as we venture deeper into the book, we are given clues of what happened to his family, but nothing from Keller's lips. That is until Paul goes to see Keller before he leaves Darwin. Keller begins to spill his guts to Paul giving him the long awaited information about his troublesome past, and the book reaches its climax.When Paul was searching about information on Keller's past in the Adelaide library he would have done anything to hear what Keller was about to tell him. But Paul had given in with Keller. His obsession with sex overwhelmed the past, and he went with Rosie instead of staying with Keller.When Paul leaves he still has the vision of him being a great pianist, and playing in the Halls of Vienna and the Sydney Opera House. Later in life that the adult Paul realizes that he "should have stayed, listened, poured out his schnapps and lubricated his tongue", and finally unveil why Keller had lost faith in the human race, but it was too late.It was not until Paul goes to be with Keller as he is dying that he finally accepts that he will never be a maestro like the great man that taught him, and that his world "was a foolish, innocent world, a world of delusion and felling and ridiculous dreams.
