The puddle metaphor is the most significant device used in the structure of the novel. The "puddle" means the collective information from all the sources. The narrator speaks of the information as 'fluid' and he also talks of the 'conduction' of the information coming from these different sources. There are different types of sources. There are major and minor sources, subterranean streams, and sources "that can never come together". The major sources are the police transcripts, Blorna (attorney) and Hach (public prosecutor). The minor sources are Katharina's brother, Else Woltersheim, etc. The subterranean streams are the 'leaks' from the offices of the law e.g. police department. Of course this could also be criticizing contemporary Germany for allowing such things to occur. The sources "

As said before, The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum is in a police report format. The tone is very formal and it is extremely detailed and logical (stereotypically German). Right from the start the reader can sense a message the author is trying to convey. The subtitle How Violence Develops and where it can lead gives the reader a sense of a trail to follow, or in this case a channel. The story that takes place in this novel is in the period between Wednesday, February 20 and Sunday, February 24, 1974. Around this time is the celebratory period of Carnival. However there is no hint of any celebratory moods in the tone. It is all extremely formal. It can be said that the format of this book is related to how Katharina Blum herself lives her life. The possible reason that this story is set in this police report format is that Heinrich Boll wants the reader to know the facts since all the facts come together in the end. The story uses flashbacks so the reader knows what is happening somewhere else at the same time. It could be said that the reader is finding out all this information in the same order as the police investigation. It seems that the information is scattered and, just like the police, the reader has to try and piece together the puzzle. However, this is all done for the reader in the end. This is another example of how the 'puddle' metaphor is used. The information scattered means that the channel is always changing course.

The structure of The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum of course does not fully show how Heinrich Boll is attacking the modern journalistic ethics and contemporary Germany, that is all in the text of the story. However the structure that Heinrich Boll has put the text in is flawle

Some common words found in the essay are:
Heinrich Boll, Katharina Blum, Else Woltersheim, Violence Develops, police report, katharina blum, honour katharina blum, lost honour katharina, lost honour, honour katharina, 'puddle' metaphor, heinrich boll, police report format, Honour Katharina, Lost Honour, report format, contemporary germany, short chapters, example 'puddle' metaphor, modern journalistic ethics, story set,
Approximate Word count = 1168
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)