 Despite Mihardja 's insistence that Atheis is meant to be realistic , several symbolic interpretations have been put forward . According to Mihardja , one of the most common interpretations readers conveyed to him was that Hasan 's death symbolised atheism defeating religion , with Hasan 's death as the death of theism . According to Maier , Atheis serves as an allegory for the development of the Indonesian nation . Hasan , representing traditionalism , is killed by the Japanese , who changed the status quo when they invaded in 1942 . Meanwhile , the anarchistic Anwar finds himself without a place in the modern world . Only the responsible modern character , Rusli , is able to bring the Indonesian nation , as represented by Kartini , to terms with the new world . 
