The Combat of Character Traits One consists of both good and bad personalities; however, they obtain just one characteristic due to the influences of society. The novel writer, Markus Zusak, puts the time period of the novel, The Book Thief into the years of war and gives the readers a perspective of the cruelty of (while) being under dictatorship. The novel contains the kindness of characters combatting the cruelty of society. Markus Zusak demonstrates this through children, the Hubermann’s, and Max Vanderburg. The young characters in The Book Thief contribute to the negative society to make the world a better place. Rudy Steiner and Liesel Meminger’s acts of kindness contribute to the cruel society. Rudy’s act is described by the narrator, Death. “Carefully he climbed the dying man. He placed the smiling teddy bear cautiously onto the pilot’s shoulder,” (Zusak 490). Rudy observes an injured enemy pilot who is still alive, kindly gives his teddy bear from his toolbox to the dying pilot and from there, the pilot gives thanks to Rudy just before Death takes his soul away. This proves that the little acts of kindness of …show more content…
Though Max Vanderburg is a target towards cruelty because he is a Jew, it does not mean due to this cruelty that he cannot be a loving and caring character. “Thanks, Liesel,” (245). Simple words of thanks Max says towards other characters that shape him into a better character, displays the warm-hearted characteristics inside of a Jew who is thought as cruel. During the time Max stays in the basement of the Hubermann’s, he puts his time into good use. As he says his goodbyes to Liesel and the Hubermann’s in the novel, he reveals a creation he had made and gifts it to Liesel, “‘I have left something for you,’ he said, ‘but you will not get it until you’re ready.’” (397), which also illustrates his kindness of thanks for
The Book Thief is a historical fiction novel by Markus Zusak set in Munich, Germany during the Nazi reign from 1936-1943. The novel incorporates a main character that is, in the beginning, an innocent child who doesn't understand the world and takes her on a journey where she grows up and matures through the hardships and challenges of her life. The story is narrated by the character Death, who is a fresh take on the Grim Reaper, only wearing the black cloak when it's cold and never carries a syte. Death describes the life Liesel Meminger, an orphaned girl who witnesses her brother's death and burial and finds herself being adopted by the benevolent old couple, the Hubermanns. The rest of the story follows Liesel's journey through her incredibly challenging life with the Hubermanns and characters such as Rudy, The mayor's wife, and Max helping her along. Symbolism in The Book Thief deepens the story by conveying many different ideas and emotions that supports the reader's understanding of the story. This is especially apparent with the use of the gravediggers to help the reader remember characters, the use of color to help the reader feel the proper emotions and remember the correct events, and the use of Liesel's changing feelings about Rudy to convey how Liesel grows and matures through the book.
Reflection: The Book Thief contains many important concepts, but three of them play major roles in developing the characters and creating themes. One key concept discusses the power and significance of words. As seen in the novel, words can be used to influence people in negative and positive ways. For example, reading and writing save the lives of Hans, Max, and Liesel in the form of letters, a copy of MKPF, and Liesel’s life story. On the other hand, Hitler uses words to encourage the German people to hunt down and kill Jewish people. This shows how words can kill people and save people’s lives. Another important concept in The Book Thief is that life is unpredictable, and it can’t be meticulously planned out. Fate and chance will make a difference. This is shown when Hans switches seats with Reinhold Zucker in the military vehicle. Neither of them knows that the bus will crash, and the person in that seat will be killed. But fate isn’t tested, so Hans’s life is spared, and Zucker’s life is taken away. The last major concept, and perhaps the most important, is used as the framework for one of the most crucial themes. It is that humanity displays its duality in extreme ways. From Hans risking his life to give a piece of bread to a frail, old man, to Hitler killing six million Jews in cold blood, humans are capable of the amazingly kind and the incredibly
Max Vandenburg, a jew, has been hiding almost all of his adult life from the Nazis. Max makes his way across Germany to Molching where Hans and Rosa Hubermann take him into hiding. If Max were to be discovered by anyone outside of the household, the Hubermanns and Max would most likely be killed because Hitler had 90% of the German population convinced jews were the enemy.pg 422-423. As for political discrimination, if a German was not part of the Nazi party, they were treated poorly compared to those who were in the Nazi party. Hans Hubermann was saved by a jew, Max’s father Eric and Hans could not hate the jews. Hans is a painter but he does not find much work because most of his customers were jewish people, driven out and killed by the
Hope and courage are two feelings that are only powerful when used together. To be courageous and not hopeful is a suicide mission; on the other hand, having hope and no courage will never give one the urge to oppose the problem. In Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief, the whole story is the epitome of courage and hope. During the second world war, the young Liesel Meminger is adopted by the Hubermann family, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, who teach her the power of words, as well as the importance of kindness. Moreover, one of the themes of this novel is the creation of hope from courage, and it is shown through the author’s use of symbolism, allegory, as well as irony.
“The Book Thief,” is a No.1 International Best-selling novel by Markus Zusak. In the two chapters: “The Long walk to Dachau” and “Peace,” the themes of cruelty and kindness are strongly portrayed through many literary techniques and other ways. My analysis on this question is to see how and why these two themes are illustrated in the two chapters, and under what circumstances they chose to behave like that.
Brutality and Beauty are both aspects of the human spirit and therefore are evident in society and have been through the ages. History can be examined to bring forth examples of both, often side by side, often in times of great destruction such as in times of war. In the novel, The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak explores and compares the juxtaposition between great brutality and beauty in the human spirit evident in the German town of Molching during WW2. The author demonstrates how the characters in the novel can overcome cruelty and ruthlessness with acts of extraordinary kindness and humaneness. This is shown through the novel with Max and Liesel’s friendship, when Hans gives one of the Jewish camp prisoners a piece of bread and when Rosa and Hans protect Max from the Nazis. Zusak illustrates that a human’s capacity for hope is difficult to destroy regardless of the circumstances.
Markus Zusak, the author of The Book Thief, displays several ways to help readers analyze the story. He uses diction, imagery, details, language, and syntax which allows his audience to master the content in the story.
Another place where the theme of kindness is found is when Ilsa Herman allowed Liesel to come to her house and read books from her library. Liesel, a member of the Nazi Youth, had to be
ideology. In the novel once, the author creates a character called Felix an orphan who survives the Holocaust with his best companion Zelda. The book once educates the reader on the significant historical event. Two historical events mentioned in the book once is the book burning and transporting the
The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusack, depicts the horrors of World War II from the perspective of the harshest consequence of the war itself, Death. Despite the negative connotation Death receives, his demeanor is quite contradictory. More times than not, Death is found straying from his original mission as the slave of hindered human souls. He stops often, perplexed by the complexity of the living human souls, particularly, Liesel Meminger. Death is a compassionate figure because he sympathizes with the emotions of human beings and cares deeply for their souls.
In Nazi Germany, the axis fought extremely hard to oppress Jews and dehumanize them. These ideals were pushed upon the German citizens relentlessly during Hitler's reign through laws. In the book, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, the author presents the readers with characters who are under Nazi rule. These characters are all affected by the government in different ways, but the overarching theme of the book is the dehumanization of good people. Hans, Rudy, and Liesel all give humanity back to someone who has been dehumanized, even in the face of adversity.
If you believe in yourself and have dedication, pride, and never quit, you will be successful. Markus Zusak, the author of The Book Thief, creates a story of a young orphan named Liesel Meminger, who is living with her new foster family. She learns the wonders of reading from her foster father and grows to love books. During Liesel’s time with her new family, she shows determination through her efforts and kindness with her encounters with other people. Liesel in The Book Thief expresses her traits, such as hardworking, and bravery.
The Book Thief is narrated by Death. It’s a story of Liesel Meminger. She’s a nine-year-old German who was given up by her mother and forced to live with foster parents, Hans and Rosa Munermann, in the small town of Molching in 1939. Liesel’s younger brother dies from unknown causes while on their way to the town. She begins to have nightmares about him because of it. Hans helps her through this difficult and traumatic experience. Hans teaches Liesel to read starting with a book she took from the cemetery where her brother was laid to rest. Rudy Steiner quickly becomes Liesel’s friend, who falls in love with her. Liesel goes to a book burning where she finds out her father is being persecuted for being a communist and her mother
The Book Thief is a novel written by Mark Zusak, it tells the story of a girl named Liesel Mariner, who has to move to a foster’s home after her mother is taken by the Nazi party. The novel is narrated by Death and is set in Nazi Germany in 1939, a place where the narrator describes as “busy work”. It is revealed that since Liesel’s mother is a communist, she has to give up Liesel and her brother to a foster home. But as she goes to do this, Liesel’s brother, Werner, dies due to malnutrition. This death places a heavy influence in Liesel’s life, who has to learn to adapt to this new traumatic experience.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a very unique and interesting piece of literature, which shows you a different side to World War 2. This novel is especially unique in that Death is made into a real person, who narrates the whole story. You get to witness things and experience them through death’s eyes. The reader gets a clear view on Death’s surprisingly yet unforgettable human personality.