The Book Thief Power Of Words

Death states that, “I’m always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both” (Zusak 491). This book shows us human doing things that weren’t even imaginable before this point. Many people give into ideas that were lies. But, we also watch a few people go out of their way and sacrifice everything for a man they barely even know. They do everything they can to keep him safe and alive. They work harder, the get another job, and they even steal. In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, death examines the ugliness and the beauty of humans.

“The Book Thief” is a novel and film about a girl who survives death during WW2 and how words became very important to her life. Liesel Meminger was brought to her foster home unable to read. Her foster father, Hans, finds out she can’t read and helps teaches her German. Liesel then falls in love with words and uses them to write her story.The theme “power of words” is displayed in the novel and film equally. Three ways the power of words were shown was by making an emotional connection with the audience, influencing people to do something, and creating unlikely friendships.

The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, outlines the tragedies and events that take place in Liesel Meminger’s life, in Nazi Germany. Throughout this young girl’s struggle of living in the oppressive Nazi regime, she is able to learn crucial lessons about life and the art of survival- some that follow her to the grave. The most important lesson she learned and the pivotal theme of the novel is that rebellion can be and beneficial in certain situations.

“Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble” (Berg, Huffington Post). In The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, a love for the words was able to affect the situation for the better, but also for the worse. We must understand the power of words.

Words are everywhere, words make up books, and the power of words make The Book Thief which will never be able to be improved upon. Words help us communicate with others, but mainly they have positive and negative sides to them. In the novel, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Death narrates the story while Liesel Meminger also tells her story of living in Nazi, Germany. We will discuss how there are many people such as Max Vandenburg and Liesel Meminger who choose to use to use their power of words in the positive way. We will also discuss how people also like to use their power of words in the negative way such as Adolf Hitler. The power of words are very effective especially in Markus Zusak’s writing, and we’ll discuss the main parts of the book which have been effected with the power of words.

Words: Words are something we use everyday to communicate. Words make up sentences and books. We use words to convey meanings, to show feelings, and to communicate. The problem is that most people take this for granted. Most people do not know the power their words have, and the effect they have on other people. The power of words holds a strong meaning in the novel, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. During the book, different characters acquire power through their words and language, in both positive and negative ways.

"Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble." (Economy). Consequently, this quote exemplifies the illustrious meaning of words being so powerful that they will never be forgotten and only be remembered by those that they affect most. Words give us the power to communicate and explain our thoughts, which can affect change on others in the society. Therefore, they are not as influential and manipulative as they seem to be. In the novel, The Book Thief, power of words are used as emotion, influential, and building knowledge.

In The Book Thief, Markus Zusak implies that words can be as harmful and powerful as actions through Liesel’s verbal attack towards Ilsa Hermann. WWII is happening during that time period, making Germany very poor, so Ilsa chooses to fire Rosa to be fair to the people. Before she sends Liesel off, she gives the girl a book. When Liesel realizes what has happened, she goes back to throw the book at Ilsa and yell at her, becoming “more spiteful and evil than she thought herself capable…

Words, something we blindly hear, listen and feel. Humans do not think twice of the harm or good doing power they possess. In the novel, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, shows how words can give the characters such robustness during the war. As well as how strong they use their words so they can get out of difficult situations. Adolf Hitler, Max Vandenburg, and Liesel Meminger are characters that hold power throughout the novel in both positive and negative ways.

Changing Human Lives: The Power of Words “Words are containers for power you choose what kind of power they carry” (Meyer). Words can be of use in a variety of different ways whether it is positive or negative. But, using them positively is more effective than anything. In The Book Thief, a little girl leaves everything she knew behind and the only reminder she has of her past is The Grave Digger’s Handbook.

We use words every day for various reasons: to form our opinions, to express our emotions, to defend our views. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, words play a major role in the lives of the characters. Some of these words are good, but some are evil; therefore, Liesel Meminger, the main character, must distinguish between them to discover her own words. Liesel and those around her must learn to use these words to fight against those in which already entangle them- those that weave the web of propaganda. Throughout the book, readers follow Liesel’s journey, and are introduced to the theft of, need for, and use of words.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak shows through the midst of brutality, beauty can still be shown. The main characters Liesel Meminger, Rudy Steiner and Hans Huberman, prove this statement they are all faced with perilous situations, but still manage to show beauty throughout the situations. Liesel Meminger display beauty during the air raids, as she manages to read to people in the basement. Rudy Steiner displays beauty he jumps in the river to get Liesel’s book. Through Hans Huberman nobel character he displays beauty as he risks his life to hide a Jewish man in his basement.

Words are more influential than thought. Words can have such a powerful impact on how you interpret things, how you feel, and how you can make others feel as well. The word choice used in The Book Thief demonstrates many themes throughout such as death, friendship, guilt, reason, and the struggle between ones inner self and the society in which he is surrounded. As complex as this may sound, the method was used in a simplistic fashion to construct the meaning and details of certain situations through the senses that ultimately capture how the characters take in the world around them. The power of words in the novel The Book Thief is used to control individuals and gain power if rooted from bad intentions; however, the power of words also

Words can influence the mind in many ways that thought may not be able to. They are carefully placed and shared in different ways by each and every individual. Words have powerful impacts and can majorly impact how one may think, feel, or even lead others to feel. Written by Markus Zusak, “The Book Thief” describes a story of an innocent foster girl, Liesel Meminger, who resides in Munich, Germany at one of the most troubling time periods in history, Nazi Germany. A tale narrated by the one and only Death himself, shows the perspective from his point of view, as well as others, describing how Liesel had been seized away from her birth mother at a young age, and put into a foster family. Her new family, the Hubermanns. As she matures and grows into a more critical thinker, understanding and analyzing everything that carefully happens around her. Her foster-father, Hans guides her and teaches her how to read, which little does she know sparks her journey, the art of stealing books. Liesel soon discovers that words aren 't simply lines on a page, they are strong emotions packed into a form that merely is held in her delicate hands. Not only did she hold the pages of emotion, she held a power, a dangerous weapon of words, a weapon of control, and every book that she had stolen was giving her unimaginable power that made her think in ways that she would’ve never thought she could have. As with Nazi propaganda, and a gift that enabled her to broaden her worldview. Liesel evolves

The novel "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak expresses the theme that words are powerful, and can be have a positive or negative impact. An example where the novel presents the theme of the positive impact of words is when Liesel's new foster father starts the beginning of a strong bond between the two by teaching her to read. When Max comes to live with them in hiding, he writes "The Standover Man" describing the effect Liesel has had on his life and how she means a lot to him. Later on in the novel, he writes "The Word Shaker", which Max describes how he has found comfort and safety from Nazism and hatred in Liesel and her words, and how she impacts others around her. Liesel describes it as "the most beautiful pages of her life".