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The Book Thief Power Of Words

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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. A Jewish man is saved from being questioned by Nazis all because of his copy of Mein Kompf. Lastly, a good hearted man is saved from death by being forced to write letters. All of these incidents have one common factor; the power of words. The power of positive words can be what changes a person’s life. In his novel, The Book Thief, Markus …show more content…

To start, people can express common beliefs through words and then bond together over them. One night while Max is in the basement, “he [resolves] that when the book [is] finished, he’d give it to Liesel, when she was old enough, and hopefully, when all this nonsense was over” (278). What starts the friendship between Max and Liesel is words. Liesel would always find newspapers for Max and in return he would write stories for her. From those stories they make a deeper connection with one another. This connection also saves Max from losing himself to the madness of World War II. Next, words can create friendships between the unlikeliest of people. Ilsa Hermann writes Liesel a letter saying, “when I noticed the first book missing, I thought I had simply misplaced it, but then I saw the outlines of some feet on the floor in certain patches of the light. It made me smile” (369). Ilsa and Liesel only talk when she comes by to do the laundry. But, with Liesel always sneaking in to read books Ilsa decides to share her entire library with Liesel. At the end of the book Ilsa even takes in Liesel after her family dies in the bombs. Last of all, words can bring people closer than anything else can because even when the speaker of those words is gone you will still remember them in your soul. When Liesel finds her Papa laying on the ground, “she wept over [his shoulder]. Goodbye, Papa, you saved me. You taught me to read. […] The book thief wept till she was gently taken away” (538-539). When Hans dies Liesel remembers everything he did and taught her. While she was holding his dead body she thought about how different her life would be now but, she needs to stay strong not just for herself but all those who had died before her. Therefore, words are a very powerful tool because it can create

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