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Book Thief Theme

Decent Essays

Alexis Javier Mrs. Rosenwasser English 9H October 13, 2014 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak The Book Thief is a text set in Germany during the time of World War II, focused on the life of the protagonist, Liesel Meminger. Liesel, a young German girl, loses her family including her brother Werner who died on a train on the way to Munich. She comprehends the feeling of loss and pain and is conscious that she is existing in hard times. The narrator of the story, Death, witnesses her brother’s demise and kneels down to extract the boy’s soft and cold spirit as Liesel shakes Werner in an attempt to resuscitate him (Zusak 21). Of course, it does not work as Death questions Liesel’s struggle to restore her fallen brother. Thereafter, Lisel picks …show more content…

However, one interesting theme is forming ties with others. In Liesel’s journey, she meets many people, exclusively through her love of books and words. For instance, Liesel and her foster father, Hans Hubermann, did not have a strong bond with each other. It was evident that Liesel did not want to be with Rosa and Hans Hubermann. Later on, Liesel would have to deal with the constant remarks of Saumensch, Saukerl, or Arschloch by Rosa. On the other hand, she became more comfortable living with them because of reading and learning words from “The Grave Digger’s Handbook.” Hans and Liesel establish a deeper and more involved relationship with these books. For example, Hans and Liesel study the alphabet which shows their bond developing. “[Hans] patted the girl’s hair. She’d fallen into his trap. ‘With a smile like that, you don’t need eyes.’ He hugged her and then looked again at the picture, with a face of warm silver. ‘Now for T’ (68). Moreover, Hans gifted Liesel with books for her birthday such as “The Mud Men,” which intensified their relationship even more. Based on this evidence, it is palpable that Hans and Liesel’s bond strengthened through books and words from the moment of Liesel’s arrival through the end of their

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