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
These behaviors impact the way many view Germany during this time period. The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, also takes place during this time. It focuses on a girl named Liesel, her family, her friend Rudy, a Jew named Max, and Death. The author personifies Death as the narrator of Liesel’s story, living in Nazi Germany during WWII.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak tells the story of Liesel Meminger and her life during World War II. It is told from the point of view of Death through his interactions near her and others in her life. Zusak uses imagery, language, and tone to share his theme of the beauty of humans.
In The Book Thief, the author, Markus Zusak writes a beautiful story following a young German girl named Liesel who experiences the atrocities that occur during World War II. Early in the book, she is given by her mother to foster parents who raise her as their own. During her childhood, she begins stealing books and learns about the power of words. Throughout the story, she bonds with many people including her neighbors, her foster parents and a Jew hidden in their basement. Most of the characters end up dying due to the horrible living conditions and time period the book takes place in.
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, is a book told from the viewpoint of Death, set in Nazi Germany during World War II. It takes place in a poor neighborhood on Himmel Street. In the beginning, Liesel Meminger, the main character, is a young girl who travels with her mother and younger brother, to meet her new foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann. On the way, Liesel’s brother became ill and died, which was very traumatic for Liesel. It is at this point when Death notices Leisel and follows her throughout the story.
The Book Thief is about a young German girl named Liesel Meminger as she goes through life while living in Germany in 1939. Liesel and her foster parents live a normal life on 33 Himmel Street. There is only one difference between their family and the others, they are hiding Max Vandenburg (a Jewish man) in their basement during the time of the Holocaust. This story, narrated by Death follows the life of Liesel from her first step into 33 Himmel Street, until the day she died in Sydney, Australia.
The Book Thief is a historical novel written by Markus Zusak. It provides the readers a deeper understanding of the lives of Jews and Germans in Germany during the brutal Nazi regime and how they manage to survive. This includes not only the physical survival of the fittest, but also the survival of their moral beliefs. In addition to the author’s theme of inhumanity and humanity of man, he provides a background story for the characters in the book and how they are similar and different by their moral beliefs, their goals, their guilt, and their relationship with words. Two of the characters that are mentioned throughout the book to remind the readers of their struggles to survive in the Third Reich are Liesel and Max. Liesel is the foster daughter of Hans and Rosa Hubermann and “the book thief” who realizes the power of words in the Nazi community while Max is a fist fighter and German Jew who hides in Hans’s basement to escape from Nazi incarceration and eventually survives the concentration camp after he is arrested on his way to Stuttgart by the Nazis. Liesel and Max can be compared and contrasted through analyzing their struggles, includes their fear of the death, their guilt of
Published in 2005 by Australian author Markus Zusak, The Book Thief follows Liesel on her journey to start a new life in a foster home. The novel sheds light on the rise of nationalism post-World War One Germany as Adolf Hitler rose to power; people not of ‘his ideal race’ were grouped as a threat and killed. The tragic death explored within the text as a result of war is explored through death as a concept. Uniquely, death is also portrayed as a character, who narrates the novel. Against this historical backdrop, The Book Thief represents that death is significant through both the idea and the personified character who portrays the destructive power of war.
Shifting from Liesel, Death takes us to a small dark room where we come upon a sad hunched figure. A man, a Jewish man sits alone in this room filtering and re-filtering the same stale air. Starving and scared this figure only rises from himself to greet his friend Walter. " Max wake up." (139) Walter came with gifts, a fake identity card, a copy of Mein Kampf containing a key and a small ration of food barely large enough to be considered a meal. breaking his food into the portions Max devoured what he allowed himself before pleading to a man hundreds of miles away. " Please." (141)
The Book Thief is a film directed by Brian Percival, narrated by death, the film is about a nine year old girl called Liesel who is the protagonist of the story she went from being a character that’s angry to a character that deeply loves her family and friends. Hans Hubermann which is Liesel’s foster father he is described as being patient and gentle with Liesel and he was the first person to win her trust, Liesel’s foster known as Rosa Hubermann came across as cold and impatient after she fostered Liesel and Max she became kind and caring. Max Vandenberg went to hide in the Hubermann’s house he was cautious and introverted; when he grew stronger, he had a rage for Hitler which motivated him to stay alive. He understood Liesel’s experience
The novel The Book Thief takes place in a town called Molching, Germany between 1939 and 1943. Death narrates the story. Liesel Meminger, the main character is dealing from the death of her brother and being separated from her mother. Liesel is made fun of in school because she can’t read. She is ashamed that she can’t read so Hans teaches her how to read. The book she learns to read from is a book that she took from her brother’s burial called The Grave Digger's Handbook. She would have nightmares so Hans would sit with her and play his accordion. Liesel then becomes accustom to Hans presence because he makes her feel safe. The Nazi Party's destroyed Jewish shops and yellow stars have already been painted on doors and windows, Liesel and Rudy are forced to join the Band of German Girls and Hitler Youth. Liesel sees a book that survives a fire made of enemy propaganda and hides it under her shirt.A Jew named Max Vandenburg needs a place to hide and Max’s father saved Hans life during World War I and taught him to play the accordion. Hans promised Frau that if she needed something she could contact him. Hans hides Max in his basement and sends the key to his house inside a book written by Hitler. After Max arrives Liesel is curious and scared about the man in her basement. She realizes that they have a lot in common. They both have nightmares and lost their families. They also both share the feeling of safety that comes from Hans accordion. Liesel describes the weather to max, brings him snow, and delivers presents to the foot of his bed when he gets sick. She continues to play with Rudy and go to school, also while
After losing her mother and her brother, Liesel’s life and identity is changed drastically many times. It is through books that she discovers and becomes comfortable with this change. When she first meets Hans and Rosa Hubermann, her new foster parents, she does not wish to speak with them or get to know them. However, once Hans discovers Liesel with the book she stole when her brother was buried, The Gravedigger’s Manual, they bond over Hans teaching Liesel to read. Liesle describes the first time her and Hans have a lesson in the middle of the night: “She had done this at school, in the kindergarten class, but this time was better. … It was nice to watch Papa’s hand as he wrote the words and slowly constructed the primitive sketches” (Zusak
Since The Book Thief is a historical fiction text, the fictitious characters interact in a realistic WWII setting in Germany. Three characters in the book, Liesel, Rudy and, Death develop their identities within the parameters of the Nazi-controlled society. However, if Liesel, Rudy and, Death were characters in today's society, their lives would be different.
The Book Thief, is a Death narrated novel by Markus Zusak. The story takes place in Nazi Germany, 1939, where Liesel Meminger arrives on Himmel Street to start a new life with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. She lives to a very old age and when Death finally comes to take her away, he wants to tell Liesel about beauty and brutality. But what could he tell her about beauty and brutality that she didn’t know, the Book Thief had lived through it all. The time she saw Max marching to Dachau, the time Rudy went into the Amper River to save The Whistler, and the final moments she spent with Mama. Liesel Meminger’s life had always represent beauty in the wake of brutality.
The Book Thief is the story of Liesel Meminger’s life during World War 2 told through the eyes of Death himself. All three writers portray Death as a character who has interactions with those that have or are about to die. However, unlike Zusak’s Death, Collins’ is a malicious puppeteer and Dickinson’s Death is presented as someone who is at peace with what he must do.
The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak shows how the impact on the power of language has on Liesel Meimeger through the structure of the novel. The structure of the novel shows the development of the character Liesel, highlighting the impact of the power of language. In her development, she finds the ability to express herself as well as to connect to others. Books become a comfort to her and heal her, they help her grow strong relationships with other characters in her life. However, she also sees the damage words have caused through Nazi propaganda, understanding that Hitler 's words have been the cause of suffering of the people in her life. Despite this, the structure of the novel shows the ability of the character to understand that