Character Analysis: The Book Thief

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.

In “The Book Thief” written by Marcus Zusak, Liesel is a small, resourceful girl, who Death says “Has a mountain to climb”. It is not a physical mountain that Liesel has to climb, rather a emotional mountain full of rocks that tumble down the steep slopes trying to knock her off every time she stops moving forward. All her life she has gone without and been abandoned, but that never stopped her from climbing. Liesel is a very lucky girl to have so many “climbing partners” so to speak, such as Hans, Rosa, Max, and Rudy. Without her partners to help anchor her to the mountain, I am sure she would have perished long ago. Her journey started when she was just a small girl living in poverty with her mother and brother.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a girl living in Nazi Germany through perspective of death. Just nine years old when her brother dies and her mother leaves her in the care of the Hubermanns, Lisel turns to the comfort of books to ease her pain. However, as she grows up the innocent words in her books lead her to discover the immense pain words carry through the horrific doings of Hitler, a man beloved by many Germans. The portrayal of life in Nazi Germany depicted by the Book Thief is accurate due to events in the book such as the book burning, the Hitler Youth, encounters of hate shown to Jews, and Germany’s invasion of Russia.

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, takes place in 1940s Nazi Germany in the small town of Molching. The main character, Liesel Meminger, takes on a role as the foster child of Hans and Rosa Hubermann. She also meets a young boy named Rudy Steiner, who goes on to be her best friend and lover. In the book, Liesel faces many challenges big and small. From hiding a Jew in the basement to a thieving lifestyle, Liesel has to learn to overcome all of life's problems. Through all of this, she is supported by her foster father Hans Hubermann who is caring to people he barely knows, intelligence despite his lack of education, and generosity even when he has little for himself.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a moving, award-winning story that follows the life of a German girl, named Liesel, during World War 2.

Over the summer I read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The novel contains many memorable quotes, with powerful meanings that can be applied to the reader’s life. The novel is the story of Liesel Meminger’s journey through the eyes of the narrator, Death. Liesel has many hardships in her life, but also a lot of good fortune. The novel shows both Liesel and Death’s reactions to each situation she encounters.

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.

In the beginning of The Book Thief, the reader meets Liesel Meminger, her mother, and her brother, Werner Meminger. The father is never introduced. It is only said that he is a communist. Werner dies on the train to Himmel Street, the place that Liesel is left with a couple, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Liesel’s mother is never seen again, but the reader assumes that she was taken away for being one of the Nazi’s targets. According to The Book Thief, “What came to her then was the dustiness of the floor, the feeling that her clothes were more next to her than on her, and the sudden realization that this would all be for nothing—that her mother would never write back and she would never see her again.” Nazis were the epitome of evil. They tore families apart and killed millions of innocent people.

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 takes us through a journey of Liesel and her struggle through the times of the Holocaust. Moving to a new city and being adopted by a new family Lisel goes through many challenges by has her new friends and family to support her. We start with Hans Hubermann her new father, a generous down to earth man who is an ex soldier.

From starting with a death to ending with Death, The Book Thief is such a tragic and painful novel in its entirety, as it deals with everyone’s least favorite topic, death. Set in the midst of World War II Molching, Germany, Death itself narrates the novel, focusing in on a young German girl named Liesel, who lives with her foster parents on Himmel Street, which is a very ironic name for considering what is always happening on that street. The Book Thief helps explain how to get through the pain of losing a loved one by explaining it with a little girl, who has lost so much and yet continues to go on, albeit she struggles at points, but who doesn’t struggle in their life? Through Death’s eyes, we see how Death views everything, being drastically different from our point of view.

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, written by Australian novelist Markus Zusak, follows a young girl living in Nazi Germany, and employs innovative techniques to convey the central idea of the extremes of human behavior. This central idea was explored through stylistic techniques and conventions such as Death as the narrator, juxtaposition, irony, lack of chronological order, narrative voices, and themes, namely the power of words.