Dialectical Journal For The Book Thief Essay

1. In the Book Thief, Death symbolizes the common end to all humans, so it’s appropriate to have him narrate a book set in the middle of one of the deadliest wars, World War II. Death doesn’t feel attached to any particular humans because he has done this for a living since the beginning of humans, so it would be pointless for him to become attached to any specific humans, Death even says, “Five hundred souls. I carried them in my fingers, like suitcases. Or I'd throw them over my shoulder. It was only the children I carried in my arms.”. But Liesel catches Death’s interest so he follows her around every now and then. Death tries to resist Liesel and carry on with normal business, but she just fascinates him so much that he can’t stay away. He was most likely …show more content…

Liesel takes The Grave Digger’s Handbook because it’s something to remind herself about her brother and mother before her brother died and her mom left her. The titles of the books Liesel steals are significant because they represent different things in Liesel’s life. For example, The Shoulder Shrug symbolizes Liesel silent rebellion against the Nazi party and more importantly, Adolf Hitler. The Whistler represents Liesel’s relationship with Rudy and how much she actually loved him. The Last Human Stranger represents how much Liesel missed Max and how she couldn’t stand living without him in her house. The Dream Carrier represents when Max was comatose and Liesel tried to document everything for Max so she could “carry her dreams” to him when he woke up. Liesel hides The Grave Digger’s Handbook under her mattress because she is worried someone will steal it from her, and she is also worried about her new foster parents finding it and taking it from her. At first Hans is surprised that Liesel has a book that’s so depressing and dark for a 9-year-old, but then he realizes that it has importance for her and decides to read it with her and then teach her how to read so she can one day read it on her