Double Entry Journals - the Book Thief

“Just past the rubble of Cologne, a group of kids collected empty fuel containers, dropped by their enemies. As usual, I collected humans. I was tired. And the year wasn’t even halfway over yet.” (p. 338 The Book Thief)

Were they holes for falling into, or patches of extra darkness for hiding in?” (Page 367) This phrase states that there were shadows made by clouds. That’s it’ but what intensifies this passage is the personification. You can’t bury shadows, but by saying this it lets you imagine that the shadows were so dark it looked as if you could fall into them. Another thing that gives this phrase meaning is when it says, “extra darkness for hiding in…” the first thing that you think of is Liesel hiding in shadows with the dusky grass beneath her feet.

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, 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.

He was once kind, thoughtful, and caring of others. But, as his sufferings increased, he becomes heartless, filled with hate, and begins to abandon all that he once held dear. He stops praying early during his imprisonment, and in general becomes selfish. His only concern is himself, and how he is going to eat and survive until the next day. Once concerned about others, he is now focused on himself. Wiesel also feels “free” when his father dies, presumably because he no longer has to look out for or take care of anyone but himself. Wiesel also details another example of changing behavior in the camp, as he tells the story of a son who killed his father simply for a piece of stale bread. These and other behavioral changes describe the kind of environment Wiesel and others were exposed to in the

The cruelty on the part of the German army and scientists is legendary, but to Holocaust survivors it has been haunting. They did not even treat the Jews like people. For Wiesel, the things he witnesses and experiences at the hands of the Nazis and even desperate Jews, never leaves him. One incident in particular takes the brutality and inhumanity of the Nazi soldiers to a new extreme: the hanging of the pipel, an imprisoned young boy with a beautiful face. The Germans hang a child, not even heavy enough to grant himself a quick death, without remorse. This, the apex of cruelty, again shows the lengths the Nazis are willing to go to simply to make a point and scare the others. This horror adds to the theme when Elie, forced to witness this hanging, recalls, “Behind me I heard the same man asking ‘Where is God now?’ And I heard a voice within me answer him: Where is He? Here He is. He is hanging here on the gallows.”

The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, outlines the tragedies and events that take place in Liesel Meminger’s life, in Nazi Germany. Throughout this young girl’s struggle of living in the oppressive Nazi regime, she is able to learn crucial lessons about life and the art of survival- some that follow her to the grave. The most important lesson she learned and the pivotal theme of the novel is that rebellion can be and beneficial in certain situations.

Even though they have two different family backgrounds and reactions with regard to the struggles they face, both of them strive to fit into the Nazi regime to avoid incarceration and death. Therefore, they are haunted by the guilt of leaving their families for survival through having nightmares. While Max shows his defiance against the Nazi regime through daydreaming about boxing with Hitler, Liesel publicly defied the Nazi regime through stealing a banned book, and helping Jews in order to protect the basic morals of humanity. Liesel believes if humans lose humanity, they would become “cold-blooded” and lose the true meaning of

Imagine being locked in a dark room for 2 years. This is what Max Vandenburg, Anne Frank, and Jaycee Dugard had to go through. They were all isolated, isolation means you are by yourself and kept separate from others. Because Max Vandenburg is a fictional character isolated by hiding in a basement, Anne Frank is a real life girl in isolation while hiding from the Nazis, and Jaycee Dugard is also isolated when she was abducted for 18 years, all three people experienced isolation.

Unlike the Nazi’s however, Liesel realizes the pain her words caused. "Blood leaked from her nose and licked at her lips. Her eyes had blackened. Cuts had opened up and a series of wounds were rising to the surface of her skin. All from words. From Liesel's words" (Zuask 253). A child, no more than 12 years old, was telling someone not to cry, that she was being “pathetic.” It was all because of one group of people taking the lives of millions that a young girl believes crying over your loved ones deaths was ridiculous. At one point, Death even compares itself to humanity saying, "You want to know what I truly look like? I'll help you out. Find yourself a mirror while I continue" (Zuask 307).

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak shows through the midst of brutality, beauty can still be shown. The main characters Liesel Meminger, Rudy Steiner and Hans Huberman, prove this statement they are all faced with perilous situations, but still manage to show beauty throughout the situations. Liesel Meminger display beauty during the air raids, as she manages to read to people in the basement. Rudy Steiner displays beauty he jumps in the river to get Liesel’s book. Through Hans Huberman nobel character he displays beauty as he risks his life to hide a Jewish man in his basement.

Through all of the irony and vivid coloring, The Book Thief is more easily understood after acquiring knowledge of reading literature with greater care and meticulousness. Applying chapters of How to Read Literature like a Professor can better enhance a reader’s awareness of hidden messages and symbols within certain works of literature. In Chapter Two, Foster explains how meals suggest a communion between all parties involved in it. Markus Zusak also uses meals and food to bring families together in The Book Thief. Foster also explains, in Chapter Eleven, how violence in literature usually stands for more than just violence.

She stole from the Nazi book burnings on the street, the Mayors library and wherever she could. Liesel also received two special books written by a Jew hiding out in her basement. She related to the Jew, Max, in many ways. They discovered that they both frequently had horrible nightmares and that they share the same passion for words. She was able to befriend an unwanted Jew in Germany because she was able to see past the hatred everyone normally felt. Liesel saw Max as another human being, and was loyal enough to keep him a secret. When Liesel spotted Max marching to the concentration camp with the rest of the Jews, she risked her life by running up to him. Her boldness made them both suffer the ruthless consequence of being whipped by a soldier. She was also brave enough to beat up a boy in her class who made the mistake of teasing her. Liesel was filled with rage. "Her knuckles and fingernails were so frighteningly tough, despite their smallness" (Zusak 78). Liesel had the audacity to stand up for herself because she refused to be ridiculed.

There is a part where we watch as humans are so ugly that it is hard for us to imagine that what they had done is possible. Liesel is playing soccer in the park and all of a sudden all the kids stop because of a noise they hear coming down the street. They think it could be a herd of cattle, but that not what it is. It is a group of Jewish people being led, or forced, to the death camps by German soldiers. On there way we watch a man die “He was dead. The man was dead. Just give him five minutes and he would surely fall into the German gutter and die. They would all let him, and they would all watch”(Zusak 393). This is talking about how when a Jewish person would die, the Germans wouldn’t do anything. They wouldn’t care that a man died right in front of them. While the Jews are walking Hans, Liesel adopted father, gives them bread. While Hans is giving this man bread a German soldier notices what is going on. He walks over to the man and, “The Jew was whipped six times. On his back, his heart, and

Hans is a passionate, caring man who earns his living as a house painter by day and an accordion player by night. Liesel believes his eyes show kindness, and is closer to him from the beginning than to her foster mother. He is one of a few in their village who is not a registered member of the Nazi party, which comes to have serious repercussions on the family as the book progresses. Rosa Hubermann is a stern, strong woman who looks like a “wardrobe with a coat thrown over it” and would be “cute,” but appears perpetually annoyed. She peppers her language with epithets like “Saumensch” and “Saukerl” and “Arschloch”. “Sau” refers to “pig” and mensch is girl and kerl is man, arschloch sounds pretty close to its English equivalent. From the beginning Liesel is “saumensch,” which at first refers to Rosa’s annoyance at taking this girl in, even though it does mean more money for the family. But by the end, it has become a term of true endearment. Liesel’s best friend in the village is a little boy named Rudy, “the boy next door who was obsessed with the black American athlete Jesse Owens.” Rudy is in love with Liesel and always pesters her for a kiss, which he does finally receive, after some pretty serious turns in the story. He is a simple, almost naïve boy, and would do almost anything for her, including jumping into a nearly