In Markus Zusak’s book The Book Thief, Liesel comes to Himmel Street to live with Hans and Rosa Hubermann. There she meets Rudy Steiner who becomes her best friend. As the book continues, they become more than friends.
They wanted to kiss each other. For example, after Liesel and Rudy race, “As they walked back to Himmel Street, Rudy forewarned her. “One day, Liesel,” he said, “you’ll be dying to kiss me.” But Liesel knew. She vowed. As long as both she and Rudy Steiner lived, she would never kiss that miserable filthy Saukerl, especially not this day” (Zusak 55). Liesel did not want to kiss him at that time. She was right about not kissing Rudy as long as both of them live. In addition, when Rudy dies, “She leaned down and looked at his lifeless
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For example, after Rudy gets Liesel’s book out of the river, ““How about a kiss, Saumensch?” He stood waist-deep in the water for a few moments longer before climbing out and handing her the book. His pants clung to him, and he did not stop walking. In truth, I think he was afraid. Rudy Steiner was scared of the book thief’s kiss. He must have longed for it so much. He must have loved her so incredibly hard. So hard that he would never ask for her lips again and would go to his grave without them” (Zusak 303). Rudy loved Liesel so much that he was going to stop asking for a kiss, even though he wanted to kiss her. In addition, when Liesel finally tells Rudy about Max, “Liesel pulled out The Word Shaker from her bag and showed Rudy one of the pages. On it was a boy with three medals hanging around his throat. “Hair the color of lemons,” Rudy read. His fingers touched the words. “You told him about me?” At first, Liesel could not talk. Perhaps it was the sudden bumpiness of love she felt for him. Or had she always loved him? It’s likely. Restricted as she was from speaking, she wanted him to kiss her. She wanted him to drag her hand across and pull her over. It didn’t matter where. Her mouth, her neck, her cheek. Her skin was empty for it, waiting. Years ago, when they’d raced on a muddy field, Rudy was a hastily assembled set of bones, with a jagged, rocky smile. In the trees this afternoon, he was the giver of bread and teddy bears. He
In “The Book Thief”, Liesel and Rudy can relate to the beginning lyric. In the song, it says “You and I in a little toy shop/Buy a bag of balloons with the money we got”(ln.1-2). In “The Book Thief”, there’s a scene where Liesel and Rudy find a coin on the ground, and use it to buy candy. “The excitement almost stung as they rushed back to Frau Diller’s, not even considering that a single pfenning might not be the right price. They burst through the door and stood in front of the Aryan shopkeeper, who regarded them with contempt...It didn’t take long take Rudy long to dig the coin from his pocket and place it firmly on the counter. He looked straight into Frau Diller’s spectacled eyes and said, “‘Mixed candy, please.’” (155). From the reading,
5. Quotes: One night after a day of thievery, Rudy attempts to steal a kiss from Liesel. She tells him that he disgusts her, trying to hold back her true feelings. While saying goodbye after the awkward walk home, Rudy says to Liesel, “Good night, book thief” (Zusak 202). This is the first time anyone has ever called her that. She likes the nickname so much, she uses it as the title for her life’s story. She may not realize it, but the night she officially gets her title is the true beginning of her career as “the book thief.” This launches a major turning point in the book, in which she starts to feel more comfortable about stealing. It gives her a sense of emancipation from the prison that is her life. That feeling of liberation is amplified
A hero is someone who is willing to worry and think about others before themselves in tough situations. There are many heroes in the story, but there are only three who stood out the most. The first hero is Rudy Steiner. The second hero that stood out was Liesel Meminger. The last hero who stood out the best and didn't care for himself was Hans Hubermann. A hero might also sacrifice their life to help others.
The Whistler book is significant because the night that Liesel stole that book she got her official name, The Book Thief, hence the title of the book. On the way home after stealing the book, Liesel says, “‘Goodbye, Saumensch.’ He laughed. ‘Goodnight, book thief.’ It was the first time Liesel had been branded with her title” (202). Rudy was the first person to give her that title as the book thief, for her strange hobby of stealing books. That book also shows a title reference when Rudy gives her that name. Each different book Liesel has tolen has showed a different area in her life. When she stole her first book, she had just lost her brother and was getting ready to start a new life with her foster family. Also, when she stole the book,
Liesel Meminger is a main character described in “The Book Thief”. After her mother can no longer support her Liesel and her brother, although he does not make the journey, are sent to a foster home in a small town in Germany called Munich were Liesel meets Hans and Rosa Hubermann or Mama and Papa. Although the initial warming up is hard Liesel soon becomes very close to her Papa. “Over the next few weeks and into summer, the midnight class began at the end of each nightmare” (Zusak,69). Hans teaches Liesel each night how to read and write to ease her mind when all Liesel can think about is her dead brother. Hans truly becomes Papa when Liesel trusts Hans will never let her be
Since The Book Thief is a historical fiction text, the fictitious characters interact in a realistic
The Book Thief, containing the female protagonist Liesel Meminger, translates the theme of perseverance throughout its story by pitching a tough-loving foster mother, an indomitable urge to collect literature, and World War Ii and the loss of love and family against Liesel. Beginning a new life on Himmel Street, Liesel moves in with the Hubermanns. This is where she had to endure Rosa, her new foster mother. Rosa was a despicable woman who spat deplorable words, such as saumensch and Arschloch, at her.
Liesel come to love her foster family, Rudy, and even Max. "Not leaving: an act of trust and love, often deciphered by children" (Zusack 37). When Liesel is still new to Himmel street Hans stays with her for hours of the night, this leads to their relationship building to that of a father, daughter type. "Rudy, please, wake up, Goddamn it, wake up, I love you" (Zusack 535) The bombs fells, the town was ripped apart, a 14 year old girl was sleeping in the basement. Liesel survived, she alone survived. Her best friend, the boy who loved her, was killed along with everyone else, Liesel was
Liesel is kind-hearted because in The Book Thief she said, “ I don’t want to lose someone else”. She said this to Max after they became close friends. Given that, she is kind-hearted one can tell that she would do anything to protect her family from death. After WWII max and Liesel reunite and they hug and cry until they fell to the floor. Where Liesel use to live in 33 Himmel Street before there was a raid that destroyed the whole street, they hide Max. Her best friend is Rudy Steiner, he is a neighbor at first but then the friendship grows after each mischievous thing they do together. With Rudy, she grows and steals books for fun. Rudy might think it is fun, but to Liesel, it means for her. Like I said, she does this in memory of her brother. They have a race and it is a draw after falling. Rudy then said to Liesel, “If it’s a draw, do I still get my kiss?” Liesel then says, “ Not in a million years” and Rudy at the end he says “One day, Liesel, you’ll be dying to kiss me”. Therefore, at the end of the book and middle, she desires to kiss him but doesn’t until the end where he is dead. Later on, her family and she hide a Jew, Max Vandenburg, from the Nazis. Max and Liesel have grown close together. Liesel is competitive, compassionate,
“Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day.” Every day in Nazi Germany, considering all conditions in the Hubermann household, was like a slap in the face. All citizens, no matter their belief, were forced to put on a fake smile and act like everything was okay because their Führer was going to save them. This is because of fear. A simple state of mind that few refused to defy caused a whole generation of the Jewish population to perish. There were those, though, that performed acts of courage and stated that they would not settle for this act of genocide, no matter the consequences. In Mark Zusak’s novel, The Book Thief, the setting of Nazi Germany is torn apart by Adolf Hitler’s wrath. As the
Lastly, Liesel and Frau Holzapfel develop a relationship, “Strangely, one of Liesel’s favourite distractions was Frau Holzapfel. The reading sessions included Wednesday now as well, and they’d finished the water-abridged version of The Whistler and were on to The Dream Catcher. The old woman sometimes made teas or gave Liesel some soup that was indefinitely better than Mama’s.” (Zusak 439). Although Liesel did not originally like Frau Holzapfel because she was quite rude and cruel but she begins to develop a fondness of her and even enjoys her company. This develops the theme because it shows that even an uptight old woman can learn to love life by learning to enjoy words. The theme, the power of words, is minimized in the film as only the scenes in which Liesel and Frau Hermann and Liesel and Rudy develop relationships. By only showing this one does not fully see how much words can impact a community. Therefore, the novel The Book Thief develops the relationship between Liesel Meminger and her neighbours more than the film The Book Thief thereby minimizing the theme.
In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel Meminger, her family, and friends helped the Jewish people at the risk of being caught, similar to how real German people assisted the Jewish people during WWII. While others watched as soldiers marched Jewish people through Molching, Liesel’s foster father Hans tried to help: “The Jew stood before him, expecting another handful of derision, but he watched with everyone else as Hans… presented a piece of bread…” (Zusak 395). Hans felt pity for an old Jewish man and put himself in danger in order to help him. By helping the old man, he was put under suspicion.
In my novel, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, Rudy Steiner would definately be considered a best friend because he is willing to stand up for others when everyone else is against them, he is caring, and he is willing to risk his life for someone else's happiness. First of all, Rudy would be considered a best friend because he was willing to stand up for Liesel Meminger, the main character and his soon to be best friend, when all of the other kids where against them. The author wrote, "On this occasion, they tried to force Liesel out. As you might imagine, she protested, and Rudy agreed. 'No, no.' He smiled. 'Let her stay'" (Zusak 47). Not many kids liked Liesel due to the fact that she was the new girl on Himmel street, and Rudy was the only
Throughout The Book Thief, Max and Liesel’s friendship is developed amidst war and suffering. Given the circumstances of the time and Max’s background, they still manage to develop a special bond between the two of them. This is made evident several times in the novel including when Max gives Liesel the book, The Standover Man for her birthday. This story that Max writes himself defines the significance of their friendship, as he says in the story; ‘Now we are friends, this girl and me’. He illustrates and expresses his love and friendship with Liesel by comparing their dreams with each other as they
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.