Loneliness In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief

Liesel Meminger, the main character in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, is a very complex and deep character. Throughout the almost six year span of her life starting from age nine covered by this novel, Liesel not only grows intellectually and physically, but as a whole person. Physically when Liesel arrived on Himmel Street as a foster child, “everything about her was undernourished” (Zusak, 31). Death described even her smile as hungry. Liesel was depicted with “Her hair was a close enough brand of German blond, but she had dangerous eyes.

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, tells the story of Liesel Meminger. Liesel was taken in as a foster child by an older, German couple amid Nazi Germany. During Liesel’s stay with the Hubermanns, her foster father (Hans) is faced with the quandary of hiding a Jew (Max). Hans serves as a moral compass of sorts in The Book Thief and tries to do right by others. When faced with this dilemma, he was not only making a decision that would decide Max’s fate, but also his families’ safety.

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.

n The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel Meminger is presented as an angry and distrusting person. However, as the work progresses, she evolves into a strong, morally driven character. The books that Liesel steals throughout the story symbolize each step in the evolution of her character and reveal important character traits. The first four books that Liesel steals are particularly important in understanding the development of Liesel’s character. Each book is significant and shows a key change Liesel goes through during her life in Munich, Germany.

Author Markus Zusak, in his historical fiction novel, The Book Thief, exposes hatred and prejudice in a society. However, Zusak’s characters Rudy and Hans help main character Liesel overcome the evil surrounding her. The Book Thief demonstrates the power of strong relationships and love that sustain people in life’s tragedies. Hans, Liesel’s stepfather, provides a gentle, loving attitude towards Leisel. Similarly, Rudy, Liesel’s best friend, provides companionship and love.

Strong emotions towards another can cause one to act irrationally. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Rudy, Liesel, and her foster father Hans develop strong emotions towards others that cause them to act rashly. Rudy’s, Liesel’s, and Hans’s actions illustrate the unreasonable actions caused by strong feelings towards another.

Max left her by being taken a concentration camp when the Nazis raided. The punishment of hiding Max in their basement resulted in Hans deserting Liesel when a statement arrived that said “Hans Hubermann was to be drafted into the German army” (Zuzak, 417). Hans, Rosa and Rudy then collectively all abandoned her late one night as everyone was sleeping, bombs attacked Himmel street. “In the space of a few minutes, all of them were gone” (Zuzak, 530). Everything was destroyed except for a teenage Liesel

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 developmental stage of a young child’s life is very crucial and can be impacted by the media. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel Meminger is a young girl living in a very important part of Germany’s history, the Second World War. Liesel’s childhood unfolds and develops against the backdrop of a time when words, books specifically were used for power and control. Liesel is someone who has a love for reading and, as such, books become very important to her, not only for her education but for her rebellion and discovering her true identity. Throughout the novel, books become a crucial symbol used to convey the desires and discovery of identity for the main character as her childish ignorance changes to her mature adulthood.

The novel, The Book Thief Written by Markus Zusak is set in 1939 Nazi Germany and is narrated by a personified version of Death, who describes both the beauty and devastation of life in this era. The main character Liesel Meminger (aged 9 years old – at the beginning of the book) is sent with her brother, Werner to foster parents in Munich. On the way there Werner (aged 6) dies. At his burial Liesel finds a book buried partially in snow, belonging to one of the grave diggers. With this book Liesel starts a long fascination for books and words, which she comes to understand and they become a soucre of comfort for her, escaping from her losses and sometimes her life. Her life changes when Max Vandenburg is hidden in her basement, he is a Jew.

Zusak posits that the abandonment of loved ones is regrettably accompanied by grief and life-long indebtedness to them. This is apparent when Max, as a result of his selfishness and desire to live, leaves his family in Germany to their imminent fate and are consequently persecuted by German soldiers to await execution. Being the sole survivor of this ordeal, Max is visibly disturbed by the slaughter of his family and is “afraid, of falling asleep again.” Here it is revealed that Max suffers from immense guilt that trails behind him even in rest, in his dreams he is constantly tortured by the memories of his past. When he is informed of his family’s disappearance, he feels even more at fault and he realises that “If only he turned for one last look at his family… perhaps then the guilt would not have been so heavy.

Words can influence the mind in many ways that thought may not be able to. They are carefully placed and shared in different ways by each and every individual. Words have powerful impacts and can majorly impact how one may think, feel, or even lead others to feel. Written by Markus Zusak, “The Book Thief” describes a story of an innocent foster girl, Liesel Meminger, who resides in Munich, Germany at one of the most troubling time periods in history, Nazi Germany. A tale narrated by the one and only Death himself, shows the perspective from his point of view, as well as others, describing how Liesel had been seized away from her birth mother at a young age, and put into a foster family. Her new family, the Hubermanns. As she matures and grows into a more critical thinker, understanding and analyzing everything that carefully happens around her. Her foster-father, Hans guides her and teaches her how to read, which little does she know sparks her journey, the art of stealing books. Liesel soon discovers that words aren 't simply lines on a page, they are strong emotions packed into a form that merely is held in her delicate hands. Not only did she hold the pages of emotion, she held a power, a dangerous weapon of words, a weapon of control, and every book that she had stolen was giving her unimaginable power that made her think in ways that she would’ve never thought she could have. As with Nazi propaganda, and a gift that enabled her to broaden her worldview. Liesel evolves

Hey everyone. For those of you who don’t know me, I am Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief amongst other books. Every book that I write has its own journey that comes with it and this applies for the Book Thief. This journey includes things like the writing process, my inspiration for the particular novel and the lessons that I hope my audience learns. More often than not, this journey is a more personal than public experience for the author, but today I thought it would be interesting if I share some parts of this journey with you. But before I get into all of that, let me start with a brief overview of the book.

In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, suffering can be seen throughout the book.”Individuals can endure great suffering if they have something to live for”. There are various types of sufferings presented in the book like physical and emotional. Max Vandenburg a Jewish man who hides in the Hubermann’s basement and the conditions and distress he had to go through to stay hidden from the Nazis. Also suffering is shown when Max had lost his family was very miserable and cruel.

"No matter how many times she was told she was loved there was no recognition that the proof was in the abandonment" (Zusak 32). The novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young girl who struggles through WWII and faces the pain and suffering of abandonment. When one is faced with such an abandonment and is forced to cope on their own, they may feel lost and alone. These emotions force people to find comfort. As in Liesel 's case, some people find comfort in books and words. Liesel 's perspective on abandonment can be seen through how she coped with her childhood trauma, Max 's illness and the Himmel Street bombing.