The Book Thief

The tone of the narrator, Death, is intimate throughout the book. When he first sees Liesel, he becomes interesting in her as he takes away her brother’s soul. Events lead him into interacting with many people in Liesel’s life and the war allows him to see her often, this attraction is encompassed on the last few words of the book, “I am haunted by humans” ( Zusak 550). Death, who seems to haunt millions of people around the world, is haunted by humans. It is ironic but it shows the beauty that is humans. This desire to see Liesel, to be haunted by her, leads to a caring tone, but this does not mean that Death is basis in his telling of the story. Death tries to forget Liesel but periodically, he goes to check. His being haunted does not only apply to Liesel, he is able to recall the deaths of many other humans that had captured his eye or in someway is connected to Liesel. There is a fondness when Death thinks of humans and a slight dislike but he craves to see certain ones and to interact with them. Humans are so interesting, complex, and eye catching that Death wishes to watch over some of

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, 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.

To lose someone very close can hurt; it can change how one behaves and how they may think. In the novel Night by Elie Wiesel, Wiesel and his father endured unbearable amounts of torment during their stay in Auschwitz-Birkenau and Buchenwald. Emotional death was a very common side effect of the concentration camps. Many of the Holocaust victims such as Wiesel felt emotional death as a result of witnessing acts of violence, being forced to do extreme manual labor, and overall being brutally mistreated. Wiesel’s encounters with violence and death struck him monotonously.

Death is a very well-known figure that is feared by many in all countries. He is suspected of being cruel, disturbing and all synonyms of horrifying. Death is inevitable and that is the most fearing aspect of his persona. In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, Death is made to seem or resemble humans. Effectively using the narration role, Death introduces a unique description and definition of colors in which he uses as a tool to effectively engage the readers to the events occurring throughout the book. He also demonstrates him personal and different experiences as well, mostly about soul gathering and the implications of WWII that have affected him. On the contrary to Death’s dead, appalling and scary nature that many interpret him to be

Markus Zusak’s Book Thief chronicles the life of Liesel Meminger and those who crossed her path. Through his use of Death as a narrator, a profound underlying message of the wondrous complexity of the human world is presented, balancing the ever-present forces of evil and good.

Elie Wiesel, an Auschwitz survivor, ends his autobiography, Night, with the lasting statement, "From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me" (115). The importance of this declaration signifies that Elie came to a realization that emotional death that the death camps have created will far outweigh the physical pains experienced through torture. He understands that the physical evidence from the torture will fade, but the psychological trauma will torment and alter the rest of his life. Through Elie 's eyes, the reader is forced to beg the questions: What is the breaking point for a person to experience a disregard for emotion? How does a person heal from what is thought to be obsolete terror? And can a person ever recover to the extent of fitting back into society? However, holocaust survivors are not the only people who suffered from the detrimental effects of death. Veterans of war also become victims to the immunity of death. The mother country will rejoice at the sight of its sons returning from battle; however, the families do not comprehend that the war will always rage inside their battle-scarred relative. Although wars hurt America physically by decreasing the population, wars also impact soldiers emotionally. Emotional death is prevalent in all wars, and it destroys America socially because of the isolationism it creates.

Liesel most definitely could have trusted Rudy with the secret of having Max hidden in her basement. Rudy was clearly Liesel’s best friend and partner in crime when Liesel was doing her acts of thievery stealing the books from the mayor’s wife bookself. The devotion to Liesel Rudy also had was strong and I believe Liesel could have trusted Rudy.

The reader is able to see the emotional chaos the characters are subject to after trauma. It changes their behaviors and can make them take risks they wouldn’t normally take. Zucker opens readers to understand the sorrow of Jews and sympathizers that fled from their homes and families while under persecution during World War II, as well as World War I veterans. In the words of Death, the narrator “It’s the leftover humans. The survivors [...] I witness the ones who are left behind, crumbling among the jigsaw puzzle of realization, despair and surprise. They have punctured hearts. They have beaten lungs” (Zusak 5). It is true that this type of guilt is often paralysing to certain individuals; however, it can also create empathy and strength when survivors overcome these defining hardships in life. This is shown through Liesel’s friendships with Max and Hans, and the emotional maturity they each possess. These relationships help bring acceptance and joy back into survivors’ lives, and allow them to release the guilt of leaving one

Zusak. Zusak’s novel is about a young girl, named Liesel Meminger, who after losing her

11 million people died during the Holocaust. In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, Liesel Meminger loses many of her loved ones. At the beginning of the book, Liesel’s brother dies of illness on a train, and her mother is taken away by the Nazis for being a communist. After losing everyone she ever cared about, the story drags Liesel into a humble household where she discovers her passion for books, and her love for her family and friends. However, her loved ones are once again torn away from her as Himmel Street, the street she lives on, gets bombed. She loses her foster parents, her best friend, and everyone else she came to know. As a result of these adverse events, Liesel’s innocence was stolen from her. In The Book Thief, loss plays an essential role in developing characters, especially Liesel. After losing Werner, her brother, Liesel is plagued by

Narration is important in almost any book,  which is why it is especially important in   Mark Zusak’s: The Book Thief.  He uses foreshadowing, perspective, and interaction with the  reader to make the book so much more interesting. Zusak's selection of Death as the narrator heavily changes and alters the way the book is read. Death allows the reader to have a completely new and different perspective of Death itself, he heavily foreshadows very important events in the book, and he interacts with the reader many times throughout the book. By presenting death as the narrator, Zusak provides a more outside and impartial view of humanity’s pain and suffering (Johnson).

The theme death has always played a crucial role in literature. Death surrounds us and our everyday life, something that we must adapt and accept. Whether its on television or newpaper, you'll probobly hear about the death of an individual or even a group. Most people have their own ideas and attitude towards it, but many consider this to be a tragic event due to many reasons. For those who suffered greatly from despair, living their life miserably and hopelessly, it could actually be a relief to them. Death effects not only you, but also those around you, while some people may stay unaffected depending on how they perceive it.

Markus Zusak has been subject to heavy criticism for his choice of writing style in his historical fiction novel, The Book Thief. In the novel, he made the decision to have Death, who is identified and acknowledged as a person, narrate the entirety of the novel and tell it from his point of view. Despite the normal perspectives or typical stereotypes associated with the concept of death, Death is not a bad guy or someone to be afraid of in this novel. Death is simply just another normal or average human being. Zusak chooses Death as the narrator not only to provide Liesel Meminger’s, the protagonist of the novel, point of view of what is going on around her during World War II, but also to furnish valuable information to the readers that a juvenile girl like Liesel

Liesel Meminger, her brother and her mom are traveling by train to the place their mom picks out to be their foster home and to live with their foster parents Rosa and Hans Huberman. But on the way her brother, Werner, dies and is buried in a graveyard full of snow. Liesel found her first book called The Grave Diggers Handbook and takes it. This is how she gets her nickname the book thief. They get in a car and drive to Himmel Street and arrive at the home that Liesel is staying at. As they arrive she thinks Rosa is a bit scary but she is getting used to how she