The Book Thief: An Analysis

When times get tough, it is courage that helps one survive. In the story, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, Liesel Meminger must deal with the death of her younger brother and the painful abandonment of her mother while she tries to settle into her new life with her foster parents. Her new mama, Rosa, shows love in a harsh way, but she develops a deeply close relationship with her gentle, patient papa, Hans and her best friend, Rudy. After secretly stealing a book (24) and learning to read from Hans (64), she develops a love of books and the power of words. Liesel, Hans, and Rudy, show great courage while trying to manage everyday life in dangerous Nazi, Germany during World War II. They show the reader that

“The Book Thief” is a novel and film about a girl who survives death during WW2 and how words became very important to her life. Liesel Meminger was brought to her foster home unable to read. Her foster father, Hans, finds out she can’t read and helps teaches her German. Liesel then falls in love with words and uses them to write her story.The theme “power of words” is displayed in the novel and film equally. Three ways the power of words were shown was by making an emotional connection with the audience, influencing people to do something, and creating unlikely friendships.

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.

2. It is ironic that Liesel steals books because the first time she steals the book she is not even able to read yet. The first time she stole a book was at her brothers funeral to keep as a memory of him and also her mother. Liesel was upset and "she started to dig" for The Gravediggers Handbook (Zusak 23).This seemed ironic also, because she dug for a book in the snow at her brothers burial. Hitler used words as a powerful tool to change the way a whole country viewed Jews. Words turn into something to use as hate from the Nazis and Hitler toward the Jews. Germans are scared of words that show how Jews really are .They have bonfires and they throw the books in the bonfire and burn them, along with the truth about Jews. Even though Germans in general have a hatred towards books, Liesel is saved by words. Max, who is a Jew is also saved by words. Max

The Book Thief portrayed the excitement and influence of books while teaching me the history of the Holocaust highlights just how powerful books are. It taught me that books can help inspire you and help you through the tough problems of life. Book are comforting, and help escape the world, that helps me and many others get through the difficulties in life. Which the young girl in this book finds herself

Words are everywhere, words make up books, and the power of words make The Book Thief which will never be able to be improved upon. Words help us communicate with others, but mainly they have positive and negative sides to them. In the novel, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Death narrates the story while Liesel Meminger also tells her story of living in Nazi, Germany. We will discuss how there are many people such as Max Vandenburg and Liesel Meminger who choose to use to use their power of words in the positive way. We will also discuss how people also like to use their power of words in the negative way such as Adolf Hitler. The power of words are very effective especially in Markus Zusak’s writing, and we’ll discuss the main parts of the book which have been effected with the power of words.

In the novel The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, there is a strong presence surrounding words. I was amazed by this presence through Liesel’s relationship to books, the power of words, and language that is affected by the Holocaust. I was amazed by how Liesel overcomes Hitler’s suppression and teaches others about language and words.

A captivating and beautifully well written narrative; "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak follows the adolescence of a courageous young girl named Liesel Meminger, whose book thievery opens her to a world of words. This novel discusses themes of identity and belonging, and the characters struggle to finding these as the novel progresses; though set in a different time period, the struggle Liesel endures greatly imitates the struggle of adolescents today. The story's beginning made me feel somewhat perplexed as to who the narrator was and for quite some time, I desperately wanted him or her to reveal their identity; However Zusak seems to enjoy keeping his readers guessing, which I find the mystery of his writing to be quite admiring. The imagery, narration and perspectives on this detrimental time in our World’s history obliged me continue reading on Liesels journey.

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.

Behind words Do you ever say something to someone that is hurtful and the person stops talking to you? They stopped talking to you because the power behind your words were powerful. People don't realize the power behind words until they see how they words affect somebody in an emotional way. In The Book Thief the power behind words is a huge part of the book.

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

Teacher and students will read the textbook chapter on World War II and the novel The Book Thief. Teacher will model organizing the information from the text in outline form, listing key events and ideas. Teacher will also model identifying the key historic events and ideas from the novel as well. Teacher will begin organizing key events from the text and the novel into a graphic organizer or Timeline. 5.

Death states that, “I’m always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both” (Zusak 491). This book shows us human doing things that weren’t even imaginable before this point. Many people give into ideas that were lies. But, we also watch a few people go out of their way and sacrifice everything for a man they barely even know. They do everything they can to keep him safe and alive. They work harder, the get another job, and they even steal. In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, death examines the ugliness and the beauty of humans.

The Book Thief Essay The Book Thief, in its historical setting and fictional characters, is able to portray a never-ending assortment of powerful matters within the story. The many themes in The Book Thief are presented clearly, but the highest standing include the power of words and stereotyping In The Book Thief, illustrated in many ways was the power of words. First of all, Rosa, Hans, Max, and Liesel all struggled against Hitler and his power to manipulate with words. He begins by burning books and limiting knowledge, and then uses people’s cluelessness against them.