The Book Thief Literary Devices

Zusak first shows imagery when he describes the setting on their way to the camp. The words “clear,” “greasy,” “olive green,” creates an image of what the truck looked like and what time of the day it was by describing the sky color. Also when Hans had a minor incident about the seat he was sitting in, the narrator calls the situation a “Pitiful struggle between, two supposed grown men.” he believes

In the passage, Ilsa Hermann’s Little Black Book, from the novel The Book Thief, Zusak uses imagery to reveal Liesel’s anger towards the darkness and suffering throughout the world. Having been pushed to violence, she accepts this truth and chooses to punish herself by removing everything dear in her life. This moment illustrates how beauty and ugliness exist concurrently in both the world and people, and the

Zusak also shows how words can be used for good, when Liesel described the weather to Max. They way she described the sy with her words cheered him up. Liesel says, “The sky is blue today, Max, and there is a big long cloud, and it's stretched out, like a rope.

Zusak uses personification to show how after Liesel discovered words, her need for them grew stronger, so much so that she resorted to stealing books to achieve them. “She envisioned her thieving hands reaching up, making the window rise until the book was felled” (Zusak 369). This part shows what Liesel is envisioning prior to her stealing the book from Frau Hermann. Zusak does this to show how words have affected Liesel, instead of someone else for once, and what she did with them after discovering them. Zusak again uses personification to describe the negative affects words had, specifically Max, a Jew living in a basement in Nazi Germany. “There were erased pages of Mein Kompf, gagging, suffocating under the paint as they turned” (Zusak 237). Here, the scene is set when max covered the pages of Mein Kompf and painted over them, with his own words and drawings. Zusak does this to show how words can be negatively used, especially in a place like Nazi Germany. Zusak uses personification when he describes how ruthlessly words can be used, by people all throughout history. “The injury of words. Yes, the brutality of words” (Zusak 262). Here, Death is explaining how words negatively affect people, like the Jews in World War II, and how people used them, like Adolf Hitler. Zusak does this to show the true power of words, how they can, and

Themes are inserted within literature by the author in an attempt to provoke readers to think about the topic provided. In the novel, The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, many topics are presents, such as, courage, suffering, and human behavior. The most prevalent, however, is the courage possessed by certain individuals. This theme, bravery, is evident throughout the entire course of the novel in Liesel Meminger, the Hubermanns, and Max Vandenburg.

Markus Zusak ended up rewriting the first 90 pages of The Book Thief 200 times before it was published. This book is about a young German girl named Liesel Meminger who has to move suddenly to Germany to live with a new family, and a new mother, Rosa. Markus Zusak's The Book Thief contains many memorable characters. However, the character that is the most memorable is Rosa Hubermann because she has a very distinct personality.

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

Foreshadowing is a major technique Zusak uses in The Book Thief to portray the power of words. Within the first pages of the novel, the narrator gives the audience a glimpse into the novel’s content. This not only adds intrigue and encourages the audience to continue reading; it also foreshadows central themes – ‘some words’, ‘quite a lot of thievery’, and central characters, ‘an accordionist’, ‘a Jewish fist fighter’. The meaning and importance of these small phrases are not revealed until much later in the novel. ‘A Jewish fist fighter’ refers to Max Vandenburg, and foreshadows his appearance. His presence highlights the brutality of Nazi Germany, the immediacy of war, and the kindness and compassion of humans. Max is also an instrumental

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.

Zusak employs symbolism to allow for connections between the significance of the suits and Ed’s experiences. Furthermore, Zusak utilises first person narration to display Ed’s transformation

In the story The Book Thief, the author Markus Zusak does and amazing job of using literary devices in his story. From metaphors, to similes, to personification and even onomonopeias. It puts images in your mind that in other looks you could not even imagine. It shows and tells what the person is doing and how they are doing it. These literary devices bring excitement and engagement to the writing. It makes you want to keep reading the book. His forms of figurative language come easy to zusak.

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).

This also shows the reader that by Hans recognising the old jewish man as human, the life of the Jewish man is significantly impacted as he now feels something of worth and can die now knowing he is a human. This act of giving bread also impacts the life of Hans, as Hans is made to join the army in the most dangerous class of work as he is now seen as a ‘Jew Lover’. Through this quote the audience can see that change is inevitable and impacts the course of ones life, as through one act of kindness, two mens lives are significantly impacted. Zusak explores the concept of changing perspectives through how he incorporates the idea that change is inevitable and impacts the course of ones life, into the roles of his characters in his book ‘The Book Thief’.

The Book Thief was written by Australia writer Markus Zusak in 2005. The novel focuses on Liesel, a 12 year old

It seems sometimes like the market for young adult literature is written down to the readers, almost in a condescending manner. That is why a book like The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is so refreshing in this sea of cookie cutter romances and fantasies. While classified as a young adult novel, it deals with very serious themes. The book’s cover comes printed with this label: “It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.” It is a dark allusion to what is to come. But Zusak makes this story more accessible to the audience he is writing to and does this by creating identifiable characters, by bringing humor into