Imagine you are a poorly fed citizen, who is living in Germany, during the World War II, what would you be doing, probably stealing something to fill up your tummy right? It is true that at the economically unstable period mentioned in the book, thievery is understandable, anything could be stolen and anyone could be a thief. However, for those who have read and understand the book thoroughly would acknowledge the importance of Liesel's’ thievery characteristic.Markus Zusak, in The Book Thief characterizes Liesel as a thief to compare her theft with mutiny against Nazi Germany, other rebellious German people and the development of her personal identity.
First, Zusak describes Liesel as a curious girl to create a metaphor for those who question
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Her enthusiastic attitude can only be calmed down by the sound of Papa’s accordion. Nothing can come in between her and her words, not the darkness of the room, and of course not even the Nazi Germans. Furthermore, in the book A Girl Made of Darkness, it is shown that Liesel is intrigued by the smallest thing in life as she questions her parents about her Christmas present (Zusak, 89). Understand her family situation, Liesel is not expecting for any present for Christmas, however her dad has been able to trade cigarettes for some books . To most of us, when we receive presents we will just accept the present, no questions asked. On the contrary,many questions have been proliferating in Liesel’s mind when Papa gives her the gifts. Not to mention another obvious evidence is when Max first arrived at the Hubermann’s house. As can be seen, Zusak has portrayed Liesel as the book thief because her inquisitive characteristic indicate those who questions the Nazi German …show more content…
Zusak as the author, demonstrates Liesel as a thief to compare her with other rebellious Germans. Throwback to the book Arrival On Himmel Street, death has written “Her knees entered the ground. Her moment had arrived. Still in disbelief, she started to dig. He couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t-” (23), these words indicate the similarities between Liesel and many other Germans during the period. As we all have known, during World War II, many German families has to suffer from separation. Childrens are separated from their parents, siblings are supported by each others. Just like Liesel, many in the time were departed from their parents on their way to their foster parents. Unfortunately for some of them, their siblings, who share the same journey with them cannot make it to the destination. Not only Liesel shares faiths with the rebellious German who are affected by the World War II, she is also experiencing the same feeling that they are sensing. They are all angry, they are in disbelief, that their loved ones have left them behind in the lonely world. Correspondingly, in the book The Woman With The Iron Fist, Issa has spoken “This is what I have to put up with, these rich bastards, these lazy swine…”(43). These words have spoken for the majority of Germans at the time. Through the words, the abusive tone of the character Issa, we can clearly see the spark of rebellious. Although these words were not directly from Liesel, we all know that “Who
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.
Liesel’s empowerment stems from three sovereign aspects, from discovering the influence of words through books, to discovering new ideas and concepts, and revolting against the horrific Nazi agenda. The younger generation in The Book Thief during Nazi Germany shows a constant hope for the Jewish people in the future. Liesel’s empowerment not only benefits her, but it benefits other people as well, like Max. “Now I think we are friends, this girl and me. On her birthday it was she who gave a gift to me” (Max 35.20) this quote reveals the trust that Max has put into Liesel because of her strong willed empowerment, which gives him strength to keep continuing his journey with the family.
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
In Markus Zusak novel “The Book Thief,” a little girl named Liesel serves as the protagonist. The plot of the story takes place in Germany during the late thirties, early fourtees while the anti-jewish sentimant is most prominent and Hitlers is at his peak in terms of power and followers. The book revolves around the life of Leisel and how these attrocious conditions shaped her life. This book does a great job of demonstrating many aspects described in “How to Read Literature Like a
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.
In the novel The Book Thief , by Markus Zusak, there are many different characters but Liesel was the one who stood out. Liesel had many different positives and negatives which changed her into the character that she was in the novel.These positives and negatives showed the viewers who Liesel really is and how she copes with everything.Liesel had many big events which changed her when she went to live with the Hubermanns , another is when max leaves her,last but not least was when Himmel street get bombed and Liesel stepped out onto the street and saw all her loved ones gone.
What kind of person is Liesel in The Book Thief? Liesel can be described as caring, curious, and friendly. You see that she is caring throughout the book, including the time when Max is staying at the Hubermann’s house. She is worried about his wellbeing, and she is willing to stay with him, even when the conditions are poor, it may put her at risk and she would be missing out on other things. Liesel puts others before herself in many instances which has shown how caring she truly is.
Every time Liesel steals books from people, she consistently places the lives of others at risk. An example of this is when Liesel is worried about Max dying and wants to steal a book and read it to him
Liesel Suffering from unbearable pain of lost ones, the protagonist of the story Liesel goes through many tough situations. In The Book Thief, Liesel changes greatly from being sad and lonely due to her harsh past, to accepting reality and learning to love her In the beginning of the story, Liesel loses her father, brother and only had her mother left, but soon also loses her. She was alone all by herself, until she got taken in by someone else. Although, it didn’t change anything for her since she was still always reminiscing over her family.
Life during the 1940’s was hard for the entire world. As Germany caused suffering and loss in multiple other countries, the people of Germany suffered as well. The Book Thief follows the story of a German girl named Liesel, who was forced to be taken away from her family at a young age. She then becomes the foster daughter of Rosa and Hans Hubermann, whose children have grown up and left. Liesel struggles to understand why her mother had left her, and why Hitler was causing all of the bad things in her life to happen. In The Book Thief, Markus Zusak uses the theme of loss to show how it can bring people closer together.
Thievery has been a problem with mankind since the beginning of time, many characters in The Book Thief show this character trait that will affect their lives forever. Markus Zusak uses thievery to narrow in on the multiple situations that have been risen in the book that has been a problem for Liesel, who has faced terror throughout her life. Liesel is making poor decisions that is affecting her survival on Himmel Street. Her friendship with Rudy has had a negative and positive effect on Liesel’s life. The Hubermanns sneaking Max to their house and hiding him in the basement. All lead back to the decisions that Liesel makes.
As I had explained, there were many events in Liesel’s life that were worth reading about, but to me, the single most important event in her life would be the unannounced massacre of Himmel Street. Himmel means Heaven in German, but in this time of crisis, it is anything but. It becomes a closing of her second chapter within her life and opens the door into her third and final chapter of her long, post-war life. Liesel is asleep in the Hubermann basement writing her book “The Book Thief” when the alert sirens failed to go off, leaving the unsuspecting residents of Himmel Street to be picked up by death. The carnage left after the German air raid paints a grim picture into my head as Liesel, lucky to be alive, walks out of her home to find that history has repeated itself by removing the people in her life that genuinely cared about her and the feeling of loss and abandonment would come to her mind, mirroring and playing on a larger scale what unfolded at the beginning of the Book Thief.
Liesel loves to read and it doesn't take her long to withhold her title as Book Thief. She starts with The Grave Digger’s Handbook which is the book she picks up after her brother’s death. Hans teachers her to read and painted her a “chalkboard” in the basement so that she can write down the new words she has learned. There ends up being a town “parade” which is really a book burning event where Hitler and the Nazis are commemorated, during this time Germany was looking towards invading new countries. Liesel is handed a book and pressured to throw it into the fire, to which she eventually does so. However, once the fire has been put out and everyone has gone home, she notices a book that is only slightly charred, not destroyed by the fire and picks it up. A car drives by and a woman, who is Ilsa Herman, the mayor’s wife, sees her take the book, but Liesel hides it under her coat and runs away quickly back home.
At the library, she was offered a book by the mayor’s wife multiple times but Liesel declined. After being removed from the job because the mayor couldn’t offered job, Liesel must leave. Though she declined the book many times, she returns to the house to steal food but instead retrieves the book. She steals it for her close friend Rudy. The book itself represents the connection between the two especially Rudy valiantly saves the book after it was almost thrown into a river.
The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak shows how the impact on the power of language has on Liesel Meimeger through the structure of the novel. The structure of the novel shows the development of the character Liesel, highlighting the impact of the power of language. In her development, she finds the ability to express herself as well as to connect to others. Books become a comfort to her and heal her, they help her grow strong relationships with other characters in her life. However, she also sees the damage words have caused through Nazi propaganda, understanding that Hitler 's words have been the cause of suffering of the people in her life. Despite this, the structure of the novel shows the ability of the character to understand that