Abandonment In Liesel's The Book Thief

1. Brother’s Funeral “When it came down to it, one of the called the shots. The other did what he was told. The question is, what if the other is a lot more than one. (Zusack 18)”

Within every human being, through affirmation and recognition by others, one’s worth and value, a sense of belonging is formed. This concept is the main theme within the text, The Book Thief (2005) written by Markus Zusak. The main character, Liesel Meminger, is abandoned by her mother at the age of ten (10) she then spends the next few years finding where she belongs in the world. Throughout the novel Liesel's sense of belonging to the characters Hans Hubermann, Max Vandenburg and Adolf Hitler; the Fuhrer, result in shaping and influence her to view the world differently. This essay will be examining Liesel’s sense of belonging with each of these characters and their effect on her personality, views and ideas.

"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.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak follows the struggles and triumphs of a young girl growing up in Nazi Germany. The story begins when she is nine, and includes her death, so as expected, Liesel changes a lot during this time. The changes that are most important and noticeable to the reader are her discovery of words, becoming a thief, and growing up to be just like her Papa.

The Book Thief is set in the time of World War 2 where the Holocaust is present and disaster is everywhere. Throughout the story, Liesel, the main character, learns that words are extremely powerful and hold the ability for people to use them for good or for evil. Among the disaster and altercations, Liesel uses her literature to comfort her and make herself more powerful due to her knowledge, which demonstrates the theme of the story, the comfort and power of literature and words softens the pain of loss.

During this time period, Germany and Russia were in a horrific war. There was constant bombings and raids in cities including Himmel Street in Molching, Germany. This kept everyone on their toes just in case they were bombed in this area. They needed to get out of the area as soon as possible so they didn’t die. In the book during the second raid, people scared out of their mind sat around, “That was still an immutable fact, but at least they were distracted now, by the girl and her book” (Zusak 382). Liesel read to the scared people to try and comfort them. In this dark time, Liesel gave people comfort and she was able to make the situation slightly better and not as scary for many people. Sometimes, the right words can make the situation a lot better. Words can be comforting and make everything feel better. For example, “For at least 20 minutes,s he handed out the story. The youngest kids were soothed by her voice” (Zusak 381). Even though it is a dark situation, it made it better. Comfort during this dark time is what these people needed. Being calm in a situation like this had a positive effect on everyone around Liesel. Next, when Max, a Jew and the son of Hans Hubermann’ s friend, moved into the Hubermann household, it put the family in a very risky and life threatening situation. If they had gotten caught with a Jew in their basement, there would have been horrible consequences for all of them. But, the more time that Max

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

In the novel The book Thief, Markus Zusak explores that death and war are often more difficult for those who survive. At the center of the text is the idea that those who are left behind after tragedy suffer greatly. This is revealed through the hardship of life and experience a gentle transition. This was shown as an experience of Liesel who struggles as well as the other characters that have difficult processing their grief and guilt. Zusak’s novel acts to alert his readers the dangers of war and by the hardship of life and experience a gentle transition.

Liesel’s intense love for books engulfs her and yet she lived in a nation where the revulsion words and books has reached its peak. The fact about her is that “she was a girl. In Nazi Germany. How fitting that she was discovering the power of words”(Zusak 147). This passage really captures the true meaning of The Book Thief. The author’s way of incorporating such gorgeous language is incredible and very attractive to the eyes. Zusak’s use of sentence fragments increases the reader’s need to continue reading and understanding the novel. The qoute shows how Liesel was determined to keep what was most beloved to her closest, her books. Liesel enjoyed All around her were book burnings where beautiful literature was destroyed and it broke her heart

Liesel stole a book for the first time before she knew how to read during her brother’s funeral. In the book, it reads, “When he walked away, after a few dozen paces, a black book fell innocuously from his coat pocket without his knowledge.” During this time, it was when the gravediggers were digging the grave for her brother and then a book fell out of one of their pockets. Liesel would then steal the book and kept it with her to remember her brother. Another time in the book that showed Liesel’s character was when she stole book during the burning of the books.

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

The book thief takes us through a journey of Liesel and her struggle through the times of the Holocaust. Moving to a new city and being adopted by a new family Lisel goes through many challenges by has her new friends and family to support her. We start with Hans Hubermann her new father, a generous down to earth man who is an ex soldier.

Despite warnings about German intentions toward Jews, many Jews fail to flee to others country. Many Jews have to sent to the camp Auwschitz. Eliezer with his dad struggle at the camp and meet Stein. There live are keep passing day by day until one day, Stein’s death came.

Liesel and her family have been hiding a Jew in their basement. During WW2 this was a serious crime. This book started off with liesel stealing books and then takes a plot twist when Max shows up in their house one day. Max and liesel have become really good friends. Liesel has been hanging out with her friend Rudy on the side, and getting into some trouble too.

Chapter 2 - Liesel’s Relationships With Her Parents Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief contains complex character relationships. When, the main character, Liesel first arrives on Himmel Street it is immediately clear the relationships that Liesel will have with her new parents. The relationships between Liesel and her parents change as The Book Thief reaches its climax. For example, at the beginning of The Book Thief Liesel and her mother have a distant relationship.