Hans’s accordion was really meant to symbolize safety and it is to be used as base or a safe word. When Erik, Hans’s friend, died, his accordion was given to Hans. “He carried the accordion with him during the entirety of the war” (178). Hans kept the accordion with him as hope and safety, because it belonged to the man who saved his life. While Max was still in hiding, and his friend was telling him about Hans. He said “‘He’s good. He still plays that accordion your mother told you about-your father’s’” (195). The reason his friend did not fail to mention the accordion, was so that Max would not be so intimidated. When Max first showed up to Hans’s house, the first thing he mentioned was Hans’s accordion, seeing as it used to belong to Erik, …show more content…
“The first event in the book was a murder” (213). The book seems to relate to the events happening in Germany at the moment, Hitler and all the killings. A huge concept in the book she stole was foreshadowing and similarity as to what is going on in her life. Really, all of the books Liesel has stolen goes along with what is happening to her at the moment. It is like a theme. She stole The Gravedigger's Handbook at her brother’s funeral. Then she stole The Shoulder Shrug, a hebrew book, at Hitler’s birthday fire, where bad books were being burned, and at the time, Jews were …show more content…
Mainly because it was too busy for him. There were so many people dying, “Death” compared doing his job, to doing his job with a new boss who expects the most out of you- in such little time. A lot of these deaths were due to recent bombings happening to German cities. “Outside, things were starting to look shaky. Late in March, a place called Lübeck was hailed with bombs. Next in line would be Cologne, and soon enough, many more German cities, including Munich. Yes the boss was at my shoulder. ‘Get it done, get it done.’ The bombs were coming - and so was I” (335). “Death” was responsible for carrying away all the souls of the dead people. He was so busy he was eventually worn out from all the people he had to take away. “As usual, i collected humans. I was tired” (338). Not all deaths though are due to bombs. “Death” is busy from many other things too, due to the many different ways Jews in Germany were killed. “They increase the production of bodies and their escaping souls. A few bombs usually do the trick. Or some gas chambers, or the chitchat of fairway guns… They beg me to take them with me, not realizing I’m too busy as it is… At times I wish I could say something like, ‘Don’t you see I’ve already got enough on my plate?’. But I never do. I complain internally as I go about my work, some years, the souls and bodies don’t add up; they multiply” (308). The tone “Death” is using in the novel is a chatty ironic tone. This tone is
This part of the novel resembles a point in Liesel’s character in which she was passionate about the things she was feeling - almost as if she was determined to do something about it. As this event occurred, Liesel was filled with anger about her parent’s disappearance. She had recently found out that Hitler had something to do with it, which pushed Liesel to the conclusion that Hitler was not a man to be celebrated. As her hatred for Nazi ideals grew, so did her bravery.
Liesel also very curious. A prime example of her curiosity is her very strong desire to learn how to read. At the beginning of the book,on page 13, it says “Apart from everything else, the book thief wanted desperately to go to the basement, to write, or to
In the middle of “The Book Thief”,Liesel becomes determined. She is determined to show her papa that she can read and write. Liesel shows she is determined because she learns how to read and she wants to write all the words that she learns on the wall. An example that shows this is “we're starving out here,and you're stealing books?”said Rudy. In this example Liesel wants to read the one book from the library so she steals it but will bring it back when she is done.
To begin, in The Book Thief, books seem to provide Liesel with hope in many ways . First, Liesel reads her books in hope that they will distract her from her harsh reality of living during a war, and having Hitler as a leader. This is displayed in the following quotation,”Liesel opened one of her books and began to read. The book on the top of the pile was The Whistler and she spoke it aloud to help her concentrate,” (Zusak 381). Within this quotation, one sees that Liesel reads her books to in the hope
Lastly in The Book Thief, books reminded Liesel of the last time she saw her mother and brother which also kept her calm after her nightmares and help develop a bond between Liesel and the mayor's wife. The stealing of books made Liesel
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
While fighting in the first world war, Hans took the soon to be his accordion once his friends passed and “He carried the accordion with him during the entirety of the war.” (178) Hans’ one and only friend passed during the war and he was the only one from his company to survive, so he took his friends accordion with him as they moved on. The accordion too Hans, gave him a sense of hope, that he will survive the war and he will return home. As the accordion was his friends, who saved his life, it passes a continuation of hope that he will survive, just like he survived because of his friend. The night that Hans left for the war, Liesel snuck into her parents room and saw “...Rosa Hubermann was sitting on the edge of the bed with her husband’s accordion tied to her chest.” (429) Rosa Hubermann is holding onto one of Hans most beloved item that he owns. The symbolic meaning of hope is strongly represented as Rosa is hoping Hans will return home. All she wants is to sit with his cherished accordion and hope that Hans will return home to them and not dead. The night Max arrived at 33 Himmel street, one of the few phrases he said was “Do you still play the accordion?” (185) The phrase was a code phrase so Max can know the is at the right house and is safe. Hope is evident through the accordion as, Max is hoping by using the word that best represents the person he’s looking for. The
He knew Liesel couldn’t read and when he found the grave digger’s book under her mattress, he decided to teach her how to. Slowly she feels more at home but she still feels the emptiness inside. Therefore she tries to get revenge on Hitler by trying to save the books he attempts to burn, “When she snatched a book from beneath a steaming pile of ashes, Liesel was a girl made of darkness.
Throughout the book there are multiple signs that point to the fact that even though Liesel “steals” several books, she ameliorates the
In The Book Thief, Liesel Meminger stole a total of five books. Each book that Liesel stole is ironically portrayed as metaphors of her struggles and happy moments in her life. The first book that was stolen was The Gravedigger’s Handbook. This book represents both happy and sad moments in Liesel’s life. It reminded her of her brother Werner’s death and the last moments with her mother before Liesel’s arrival on Himmel Street. However, this book also created happy moments and a new a bond between her new foster father, Hans Hubbermann, as they formed a routine of reading and learning new words after Liesel woke up from her nightmares. The Gravedigger’s Handbook also ignited the flame inside Liesel for her deep love for words. The next book she stole was The Shoulder Shrug from a pile
As Liesel grows up, she steals books more often and it begins to become a habit of hers. Each book impacted Liesel in a specific way and she begins to use the words that she has learned from her books to help her grow and prosper, as well as to help her with her journey and experiences. Liesel begins to have an obsession with stealing these books and her obsession is ironic in many ways.
The book that Liesel got started her interest in books, and it is shown when: “The book thief had struck for the first time- the beginning of illustrious career” (Zusak and White 29). After Liesel steals her first book, she is content, but her decision changes easily. Liesel does not want any perfectly book to be extirpated, so she quickly steals then from Jewish book burnings. The Grave Digger’s Handbook also reminds Liesel of her dead family. The book was the last object that Liesel saw before seeing her family alive for the last time, and she kept the book to make sure that she never forgets them. Also, when Liesel looks at the book, she sees her family, and that provides Liesel with another reason to keep the book. The Grave Digger’s Handbook started Liesel’s life of thievery, and it reminds her of her deceased
When Max first arrives at the Hubermann’s house he is in search of hospitality, he asks, “Do you play the accordion by any chance?” (187). Hans’ accordion was given to him as a gift by Max’s father in World War I. Max is really asking whether or not Hans will help him and respect his former friend. In this moment the accordion is a symbol of courage. Does Hans have the courage to help a Jew when the act is illegal or do the right thing and help a friend in need. Hans ends up helping Max showing that he has the courage to do what is right even though the risks are greater than the rewards. The accordion is also a symbol of hope as portrayed when Hans is sent off to war. The narrator explains, “Rosa Hubermann was sitting on the edge of the bed with her husband’s accordion tied to her chest” (422). In this scene, Rosa is in a place of sorrow as her husband is sent of to his likely death. The accordion is the only form of hope she has left. The accordion is a connection from her to her husband that gives her the slightest bit of comfort and
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.
The book 's importance is explained through Death where ‘“The books meaning 1. The last time she saw her brother. 2. The last time she saw her mother.” Despite Liesel being illiterate, the Gravedigger’s handbook holds significant meaning for the character. Liesel has an overwhelming feeling of loss of control and acts out in rebellion to steal the book that lay beside her brothers grave. By stealing the book, she has a reminder of her small family and it stops her feeling defeated by her ever changing life, which she has no control over. This idea is then reinforced with another action of the character. Liesel then finds out that Hitler was the cause of the suffering and loss of freedom of the people she loved and knew in her life.This second act of rebellion takes place while Liesel visits a Nazi book burning. Liesel soon understands that the Nazi’s burnt books to brainwash citizens of Germany(_____). As a result of this Lisel then understands the importance and power words have, causing her to again acts rebelliously in a protest. “And it was anger and dark hatred that had fueled her desire to steal it.” This passage from the novel shows the emotions of Liesel. As a character who is unable to express herself verbally, her actions speak for her. Liesel 's desire to understand words begins to grow, with her understanding that Nazis burn books in fear of what they may do to society.