Imagery: “First the colors. Then the humans. That’s usually how I see things. Or at least, how I try.” (1) Describe: The first passage of “The Book Thief,” already leaves the reader questioning what on Earth these words could mean; however, the answer to this question isn’t Earthly at all. Death is the narrator of this story, and he is only trying to help us understand how his work is done before he allows us to actually witness his work being done. Analyze: Throughout “The Book Thief,” Death makes numerous references to the colors right before he lifts someone’s soul out of their body. The colors are how Death views the sky when a human dies. Our narrator seems to focus his attention on these colors not only as a distraction to the dismay of taking a life (the colors are edible to Death), but also to catch a glimpse of what that particular life was like; a person’s purest form of character, which may help the reader to have a “in a nutshell” understanding of the person. This use of imagery suggests that the human soul is just the universe trying to express itself for a little while, and when the body holding such a soul is terminated, the soul will be reunited with the natural world before becoming whole again, thus, resulting in the colors that Death sees in the sky. Point of View: “*** A REASSURING ANNOUNCEMENT *** Please, be calm, despite that previous threat. I am all bluster- I am not violent. I am not malicious. I am a result.” (6) Describe: Before Death (the
The Book Thief is a historical fiction novel by Markus Zusak set in Munich, Germany during the Nazi reign from 1936-1943. The novel incorporates a main character that is, in the beginning, an innocent child who doesn't understand the world and takes her on a journey where she grows up and matures through the hardships and challenges of her life. The story is narrated by the character Death, who is a fresh take on the Grim Reaper, only wearing the black cloak when it's cold and never carries a syte. Death describes the life Liesel Meminger, an orphaned girl who witnesses her brother's death and burial and finds herself being adopted by the benevolent old couple, the Hubermanns. The rest of the story follows Liesel's journey through her incredibly challenging life with the Hubermanns and characters such as Rudy, The mayor's wife, and Max helping her along. Symbolism in The Book Thief deepens the story by conveying many different ideas and emotions that supports the reader's understanding of the story. This is especially apparent with the use of the gravediggers to help the reader remember characters, the use of color to help the reader feel the proper emotions and remember the correct events, and the use of Liesel's changing feelings about Rudy to convey how Liesel grows and matures through the book.
One of The Book Thief’s main themes is war and the cruelty humans can have towards each other. Death exemplifies this theme all throughout the book through various metaphors and statements. “No one wanted to bomb Himmel Street. No one would bomb a place named after heaven, would they? Would they?” (p. 497-498).
Death can be thought of as a very violent being and people often associate it with maliciousness. The animated coloring plays to a reader’s familiarity of certain colors and what they represent to create a more vehement image. In the chapter titled “Beside the Railway Line”, Death states that something is blinding white when Liesel’s brother dies. It could possibly be comparing the white snow with the cold of death. There is also repeated mention of the colors of Rudy’s hair and Hans’ eyes. Rudy’s hair is described as being “lemon yellow”. Humanity mostly affiliates the color yellow with happiness, memory, communication, youthfulness and carelessness. But in The Book Thief it is twisted into a grim style. In the novel, Rudy is very happy and he cherishes his youth. When he dies, Liesel remembers the kiss he kept asking for and the mean things she would say to him and it causes great pain for her. Death almost always explains the way a person is when it comes for them. He says that Hans’ silver eyes were open and that Hans’ came peacefully. Silver is often correlated with love and peace. Only because Liesel loved Hans so much, is that why the silver of his eyes are so very important. Death gives a tranquil atmosphere to the violence it concocts. Readers become comfortable with Death the idea of it and frequently miss the gesture of violence.
Death is a very well-known figure that is feared by many in all countries. He is suspected of being cruel, disturbing and all synonyms of horrifying. Death is inevitable and that is the most fearing aspect of his persona. In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, Death is made to seem or resemble humans. Effectively using the narration role, Death introduces a unique description and definition of colors in which he uses as a tool to effectively engage the readers to the events occurring throughout the book. He also demonstrates him personal and different experiences as well, mostly about soul gathering and the implications of WWII that have affected him. On the contrary to Death’s dead, appalling and scary nature that many interpret him to be
In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, main character Liesel struggles to maintain the innocence of her childhood while combating the beliefs and hardships of living in Nazi Germany. The most predominant theme in this book was the use of fear and its complete and pure power when combined with death. As Mark Twain once said, “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” This quote truly explains the essence of The Book Thief, the fundamental reason being that death was the narrator. Which from start to finish, displayed the fears of a multitude of different people and how they see death, but more importantly how death sees them.
As we all know, color is the voice for the artist 's sentiment. It makes up the appearance of a picture. Color is the decisive factor in depths of the two-dimensional plane of the artwork, making the viewer feel physically and mentally attracted, or the context of things - the phenomenon the author wants to present. Colors have been around for a long time, but there is not a common definition for colors. And perhaps humans are one of the luckiest creatures that can identify colors. Often, the recipient 's eye knows a myriad of colors and colors that always change based on the relationship between light and perspective. In art, color creates a sense of
What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word death? In most cases, people fear death but as the narrator in Markus Zusak’s novel, The Book Thief, Death is a compassionate and honorable character.
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.
The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, outlines the tragedies and events that take place in Liesel Meminger’s life, in Nazi Germany. Throughout this young girl’s struggle of living in the oppressive Nazi regime, she is able to learn crucial lessons about life and the art of survival- some that follow her to the grave. The most important lesson she learned and the pivotal theme of the novel is that rebellion can be and beneficial in certain situations.
The theme of Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief is an ironic one. During the time of World War II, where everyone is trying to live on this novel’s main character is death himself. Death loves metaphors so much, it appears that he even thinks in them. His words have both positive and negative meanings. One of the first metaphors is found at the very beginning of the novel. He explains about what bothers him about his job. He says, “I witness the ones who are left behind, crumbling among the jigsaw puzzle of realization, despair, and surprise.” (5). Death explains that the hardest part of his job is not taking the souls who have already deceased but watching the one who barely made it. Watching the ones who are left behind in the mess, the “jigsaw puzzle”. They must cope with the loss of their loved ones. The Holocaust was a grueling time, where no one knew what to expect, almost like a puzzle.
Death. To many, it is the end of life and start of a new beginning from this world, but in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Death is our narrator. He is the one who guides us through the life of a young German girl named Liesel during Nazi Germany. Death manages to see her three times, and soon enough, becomes fascinated by her and the trials she must face in her life. Liesel manages to change Death’s character, surprising him in a way he thought humans never could and changing his viewpoint on them forever.
The acts of human nature can become a very difficult concept to understand. Markus Zusak uses Death throughout the The Book Thief to express the complexity of human nature. Death illustrates how complicated beings humans are and how they hold the capacity to act in both evil and beautiful ways. Throughout the novel Death helps give readers insight to the ignorance displayed and the pain it may cause a person. In the most troublesome and discriminatory times of the Holocaust, Death will point out the beautiful acts of compassion carried out by characters involved in the novel. Sometimes beauty and pain is mixed within the sacrifice some make for those they love and are loyal to.
Markus Zusak in his novel, 'The Book Thief', explores ideas about human beauty and human brutality using the narrative voice of Death. Beauty expressed through the power of words and acts of kindness. Brutality is illustrated through the concept of Nazi leadership as well as the destruction of society. Death narrates the novel and is perplexed by humanity's attitude to beauty and brutality.
“The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it,” said comedian Roseanne Barr. A leader can overpower people; she can take control of what one can or cannot do, but only oneself can control how she treats others. In The Book Thief, Hitler is overpowering the Jews; Liesel, who is living with a foster family, and her family shelters Max, a Jewish man, during the Holocaust. Marcus Zusak’s characters, Liesel, Rosa, and Hans, explain their struggle of staying true to their core beliefs during Hitler’s reign in Nazi, Germany, showing the importance of making the correct decisions even when faced with a difficult situation.
3. The Book Thief offers a unique characterization of Death by making him appear as someone who does not enjoy his job. He describes himself as having a tough boss at his shoulder, hissing “Get it done, get it done.” He is constantly trying to avoid becoming emotionally attached to any of the people he has to work with and around, particularly the survivors, and has to distract himself by focusing on