Book Thief By Markus Zusak: An Analysis

“‘Book burning’ refers to the ritual destruction by fire of books or other written materials. Usually carried out in a public context, the burning of books represents an element of censorship and usually proceeds from a cultural, religious, or political opposition to the materials in question.” (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a story set in Germany during World War 2. This novel follows the life of Liesel Meminger, a girl who develops greatly. With Death as the all knowing narrator of the story, the reader has the ability to see various perspectives. It tells the story of oppression, portrays the power of words, and shows the human ability for kindness or cruelty. I chose to do option four, in which I have chosen important sections from the novel.

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.

The Book Thief’s main character is Liesel Meminger throughout the book she develops more and more by opening up and doing new things. At first she was very shy and would not do hardly anything for example, “It took nearly fifteen minutes to coax her from the car. It was the tall man who did it. Quietly.”(28) That is when she first got out of the car “There was the gate next, which she clung to.”(28) This shows all the more how shy she was at the beginning of the book when she first arrived on Himmel Street. Then as the book goes on she starts to adopt her foster-mother, Rosa or Mama’s style of speaking and starts cussing some when talking to her best friend, Rudy and even the mayors wife when she terminated her mothers washing and ironing

“I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn 't already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race-that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.” (Zusak 550) Markus Zusak wrote “The Book Thief” which is a historical fiction novel about a young girl named Liesel Meminger growing up in Germany during World War II. Zusak has German-Austrian parents who were children during World War II. His perspective helps us to be more empathetic towards Germans in the book because he explains to us: German children didn’t understand what Hitler was doing, not all Germans hated Jews, and Germans cared about each other deeply and helped each other out.

In the book The Book Thief by Markus Zusak the theme words are more powerful than actions becomes clear through plot, character, and setting. This book takes place in Germany when Hitler was in rule. During this time we meet a Jew, Max, who is running for his life. Max is more afraid of what Hitler will say than do. He comes to the Hubermann household for protection where he meets Rosa, Hans, and of course Liesel. Rosa and Hans Hubermann how haven’t joined the Notizie party, but Hans has sent out an application to join. Hans was in World War 1 and his life was saved by Max’s father. Max’s father had an accordion and he died in this war. Han’s took the accordion back to Max’s mother when she told him he could keep it. Hans told Max’s mother that if she was ever in

Firstly, The Book Thief has several paradoxes embedded throughout it, as Markus Zusak uses specific scenarios in Liesel’s life to express the depth within the contradiction of two distinct conclusions. In the first few years that Liesel started living on Himmel street, Hubermanns had welcomed a Jew named Max Vandenburg to live in their basement, despite being aware of the consequences of this and knowing that by doing this, he would be putting their own lives in jeopardy. Max and Liesel have numerous amounts of similarities, as they both were able to understand each other’s feelings and emotions. Later on as Max continues to live with the Hubermanns, daydreams start to commence and cloud his daily thoughts. In his imagination, Max boxes

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

Picture you being at a funeral. A very sad day, everyone was crying desperately, needing an escape. Someone went up to the podium to give an eulogy. They talked about memories and joked around a bit, which helped lighten the darkness. Just like the Book Thief, Zusak lightens the mood by adding humor.

A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day." Emily Dickinson's poem, "A Word is Dead," demonstrates how the words you say don't die. They become alive, taking new shape and meaning to everyone who hears it. But there is always a choice in the words you say that impacts the people we give these words to.

Words can influence the mind in many ways that thought may not be able to. They are carefully placed and shared in different ways by each and every individual. Words have powerful impacts and can majorly impact how one may think, feel, or even lead others to feel. Written by Markus Zusak, “The Book Thief” describes a story of an innocent foster girl, Liesel Meminger, who resides in Munich, Germany at one of the most troubling time periods in history, Nazi Germany. A tale narrated by the one and only Death himself, shows the perspective from his point of view, as well as others, describing how Liesel had been seized away from her birth mother at a young age, and put into a foster family. Her new family, the Hubermanns. As she matures and grows into a more critical thinker, understanding and analyzing everything that carefully happens around her. Her foster-father, Hans guides her and teaches her how to read, which little does she know sparks her journey, the art of stealing books. Liesel soon discovers that words aren 't simply lines on a page, they are strong emotions packed into a form that merely is held in her delicate hands. Not only did she hold the pages of emotion, she held a power, a dangerous weapon of words, a weapon of control, and every book that she had stolen was giving her unimaginable power that made her think in ways that she would’ve never thought she could have. As with Nazi propaganda, and a gift that enabled her to broaden her worldview. Liesel evolves

The book "The book Thief" written by Markus Zusak is about a young German girl named Liesel Memiger who goes to live with her foster parents Rosa Huberman and Hans Huberman during the Holcast. Liesel endors many things during the Holacust such as her brother dying and having to be seperarted from her mother. While living with the Hubermans Liesel learns how to read and creates a stong bond with her new foster family. Liesel also becomes best friends with the Jew who is living in her basment and her next door neighbor Rudy Stiener. LIfe was good for Liesel during her first couple of years with living with the Hubermans.

Markus Zusak wrote many books. One of his famous books he wrote is called The Book Thief. However, this book isn’t his only famous book. He wrote five other great books that other readers love.

Zusak is the author of my favorite book, The Book Thief. His writing is not only beautiful, but extraordinarily detailed. He holds the power of expressing who a character is, as a human being, in one brief sentence. The quotes as well as the phrases found in several of his books are one of a kind.They make you view things differently. They made me perceive the world differently. Zusak's writing is the type you'll think about years after you’ve finished. Gibson writing is also one of a kind, but for entirely different reasons. She puts so much love and compassion into her poems you cannot help being moved by them. Gibson doesn’t use ornate words or intricate structures her writing is just painfully genuine. That’s one of the reasons why I love it, she is sincere and writes from her heart. I love J. D. Salinger, Anthony Doerr and Kathryn Stockett but Zusak and Gibson will always be the writers I strive to be similar

In the novel The Book Thief written by Marcus Zusak, Max found himself in a situation where the propaganda that Hitler has set affected his life in many ways. With the help of Liesel’s words and reading and the care that the Hubermanns gave, Max grew stronger and he had the courage to stand up and protect himself from the force that Hitler had set against the him and the Jews. By having the his power of will, Max was fighting Hitler in his own circumstances even if it 's just in his imagination.