Book Thief Discussion Questions

She swears at her neighbors, her husband and Liesel. Rosa occasionally beats Liesel with a wooden spoon. But Hans Hubermann is the total opposite. He is portrayed as this tall, quiet and kind man. He rolls his own cigarettes, and teaches Liesel to read during the early hours of the morning.

Liesel purposefully (to put it nicely) used her newfound words in a (heated) conversation with the Mayor’s wife when she fired Rosa from doing her and her husband’s laundry. As an apology gift, Ilsa Hermann gave Liesel The Whistler. Midway through Liesel’s rant with Frau Hermann Zusak writes, “The injury of words. Yes, the brutality of words” (252). By the time Liesel reaches the end of her tirade and throws the book at Ilsa Hermann’s feet, Zusak uses imagery to describe the effect Liesel’s words had on the Burgermeister’s wife, "Blood leaked from her nose and licked at her lips. Her eyes had blackened. Cuts had opened up and a series of wounds were rising to the surface of her skin. All from words. From Liesel's words” (263). This paints a vivid picture in the reader’s mind of the repercussions of Liesel’s words on Ilsa

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.

Name and significance – Adolf Hitler, he is the cause of all Liesel’s pain and he is the reason she keeps losing her loved ones.

When one thinks of a thief, they think of sneaky men in black masks trying to steal a precious jewel. However, in “The Book Thief” the thief is in fact not a man in a black mask but a girl. The definition of a thief is someone who steals items of important value resulting in negative consequences for the victim. Instead, in the novel, when the main character, Liesel, steals books, they have a positive effect on the people that she stole it from and even the people she comes in contact with. This is why it is ironic that the title of the novel is “The Book Thief”, because Liesel in a way isn’t really a thief.

Upon arriving at the home of her foster parents, housepainter Hans Hubermann and his wife Rosa, Liesel finds it difficult to adjust. She is haunted by nightmares about her mother and dead brother. She eventually develops a bond with Hans, who comes to her every night and stays with her until she is able to fall sleep again, Hans, upon noticing “The Grave Digger's Handbook” tucked under Liesel's mattress, decides to take advantage of the sleepless hours he spends with Liesel each night by teaching her how to read and write. Rosa Hubermann, whose personality is much coarser than Hans', takes Liesel under her wing in her own way by having her help with her job of washing and delivering laundry for other households. Shortly after

Some characters had to make decisions that would be extremely difficult to for anyone else to make while living in Nazi Germany. One of these times occurred in the kitchen of Hans and Rosa

Throughout The Book Thief, Max and Liesel’s friendship has blossomed despite the fact that a war is being waged and suffering is abundant. Although the circumstances of the time and Max’s background are dangerous, a special bond between the two is developed. This is made evident several times throughout the novel particularly when Max gives Liesel the book, The Standover Man for her birthday. The story that Max writes defines the importance of their friendship, as he says in the story; “Now we are friends, this girl and me” (Zusak 235). Both Liesel and Max illustrate

Abandonment is a central theme of the story because of the abandonment Liesel has experienced. Liesel first experiences abandonment by the death of her brother on the train and her mother leaving her with the Hubermanns. At the time, Liesel was too young to understand why she was abandoned, but throughout the story she learns many things about it. She connects love with abandonment because she believes every person she loves deserts her like her brother, mother, Hans, Max and Rudy.

Rosa Hubermann was not shy when she was first introduced and you hardly saw a glimpse of her quiet side. When Liesel, was dropped off at Rosa’s house, her first words were harsh towards the girl. She always used the word, Saumensch, which means bastard in english. Besides using harsh words, Rosa had a loving side

The main themes are love, literature, war, mortality, criminality, suffering, and courage. The book focuses on characters that are learning to love each other. There is also romantic love in the novel, but it isn’t serious. Literature is a big part of the novel due to the fact that Liesel loves books and words, without the theme of literature The Book Thief would be very different. War is a part of it because it takes place during the Holocaust. In addition, Hans Hubberman is sent off into war. Death, the narrator, keeps us focused on the theme of death. Throughout the book Liesel and Rudy steal many things which is where criminality comes into play. The characters in The Book Thief are suffering from the very beginning, cold, hunger, emotional abuse, physical abuse, guilt, horror of the battlefield. It’s all there. All of the characters in The Book Thief exhibit great

Liesel Meminger, who was a very sympathetic young girl which her words were used from her warm heart towards people. Frau Holtzapfel had lost both of her sons, so for her to be happy, Liesel would read to her a lot, which also made Frau Holtzapfel feel comforted. Also when Max was taken in by the Hubermann’s, he was a Jew, which meant he wasn’t allowed to see the outside world. Liesel would go outside and tell Max the

Although Rudy Steiner is just a young boy, “ eight months older than Liesel” he shows through the brutal situations he sees and faces, it is evident that beauty can still be displayed. As Rudy idolized Jesse Owns even painting himself “charcoal black” believed in equality. As he discovered Hitler discriminated

After losing her mother and her brother, Liesel’s life and identity is changed drastically many times. It is through books that she discovers and becomes comfortable with this change. When she first meets Hans and Rosa Hubermann, her new foster parents, she does not wish to speak with them or get to know them. However, once Hans discovers Liesel with the book she stole when her brother was buried, The Gravedigger’s Manual, they bond over Hans teaching Liesel to read. Liesle describes the first time her and Hans have a lesson in the middle of the night: “She had done this at school, in the kindergarten class, but this time was better. … It was nice to watch Papa’s hand as he wrote the words and slowly constructed the primitive sketches” (Zusak

“Close your eyes,” she’d said. “Hold out your hands” (Zusak 312). This is the start of one of the greatest days of Liesel's life. After bringing down a little snow she decides that Max deserves more. She brings down pots filled with snow and they make a snowman right there in their basement just for Max. He loves it and Leisel feels good for doing it. There are also times where Liesel and other people in the book do things that were so magnificent.