Character Analysis: The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

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.

Reflection: The Book Thief contains many important concepts, but three of them play major roles in developing the characters and creating themes. One key concept discusses the power and significance of words. As seen in the novel, words can be used to influence people in negative and positive ways. For example, reading and writing save the lives of Hans, Max, and Liesel in the form of letters, a copy of MKPF, and Liesel’s life story. On the other hand, Hitler uses words to encourage the German people to hunt down and kill Jewish people. This shows how words can kill people and save people’s lives. Another important concept in The Book Thief is that life is unpredictable, and it can’t be meticulously planned out. Fate and chance will make a difference. This is shown when Hans switches seats with Reinhold Zucker in the military vehicle. Neither of them knows that the bus will crash, and the person in that seat will be killed. But fate isn’t tested, so Hans’s life is spared, and Zucker’s life is taken away. The last major concept, and perhaps the most important, is used as the framework for one of the most crucial themes. It is that humanity displays its duality in extreme ways. From Hans risking his life to give a piece of bread to a frail, old man, to Hitler killing six million Jews in cold blood, humans are capable of the amazingly kind and the incredibly

In the eyes of humanity for all generations, death has been perceived as a very grim topic. In Markus Zusaks’ The Book Thief, Death is regarded in a way that contrasts the normal beliefs of humanity. Throughout the book, he is very compassionate and seems to empathize with various sensitive situations. While narrating the novel, Death expresses in several ways that make him seem more compassionate than expected, such as his overwhelming emotions toward malignant events, his allusions to the fact that he wants to be compassionate to the reader, and the fact that Death does not take pleasure in his job.

In The Book Thief, Markus Zusak used narrative voices to convey extremes of human behavior. The characters through which he conveyed these innovated techniques are Death, the narrator, and Max Vandeburg, a central character. Death’s narrative voice was distant and provided juxtaposition on the kindness and cruelty of humans through

He tells the story from his point of view as he takes a special interest in Liesel Meminger, by watching her and reading her stories. Death feels like he has an emotional connection with humans, and therefore dislikes his job of taking souls away. “It kills me sometimes, how people die…He does something to me, that boy. Every time. It’s his only detriment. He steps on my heart. He makes me cry” (Zusak, 329). Death feels like his job is a punishment,which makes it difficlult for him because he shouldn’t have a conscience but he does. The way he narrates the novel, makes us feel like he’s trapped inside. As he watched over Liesel, there were obstacles that got in the way. He didn’t have a choice when he had to take the Hubermann’s and Rudy’s life away. At the night of the Nazi book burning, Liesel looked around to see if anyone is watching her steal the book, but all along she did’t know that Death witnessed all her acts of thievery. In The Book Thief, death is an example of an atypical narrative structure whom takes upon himself to watch over an orphan who lost all her loved one’s after the bombings on Himmel street. The way the story was narrated made the novel seem more interesting, and makes us view it in a different

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.

Contrary to popular belief, Markus Zusak paints death as a sympathetic character. No matter what kind of person, death treats all of them with care. One particular person is Rudy Steiner. Rudy Steiner is the boy next door, physically and mentally. In one chapter, death foreshadows Rudy’s death. “...about Rudy Steiner. He didn’t deserve to die the way he did.” (Zusak 241) “On many accounts, taking a boy like Rudy was robbery – so much life, so much to live for - yet somehow, I’m certain he would have loved to see…” Death feels bad for Rudy Steiner and the way he died. Throughout the book, Rudy is constantly

In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Death, the narrator is trying to understand humans. To accomplish this, he follows the life of a little girl named Liesel Meminger. Throughout the book, he learns from her and others that humans can be both beautiful and ugly. He sees both the goodness of Liesel and others, and he sees the evils brought about by Hitler and the Nazi party. Throughout the book, Death’s understanding of humans and their ways is heightened by his study of Liesel and of other people.

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.

The Book Thief opens in a manner which is interesting to the reader with the storyteller who ends up being Death himself. In the Book Thief, the writer Zusak makes a magnificent story through the eyes of Death. Death is the storyteller of the Book Thief. He in a manner is at first scornful with a dorky comical inclination , yet as the novel advances and WW2 propels , he communicates exhaustion and regrets about needing to gather such a large number of souls. My first contention is that Death offers an exceptional and distinctive methodology regarding the matter of portraying the story. He is depicted as an Omniscient First-individual perspective in the story. My second contention is that Death can anticipate and indicate vital occasions of key characters in the book.

In The Book Thief the narrator is Death. Death is not a human, but a concept that has many human characteristics. When Rudy dies it is said that death was ‘taking’ him. Death itself shows sadness that Rudy died at such a young age and says “even Death has a heart”. This use of personification helps us to understand what ‘Death’ is feeling and helps us to connect to him.

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.

Liesel’s life was difficult near the beginning of the novel. She was separated from her parents, and lost her brother. After joining her new foster family, she would have to work harder to adjust to it and it will not be easy. When Liesel was out with Rudy on their apple stealing activities, when Rudy was then caught by one of the nazis from injuring his leg. The nazi then disciplined Rudy by beating him up and they cut also his hair with a knife. After Rudy got disciplined, Liesel carries Rudy to the mayor's house. On page 251 Liesel says “I carried Rudy softly through the broken streets… with him I tried a little harder at comforting.” this shows that she was trying hard to comfort him even though she was already trying to carry Rudy. It shows that even when she’s at one hundred percent, she tries to reach one hundred and 10 percent. Near the end of the novel, on page 528, in the book written by Liesel called The Book Thief and on the last