Character Analysis: The Book Thief

Over the course of reading The Book Thief, readers will come to know about Markus Zusak’s constant use of descriptive words, figurative language, and character plots throughout the story. In one particular part of the novel, Zusak shows an example of all three of these points to support one of the many central themes he gives us. While Liesel is standing in front of the burnt offerings near the town hall and the square after a Hitler rally, she sees a book underneath all of the hot ash. This moment allows Zusak to go into explicit detail to make a point about the significance of the moment to the reader. In The Book Thief, Zusak uses vocabulary that evokes recklessness and stealthiness, personification about books, and Liesel’s internal

Relationship to meaning: - Death, as the narrator, gives us an insight into the events surrounding Liesel that otherwise would not have been known. Also Death explains definitions, events, and other items of note.

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.

In the beginning of The Book Thief, the reader meets Liesel Meminger, her mother, and her brother, Werner Meminger. The father is never introduced. It is only said that he is a communist. Werner dies on the train to Himmel Street, the place that Liesel is left with a couple, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Liesel’s mother is never seen again, but the reader assumes that she was taken away for being one of the Nazi’s targets. According to The Book Thief, “What came to her then was the dustiness of the floor, the feeling that her clothes were more next to her than on her, and the sudden realization that this would all be for nothing—that her mother would never write back and she would never see her again.” Nazis were the epitome of evil. They tore families apart and killed millions of innocent people.

In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, words can be very powerful. Words can either break a person down or build them up. There are several examples in this story where words either bring people together or tear them apart. While words prove to both heal and hurt in this story, the healing words leave a longer and lasting mark on the person that is being healed, while the damaging ones do less to hurt than the comforting ones do to help.

2. It is ironic that Liesel steals books because the first time she steals the book she is not even able to read yet. The first time she stole a book was at her brothers funeral to keep as a memory of him and also her mother. Liesel was upset and "she started to dig" for The Gravediggers Handbook (Zusak 23).This seemed ironic also, because she dug for a book in the snow at her brothers burial. Hitler used words as a powerful tool to change the way a whole country viewed Jews. Words turn into something to use as hate from the Nazis and Hitler toward the Jews. Germans are scared of words that show how Jews really are .They have bonfires and they throw the books in the bonfire and burn them, along with the truth about Jews. Even though Germans in general have a hatred towards books, Liesel is saved by words. Max, who is a Jew is also saved by words. Max

The Book Thief Essay Tyler The struggles in Markus Zusak’s Novel The Book Thief are the obstacles that main characters such as Liesel and Rudy have to deal with. By themselves it is hopeless but together the pain and suffering becomes better for them. One of the many reasons why support is essential is because it helps get pass many obstacles and adversities. An example of this is Ilsa when she gives Liesel some books to read.

Eva Schloss, a Jew, was frequently struggling to remind herself to stay hopeful in the depressing time of the Holocaust. After years of hiding, she was placed in an extremely harsh concentration camp called Auschwitz. For Eva and the other Jews of Europe during this time, along with anyone under Nazi hate, staying alive was their biggest obstacle, but it was very difficult for them to escape the Nazis. Modern literature and media about the Holocaust shows other various challenges that can be connected to this time in Europe. Overcoming obstacles like facing the passing of loved ones, spreading awareness or resolving frustrations is an important subject in real life and in stories.

Books can sate, motivate, and inspire a reader without standing the test of time. There are a multitude of books released today that can change a reader’s life without making their mark on history. Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief is a prime example of this. Most critics agree that The Book Thief is a quality read, but there is no telling whether it will last throughout the ages of literature. Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre is a novel that has lasted since its release in the nineteenth century, and critics continue to praise it. Jane Eyre shares similarities to The Book Thief; however, The Book Thief will not stand the test of time because of its lack of completely original themes and ideas.

Behind words Do you ever say something to someone that is hurtful and the person stops talking to you? They stopped talking to you because the power behind your words were powerful. People don't realize the power behind words until they see how they words affect somebody in an emotional way. In The Book Thief the power behind words is a huge part of the book.

Kindness is shown even through the worsts of people, there is a mix of good and evil in the reader.Death is kind and caring towards humans with their souls. Death also has no choice in choosing his job as well as he does not enjoy it , and Death thinks that there is only good and evil, not a mix of both.

“‘Rudy Steiner - the boy next door who was obsessed with the black American athlete Jesse Owens,” described Death. Rudy is a young boy in Markus Zusak’s death-narrated novel, “The Book Thief”. After befriending and falling hopelessly in love with the main character, Liesel, the two endure countless adventures together. Living in Nazi, Germany this pair spent their time delivering laundry, playing soccer, stealing, and even feeding parading Jews on an occasion. Rudy loved his partner in crime until his tragic death. Rudy Steiner was Liesel's trustworthy sidekick, a romantic, a kindhearted, and impartial young man.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak takes place during World War II. The narrator of the book doesn’t give a name, though he gives clues about who he is and he turns out to be death. The narrator is death. His job was to carry souls of humans away when their time has come. When he first encountered the book thief, it had been when her brother had died. It was winter, January 1939. Liesel Meminger, her mother and her brother, Werner, were on a train leaving Munich, Germany to Molching to move in with her foster parents, Rosa, and Hans Huberman. Of course as you know, her brother had not made it. As they held a small funeral in a near town, the guy who dug up the grave had dropped a handbook in the snow. The Grave Digger’s Handbook the title read.

The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak is a novel about a young girl named Liesel living in Nazi Germany. Her whole world is turned upside down at the young age of nine when her brother dies and she is separated from her mother. This story is unique in the sense that it is not narrated by Liesel, but instead by death, giving us insight on all perspectives throughout the book.

If you believe in yourself and have dedication, pride, and never quit, you will be successful. Markus Zusak, the author of The Book Thief, creates a story of a young orphan named Liesel Meminger, who is living with her new foster family. She learns the wonders of reading from her foster father and grows to love books. During Liesel’s time with her new family, she shows determination through her efforts and kindness with her encounters with other people. Liesel in The Book Thief expresses her traits, such as hardworking, and bravery.