In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak there are many book thieves portrayed throughout the novel. Some steal books for malicious intent while others steal for self-improvement. The thief that is focused on most is Liesel Meminger. She steals books to educate herself and escape from her own hectic world into another. The titles of the books she steals help to show situations she has encountered and situations she is trying to avoid. The title of the novel represents thieves such as Liesel, Adolf Hitler, and Death and why they stole books. Liesel stole The Gravedigger’s Handbook, The Shoulder Shrug, The Dream Carrier, and many other books. Liesel stole her first book from the gravedigger that buried her brother, Werner Meminger. The handbook starts out as something to remember her brother but then becomes something to learn from when her foster parent, Hans Hubermann, teaches Liesel how to read. She begins both reading and stealing to educate herself and to become a more independent person. With her newfound knowledge, …show more content…
The first book she stole is titled The Gravedigger’s Handbook. It represents the death of Liesel’s brother and the exorbitant numbers of deaths from World War II. It also represents the start of Liesel learning to read. The second book she stole is The Shoulder Shrug. This book has a Jewish protagonist and represents the destruction of information through book burnings like the one Liesel got this book from. The title shows the doubts that the Jews have of their survival during World War II. Liesel stole The Dream Carrier, The Last Human Stranger, and other books from Ilsa Hermann’s library. The title of The Dream Carrier reflects on the dream Liesel has had every night of her deceased brother Werner for years. The Last Human Stranger Reflects on how Liesel feels lonely and alienated from the majority of
Liesel grew as a person, began to wonder about the world, and realized the power of words. Liesel saw the meaning in the smallest things. In the beginning of the novel, Liesel became attracted to words when she stole her first book, The Grave Digger’s Handbook from her brother’s grave site. Even without having a clue what the words meant, the book became representative of the last time she saw her family and “as for the girl, there was a sudden desire to read it that she didn't even attempt to understand” (Zusak, 66).
In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, a young girl living in Nazi Germany named Liesel, was given up by her mother and sent to live with her new foster family. Liesel was given to the Hubermanns at ten years old. Throughout Liesel's journey during World War ll she has been abandoned by her mother, her brother Werner, a Jew named Max and her foster papa Hans. Over the course of the novel Liesel Meminger suffers from being abandoned by losing many friends and family that are close to her.
Every time Liesel steals books from people, she consistently places the lives of others at risk. An example of this is when Liesel is worried about Max dying and wants to steal a book and read it to him
The Book Thief starts out by introducing a young girl by the name of Liesel Meminger. Liesel is forced to move in with foster parents named Rosa and Hans Huberman in Nazi Germany. Liesel grows up with the parents and a new friend Max, a Jew Hans Huberman had promised to keep safe from the Nazis in their basement. Liesel is fascinated with words, so she grows up learning to read and write. She gets so hungry for words, that she steals a book from a fire, hence the name The Book Thief. Max gets taken away, and the street is bombed, leaving almost everyone dead. Liesel miraculously survives, so she goes on to reunite with max, write a book about her journey, and live a long life.
In The Book Thief, Liesel Meminger stole a total of five books. Each book that Liesel stole is ironically portrayed as metaphors of her struggles and happy moments in her life. The first book that was stolen was The Gravedigger’s Handbook. This book represents both happy and sad moments in Liesel’s life. It reminded her of her brother Werner’s death and the last moments with her mother before Liesel’s arrival on Himmel Street. However, this book also created happy moments and a new a bond between her new foster father, Hans Hubbermann, as they formed a routine of reading and learning new words after Liesel woke up from her nightmares. The Gravedigger’s Handbook also ignited the flame inside Liesel for her deep love for words. The next book she stole was The Shoulder Shrug from a pile
The Book Thief is about a young German girl named Liesel Meminger as she goes through life while living in Germany in 1939. Liesel and her foster parents live a normal life on 33 Himmel Street. There is only one difference between their family and the others, they are hiding Max Vandenburg (a Jewish man) in their basement during the time of the Holocaust. This story, narrated by Death follows the life of Liesel from her first step into 33 Himmel Street, until the day she died in Sydney, Australia.
The novel, The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, shows that words always walk alongside Leisel. Liesel is a young German girl who loves literature, and builds her use of words throughout the story. She is illiterate at first, and is often bullied because of it. But she learns to stick up for herself and uses words to grow into the person she is. The novel shows how words accompany and comfort Liesel through her most traumatic experiences, helps her build her connections with people, and symbolizes her growing independence.
“The first event in the book was a murder” (213). The book seems to relate to the events happening in Germany at the moment, Hitler and all the killings. A huge concept in the book she stole was foreshadowing and similarity as to what is going on in her life. Really, all of the books Liesel has stolen goes along with what is happening to her at the moment. It is like a theme. She stole The Gravedigger's Handbook at her brother’s funeral. Then she stole The Shoulder Shrug, a hebrew book, at Hitler’s birthday fire, where bad books were being burned, and at the time, Jews were
The first book that the book thief, or Liesel stole was The Grave Digger’s Handbook. That is ironic because Liesel found it while her brother was being buried. “ When the dragging was done, the mother and girl stood and breathed. There was something black and rectangular logged in the snow. Only the girl saw it. She
In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, there is a large emphasis on the power and influence that books can have on a person’s life by focusing on the effects that it had on that of Liesel Meminger. This is done by focusing her life on the books The Grave Digger’s Handbook, a book found by Liesel near her brother’s grave, The Shoulder Shrug, a book saved from a Nazi book burning, and both The Standover Man and The Word Shaker which were given to her by Max Vandenburg. Books saved Liesel’s life by allowing her to be able to cope with the new world she is living in after the loss of her mother and brother through bonds with Max, Hans, and a light connection with her original family and changed her life into one of word loving rebellion against the
The first main character in The Book Thief is named Liesel Meminger. In the beginning of the story, Liesel is nine years old and cannot read or write. Her mother gave her and her brother up for adoption before disappearing, and her brother died before they arrived. She is adopted by a caring, empathetic father and a harsh but loving mother. Neither of the two is well educated, but her father Hans still teaches her to read.
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.
Liesel loves to read and it doesn't take her long to withhold her title as Book Thief. She starts with The Grave Digger’s Handbook which is the book she picks up after her brother’s death. Hans teachers her to read and painted her a “chalkboard” in the basement so that she can write down the new words she has learned. There ends up being a town “parade” which is really a book burning event where Hitler and the Nazis are commemorated, during this time Germany was looking towards invading new countries. Liesel is handed a book and pressured to throw it into the fire, to which she eventually does so. However, once the fire has been put out and everyone has gone home, she notices a book that is only slightly charred, not destroyed by the fire and picks it up. A car drives by and a woman, who is Ilsa Herman, the mayor’s wife, sees her take the book, but Liesel hides it under her coat and runs away quickly back home.
"'I have hated words and I have loved them and I hope I have made them right' said Liesel Meminger" (Zusak). The Book Thief written by Marcus Zusak is about Germany during the era of Nazism as the narrator, death discusses Liesel Meminger's life. Hans, Liesel's step father, learns that Liesel can't read so he teaches her the wonders of written language. Liesel begins to love books and writing. The Book thief is a novel that won't disappoint because it explores Germany during the 1940's, kids and adults can relate to it, this book also explains the importance of reading and language.
Occuring her brother’s funeral, main character Liesel Meminger is stuck pondering in thought. This quote hints at the main point of the story referencing basically nazi reign. Following her brother’s funeral, Liesel stumbles upon a book that one of the gravediggers had dropped and Liesel proceeds to pick it up. This is the first book she steals. This is Liesel first noted instance of her grief. 2.