Liesel Analysis

For Liesel, in this scene she deepens and opens up the relationship with

Once she arrives at her new home, 33 Himmel Street in Molching, Germany, she meets her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Rosa is violent to some extent, often beating Liesel over the head with a wooden spoon, as well as using excessively foul language, often calling Liesel and Hans 'filthy pigs'. Despite this however, Rosa still loved Liesel, and

Some people perceive kindness in different ways as what they might think seems nice, could be harmful to others. When Liesel tries to communicate with Max, she does not pause to think that such an action would put her and Max in danger. On page 513, the book narrates “He cried as the soldiers came and a small collection…Standing, he was whipped”. It was Max who was the one whipped by the soldiers because they saw Liesel hugging and talking to him. Max’s life was placed in danger because Liesel thought she was being kind by talking to him. It is understandable that she wanted to communicate with Max after a long time of not seeing him, but the manner in which she conveyed her emotions to him was too obvious to the soldiers watching. Had Rudy not been quick on his feet to go and help her, she would’ve been punished more for speaking with Max. In addition to the immediate damage done, other people who witnessed the situation would think that Liesel’s family was sympathetic to Jews, something not considered good at that time. The long term consequences of Liesel’s stubbornness to speak with Max set an even deeper impression to when Hans gave the bread to the Jews and therefore puts her and her family in more danger. This is another example of Liesel’s stubbornness, or perceived kindness, which place her and others’ lives in danger.

With the power of words, that causes the destruction of Germany and the world, Liesel’s uses that same power to deal with the terror of death that looms over them, allowing her to give power and hope, to those that need it, especially in the midst of the chaos of World War II. Where the German forces were deteriorating, and the Allies only grew stronger with each bomb that they drop, Liesel and her neighbors hide within one of the basements, in attempt to survive the onslaught of attacks, fearfully and anxious. The only things that were with them was each other, and their most precious items, and for Liesel, it was her books. All they could do was wait for sirens, and because of this uncertainty, Liesel took it upon herself to ease her distress.

When readers first meet Liesel Meminger, she is a young girl standing quietly with her mother and brother on the train. At this time, she seems confused and a little bit afraid. She doesn’t know exactly

During this time period, Germany and Russia were in a horrific war. There was constant bombings and raids in cities including Himmel Street in Molching, Germany. This kept everyone on their toes just in case they were bombed in this area. They needed to get out of the area as soon as possible so they didn’t die. In the book during the second raid, people scared out of their mind sat around, “That was still an immutable fact, but at least they were distracted now, by the girl and her book” (Zusak 382). Liesel read to the scared people to try and comfort them. In this dark time, Liesel gave people comfort and she was able to make the situation slightly better and not as scary for many people. Sometimes, the right words can make the situation a lot better. Words can be comforting and make everything feel better. For example, “For at least 20 minutes,s he handed out the story. The youngest kids were soothed by her voice” (Zusak 381). Even though it is a dark situation, it made it better. Comfort during this dark time is what these people needed. Being calm in a situation like this had a positive effect on everyone around Liesel. Next, when Max, a Jew and the son of Hans Hubermann’ s friend, moved into the Hubermann household, it put the family in a very risky and life threatening situation. If they had gotten caught with a Jew in their basement, there would have been horrible consequences for all of them. But, the more time that Max

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.

11 million people died during the Holocaust. In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, Liesel Meminger loses many of her loved ones. At the beginning of the book, Liesel’s brother dies of illness on a train, and her mother is taken away by the Nazis for being a communist. After losing everyone she ever cared about, the story drags Liesel into a humble household where she discovers her passion for books, and her love for her family and friends. However, her loved ones are once again torn away from her as Himmel Street, the street she lives on, gets bombed. She loses her foster parents, her best friend, and everyone else she came to know. As a result of these adverse events, Liesel’s innocence was stolen from her. In The Book Thief, loss plays an essential role in developing characters, especially Liesel. After losing Werner, her brother, Liesel is plagued by

Throughout the novel Liesel is known for having a close relationship with her father, Hans Hubermann, when Liesel first moved to Munich and started school she was falling behind the other students in her class. In order to help Liesel advance in her studies, Hans taught her to read and was her confident when she needed to discuss something. Hans Hubermann was one of many of Liesel's loved ones that died during the air raid on Himmel Street. Liesel's close relationship with her father left her devastated when she learned of his death, she also stated “Goodbye, Papa, you saved me. You taught me to read. No one can play like you. I’ll never drink champagne. No one can play like you.” (Page 361) The short and choppy sentences found in this quote may represent the fast heartbeat Liesel had as she said goodbye to Hans and felt the numbing attitude of guilt from having to start a new life without him or a home - the air raid destroying both. Survivor’s guilt is also felt by Michael Holtzapfel, a veteran of war and the son of Frau Holtzapfel. During the war his brother, Robert, dies in the field. When Michael is granted leave to return home, he “killed himself for wanting to live.” (Page 339) Also, during an aside that contains the

“Earlier, kids had been playing hopscotch there, on the street that looked like oil-stained pages… Then, bombs. This time, everything was too late” (12). In the beginning of the book, Death reveals the bombing of Himmel Street as he recounts the times he saw Liesel Meminger. The feeling of grim anticipation lingers throughout the book because of this foreshadowing.

When the people set fire to the books, Liesel steals one from the fire, “Beneath her shirt, a book was eating her up. ”(Zusak 122).In her new surroundings she meets lots of new people that make her life better but even so she is still saddened by her lost family. With the new people she befriends, she progressively gets happier. A character who greatly helps her feel better is her foster father Hans.

At this point, Liesel has started calling the Hubermanns “papa” and “mama.” This quote is important because she is starting to move on. She is finally accepting her new life. After her brother’s death and the separation from her mother, she has gone through a lot of change. From this quote, one can infer that the worse is over. She had gotten over her period of grief and can now adjust.

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

Once Liesel is comfortable in her new home with Rosa and Hans Hubermann, she finally begins discovering the world of literature with the help of Hans. She practices through writing on the basement wall and reading with Hans at the Amper River. Books are now becoming a prominent part of her life thanks to Hans. At Christmastime, Hans sells his cigarettes in order to purchase Faust the Dog and The Lighthouse for Liesel. These books serve the purpose of showing the importance of family for Liesel. Even though Rosa is extremely stiff to her daughter, she truly loves her. Hans absolutely adores Liesel, and practically brings her passion for literature to life.

The beginning of Part Two shows a motive that is seen throughout this book. It is that Liesel Meminger is hungry for something and that something is words. For example, the first chapter starts out with saying when she stole her first book, her second, and the duration of time between the two. Liesel was just learning to read with her foster father when she stole her second book because it was not until her papa found the first one that he started to teach her. After having stolen her first book and was starting to be able to read it, she wanted more words. She wanted another book. She later got two books from her papa for Christmas, got to read in the Mayor's wife's library, and read the books she had stolen. The hunger for words grew as