Portrayal of Death in the Book Thief

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

Liesel, the book thief herself, steals books in times of pain. All six books Liesel steals are metaphors for the feelings of loss and pain during the time of which the book was stolen. She uses the books to grow knowledge of the situations occurring around her, one stolen book in particular is “The Gravedigger’s Handbook” This book is the first of all books Liesel steals, and it is the book that caused her to grow to love words, coincidently, she finds this book in the snow on the day of her brother’s death, which is when she was filled with grief and abandonment. This book is a symbol for Liesel’s grief and as she tries to learn how to read the book, her twisted comfort in the story shows how the words had a powerful effect on her grieving process shown by the quotation, “…Not to mention the morbidity of the subject. As for the girl, there was a sudden desire to read it that she didn't even attempt to understand” (Zusak, 66)

Rudy Steiner is Liesel Meminger’s best friend. He has been by Liesel’s side at her best and even at her worst. He was the one that walked home with Liesel after she beat up Ludwig, got a book that was thrown into a river for her, stopped her from chasing Max and wanted a kiss. Rudy always wanted to help Liesel and would do anything to do so. Liesel was not judged by him for the actions she made. Rudy and Liesel had fun together as children. Children in this time period had to grow up very fast because of what was going on. Rudy went with Liesel

Part One: Compare and contrast this persona of Death with the familiar personification of the Grim Reaper. How is Death from The Book Thief like the Grim Reaper, and how is he significantly different?

What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word death? In most cases, people fear death but as the narrator in Markus Zusak’s novel, The Book Thief, Death is a compassionate and honorable character.

Narration is important in almost any book,  which is why it is especially important in   Mark Zusak’s: The Book Thief.  He uses foreshadowing, perspective, and interaction with the  reader to make the book so much more interesting. Zusak's selection of Death as the narrator heavily changes and alters the way the book is read. Death allows the reader to have a completely new and different perspective of Death itself, he heavily foreshadows very important events in the book, and he interacts with the reader many times throughout the book. By presenting death as the narrator, Zusak provides a more outside and impartial view of humanity’s pain and suffering (Johnson).

“It is 1939, Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.” In the Book Thief by Markus Zusak, the narrator death is haunted by humans. He revisits history, gets into the heart and minds of the characters, gives small hints of events to come and has an opinion all in the quest to reconcile humanity’s capability to do evil with humanity’s capability to do good.

All these characters had different personalities and each character was lovable in their own way.

Exposition – The story begins by death, the narrator, explaining to the reader the times he has seen Liesel, the book thief. He first saw her when her younger brother died on a train and he had to go collect his soul. The second time was when a pilot crashed a plane and death went to collect his soul. The third time death saw Liesel was when a bomb went off in her

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.

What is the Grim Reaper? Who is Death in The Book Thief? Both of these figures have things that make them alike and things that make them unique. Some similarities between the personas of both are that both of their roles were to collect the souls of the dead, they were both personified in many different ways and both could never be fully human. As much as the characters are similar to each other, there are quite a few things that make themselves unique. One is that Death acts as a person even though he could never actually be a person. He can convey emotions such as sympathy, pain and anger which are shown throughout the first part of the novel. Also, Death is only around to collect the souls of those readily to die, whereas Grim Reaper hunts down the souls of innocent people and takes their life. “...The boy’s spirit was soft and cold, like ice cream. He started melting in my arms. …” (pg. 21)

In the novel book thief Rudy and Liesel face many conflicts as they get involved with criminality purposes, lose parts of their family, and endure through the suffering of learning Nazi culture. Rudy and Liesel both experience conflict in their lives due to the effects of Nazi culture, war, and the economy in ways that are both similar and different from each other. The effects of these conflicts have impacted them by influencing them to steal, having their family drafted to war as well as hiding captives and learning the culture of Nazism. The Nazi culture inflicts many difficulties in the lives of Rudy and Liesel since Rudy experiences learning in the Hitler Youth in a more aggressive manner whereas Liesel strives to hide a captive Jew that

When it comes to The Book Thief, Death isn’t depicted how you would assume. Zusak projects Death as a humorous, personable, and relatable character. For the most part, Death is very sarcastic and thoughtful, especially of Liesel. However, in the poem “It’s Death Again,” Death is not as likeable and is definitely to be feared. When it comes to sarcasm, Death has it covered.

The story is set on them and like everything they have s different side to them that society do not sees. Markus Zusak shows Liesel character as someone who steel and collects things especially books for herself and Hans character is caring but makes decision against the NAZI. While Rosa Hubermann character is displayed as rude and arrogant women.

Other characters include the final girl who you can spot from the beginning because she stands out and tends to be the nicest or most