Power Of Words In The Book Thief

“From the toolbox the boy took out, of all things, a teddy bear. He reached in through the torn windshield and placed it on the pilot's chest.”“The book thief has struck for the first time – the beginning of an illustrious career.”“Then they discovered she couldn't read or write.”“Unofficially, it was called the midnight class, even though it commenced at around two in the morning. ““The last time I saw her was red. The sky was like soup, boiling and stirring. In some places it was burned. There were black crumbs and pepper, streaked across the redness.”“That was one war started. Liesel would soon be in another.”“In fact, on April 20 – the Führer's birthday – when she snatched a book from beneath a steaming pile of ashes, Liesel was a girl

For example, after the book burning, there were some books that were too wet to burn, and Liesel took advantage of this moment, “When she reached her hand, she was bitten, but on the second attempt, she made sure she was fast enough. She latched onto the closest of the books. It was hot” (Zusak 120). Jewish book burnings were popular across Germany during this time, as they were trying to destroy the power of the Jewish community. During the novel, Liesel is empowered by the words she reads in these books, and even shares this power with Max Vandenburg, the Jewish man living in her basement. The courage Liesel shares with Max allows him to build the hope he needs to want to fight Hitler. During his dreams, he imagines himself in a boxing ring with Hilter, and even though Hilter had the upper hand during the match, Max had hope that he would win, and therefore in his dream “he punched him [Hitler] seven times, aiming on each occasion for only one thing. The mustache” (Zusak 253). As previously mentioned, the accordian was also a very important form of symbolism in this novel. Not only does give the family hope during their

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.

“The Book Thief” is a novel and film about a girl who survives death during WW2 and how words became very important to her life. Liesel Meminger was brought to her foster home unable to read. Her foster father, Hans, finds out she can’t read and helps teaches her German. Liesel then falls in love with words and uses them to write her story.The theme “power of words” is displayed in the novel and film equally. Three ways the power of words were shown was by making an emotional connection with the audience, influencing people to do something, and creating unlikely friendships.

“You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life.” (Ziglar) In The Book Thief, Liesel uses the power of words to positively influence how people feel. This can be seen through Liesel’s interactions with Max throughout the novel. Similarly, the story of “The Word Shaker” shows the powerful influence of words both good and bad. Finally, Liesel’s interactions with Max, provide yet another example of how words can make a positive impact on another person. The positive effect of words can be seen through the actions of Liesel’s character in “The Word Shaker”. However, words can also be used in a negative way in like in“The Word Shaker” when Max is trembling at the words of Mein Kampf and when in “The Word Shaker

This is one quote that has words that positively impacted Liesel. It’s from the lecture that Hans gave to Liesel telling her about Max. On page 203, Hans says to Liesel, “‘If you tell anyone about that man..’ Her teacher. Rudy. It didn’t matter whom. What mattered was that they were all punishable. ‘For starters,’ he said, ‘I will take each and every one of your books-and I’ll burn them.’ It was callous. ‘I’ll throw them in the stove or the fireplace.’ The shock made a hole in her, very neat, very precise. Tears welled. ‘Yes, Papa’”(page 203-204). This quote positively impacted Liesel. Although it may look like this would have negatively impacted her, when she got her lecture, she ended up not telling anyone about the Jew in her basement. She kept her family, Max, and herself out of danger because she didn’t tell anyone. Max was kept safe and hidden for that period of time. The words in this quote negatively impacted Liesel. On page 115, Liesel is talking to her father. She states, “‘I knew it.’ The words were thrown at the steps and Liesel could feel the slush of anger stirring hotly in her stomach. ‘I hate the Führer,’ She said, ‘I hate him’ (page 115). When Liesel said that she hated the Führer, she put her family and Max, as well as herself, at risk. If anyone had heard her, they’d all probably be dead. It also resulted in her getting slapped by Hans. Hans then told her she could say that in the house

Even though they have two different family backgrounds and reactions with regard to the struggles they face, both of them strive to fit into the Nazi regime to avoid incarceration and death. Therefore, they are haunted by the guilt of leaving their families for survival through having nightmares. While Max shows his defiance against the Nazi regime through daydreaming about boxing with Hitler, Liesel publicly defied the Nazi regime through stealing a banned book, and helping Jews in order to protect the basic morals of humanity. Liesel believes if humans lose humanity, they would become “cold-blooded” and lose the true meaning of

“Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble” (Berg, Huffington Post). In The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, a love for the words was able to affect the situation for the better, but also for the worse. We must understand the power of words.

“Words can light fires in the minds of men” (Patrick Rothfuss). Author, Markus Zusak, in his novel The Book Thief, narrates as Death to show the story of Liesel Meminger, a girl living in World War Two Nazi Germany. Zusak uses literary devices to depict a theme of how words can change the world in order to show their effect on people.

Liesel Meminger, who was a very sympathetic young girl which her words were used from her warm heart towards people. Frau Holtzapfel had lost both of her sons, so for her to be happy, Liesel would read to her a lot, which also made Frau Holtzapfel feel comforted. Also when Max was taken in by the Hubermann’s, he was a Jew, which meant he wasn’t allowed to see the outside world. Liesel would go outside and tell Max the

The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak shows how the impact on the power of language has on Liesel Meimeger through the structure of the novel. The structure of the novel shows the development of the character Liesel, highlighting the impact of the power of language. In her development, she finds the ability to express herself as well as to connect to others. Books become a comfort to her and heal her, they help her grow strong relationships with other characters in her life. However, she also sees the damage words have caused through Nazi propaganda, understanding that Hitler 's words have been the cause of suffering of the people in her life. Despite this, the structure of the novel shows the ability of the character to understand that

She stole from the Nazi book burnings on the street, the Mayors library and wherever she could. Liesel also received two special books written by a Jew hiding out in her basement. She related to the Jew, Max, in many ways. They discovered that they both frequently had horrible nightmares and that they share the same passion for words. She was able to befriend an unwanted Jew in Germany because she was able to see past the hatred everyone normally felt. Liesel saw Max as another human being, and was loyal enough to keep him a secret. When Liesel spotted Max marching to the concentration camp with the rest of the Jews, she risked her life by running up to him. Her boldness made them both suffer the ruthless consequence of being whipped by a soldier. She was also brave enough to beat up a boy in her class who made the mistake of teasing her. Liesel was filled with rage. "Her knuckles and fingernails were so frighteningly tough, despite their smallness" (Zusak 78). Liesel had the audacity to stand up for herself because she refused to be ridiculed.

Words: Words are something we use everyday to communicate. Words make up sentences and books. We use words to convey meanings, to show feelings, and to communicate. The problem is that most people take this for granted. Most people do not know the power their words have, and the effect they have on other people. The power of words holds a strong meaning in the novel, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. During the book, different characters acquire power through their words and language, in both positive and negative ways.

Words are more influential than thought. Words can have such a powerful impact on how you interpret things, how you feel, and how you can make others feel as well. The word choice used in The Book Thief demonstrates many themes throughout such as death, friendship, guilt, reason, and the struggle between ones inner self and the society in which he is surrounded. As complex as this may sound, the method was used in a simplistic fashion to construct the meaning and details of certain situations through the senses that ultimately capture how the characters take in the world around them. The power of words in the novel The Book Thief is used to control individuals and gain power if rooted from bad intentions; however, the power of words also

Unlike the Nazi’s however, Liesel realizes the pain her words caused. "Blood leaked from her nose and licked at her lips. Her eyes had blackened. Cuts had opened up and a series of wounds were rising to the surface of her skin. All from words. From Liesel's words" (Zuask 253). A child, no more than 12 years old, was telling someone not to cry, that she was being “pathetic.” It was all because of one group of people taking the lives of millions that a young girl believes crying over your loved ones deaths was ridiculous. At one point, Death even compares itself to humanity saying, "You want to know what I truly look like? I'll help you out. Find yourself a mirror while I continue" (Zuask 307).