Questions On Book Thief Harkness

1a. I think she was justified because Liesel was using the families money to make contact with the woman that left her behind.

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.

Liesel Meminger is the daughter of Paula Meminger. She is also the sister of late Warren Meminger. Consequently, she steals the first book in the novel, called The Gravedigger's Handbook. Therefore, Death gave her the nickname of “ the book thief” before us knowing that she would become “the book thief”. Liesel Meminger is the hardworking, book-thieving, kind-hearted protagonist of The Book Thief. She loves books so much that she steals them, even before knowing how to read. All of this started because stealing books reminds her of Warren Meminger. This is even she bonds more with Hans Hubermann, her foster father, dedicates his time to teach her how to read. We might be asking, why hasn’t she gotten an education at the age of 10. The answer is not as clear as others, but it definitely has to do with Liesel father’s communist affiliations. He was part of the German Communist Party, that was popular when Hitler took over. This is also the reason why she had to be fostered.

Relationship to meaning: Death is important to the story because he provides a detailed explanation of what is going on with all characters and he isn’t bias towards any specific character.

Words were what started the roller coaster of emotion Liesel had been thrown on when she was nine years old. Without them I don't know where she would be, but I doubt she'd have ever lived and played soccer on Himmel Street. And, although words have been the cause of her pain and suffering, they have been her source of comfort, too. Whether they were written by Mattheus Ottleberg, Adolf Hitler, Max Vandenburg, or herself, words carry immeasurable value and impact. When written by Hitler, words have been the source of ruthless violence and chaos, and helped start a war that was the basis of our story. In The Word Shaker, Max shares his knowledge of the power of words, and how, depending on their user's intentions, they can have a heavily negative or positive impact. This quote shows Liesel's comprehension of the power of words, and when she says "I hope I have made them right," it is clear that she intends to use words so they will have a positive

The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, outlines the tragedies and events that take place in Liesel Meminger’s life, in Nazi Germany. Throughout this young girl’s struggle of living in the oppressive Nazi regime, she is able to learn crucial lessons about life and the art of survival- some that follow her to the grave. The most important lesson she learned and the pivotal theme of the novel is that rebellion can be and beneficial in certain situations.

To begin, power of words can be compared and contrasted in The Book Thief and Mein Kampf by looking at the persuasion in both

In The Book Thief, a work of historical fiction, written by Markus Zusak introduces the main character Liesel Meminger, the reader starts to see how she keeps having many conflicts but always stays positive. Liesel has many conflicts, for example her brother dies early in the book and that shapes the way she is. Later on Liesel steals books and that makes her happy because the first book she stole was the grave digger's handbook and that is how she remembers her brother. Liesel steals and reads books this is how she finds happiness with all the bad things going on around her. In the end of the book most of the people she loves die and it is hard for her to find happiness again. The author uses the setting and point of view to express theme and to make the reader feel sympathy; He uses this because with the theme of finding light in the darkness, deaths perception, and the setting of Germany makes the theme clearer.

Liesel develops the ability to use words as a tool for peace when she is in the bomb shelter: “He paid direct attention to what Liesel was reading, and he tapped his brothers and sisters, telling them to do the same [….] For at least twenty minutes, she handed out the story. The youngest kids were soothed by her voice, and everyone else saw visions of the whistler running from the crime scene” (Zusak 381). She embraces the power of words to create tranquility, and this the first time she has done this. The use of words for a good cause is something Liesel embraces more and more as her relationship with words develops. However, her understanding of the words is not confined to their beauty, and she contemplates their nefarious nature when she questions their existence: “The words. Why did they have to exist? Without them, there wouldn’t be any of this. Without words, the Führer was nothing. There would be no limping prisoners, no need for consolation or wordly trick to make us feel better. What good were the words?” (Zusak 521). When Liesel grasps the limitless power of words, she breaks down emotionally because she recognizes their ability to cause harm. This emotional breakdown displays how she has a complete understanding of the power of words, and sees them for what they truly

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.

Liesel does not waste words she uses them in the best way that she can, help her and others live and be happy in this horrible time of their lives. Nelson Mandela once talked about how silence can lead you to learn more about words than ever before, Liesel and her friends are now in a sort of prison that is trying to get rid of everything that might make the “prisoners” rebel: “‘It is never my custom to use words lightly. If 27 years in prison have done anything to us, it was to use the silence of solitude to make us understand how precious words are, and how real speech is in its impact on the way people live and die’”(Williams, The Power of Words). Through finding words Liesel has learned to appreciate books more and see what has happened to her because of them. There is not always a bright side to the story with Liesel and her books. They saved her life, which is something that treasure forever. But through that action of saving her life, all of her friends died so then Liesel might want to have been dead so that she could join her friends and close family for eternity. The book did not emphasis or talk about what happened in her head thinking that she is the only one left that she knew about. Not everything happens the way that others want it to be, but everything does happen for a reason. If this tragic loss did not happen in Liesel’s life then she would not have met Max

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

Within every human being, through affirmation and recognition by others, one’s worth and value, a sense of belonging is formed. This concept is the main theme within the text, The Book Thief (2005) written by Markus Zusak. The main character, Liesel Meminger, is abandoned by her mother at the age of ten (10) she then spends the next few years finding where she belongs in the world. Throughout the novel Liesel's sense of belonging to the characters Hans Hubermann, Max Vandenburg and Adolf Hitler; the Fuhrer, result in shaping and influence her to view the world differently. This essay will be examining Liesel’s sense of belonging with each of these characters and their effect on her personality, views and ideas.

“The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it,” said comedian Roseanne Barr. A leader can overpower people; she can take control of what one can or cannot do, but only oneself can control how she treats others. In The Book Thief, Hitler is overpowering the Jews; Liesel, who is living with a foster family, and her family shelters Max, a Jewish man, during the Holocaust. Marcus Zusak’s characters, Liesel, Rosa, and Hans, explain their struggle of staying true to their core beliefs during Hitler’s reign in Nazi, Germany, showing the importance of making the correct decisions even when faced with a difficult situation.

Words impact relationships through various ways that can build a relationship up, or tear it down. Liesel's relationship with her father and Max show how people can create love through written words of others and their own. As words lift people up, they also can easily break them down through harmful propaganda. Max's low self-esteem is an example of what mean and ugly words can do to a person, and they tear them to pieces. Words can also relieve stress and take away the burden of fear that people have in dark situations, but when they are not present, they can create fear that sends people into desperation and panic.