Quotes On The Book Thief

At the library, she was offered a book by the mayor’s wife multiple times but Liesel declined. After being removed from the job because the mayor couldn’t offered job, Liesel must leave. Though she declined the book many times, she returns to the house to steal food but instead retrieves the book. She steals it for her close friend Rudy. The book itself represents the connection between the two especially Rudy valiantly saves the book after it was almost thrown into a river.

Liesel’s first encounter with the power of words was when Hans was teaching her how to read. Liesel desperately wanted to learn how to read The Gravedigger’s Handbook. Liesel’s last memory of her brother and mother was when she had to bury his brother after he died. Her brother’s death was the first immense loss of a loved one. Liesel associates the event with the book she picked up off

He's being punished with poverty and lack of medical treatment. He is not alone.Liesel's book stealing never quite qualifies as criminality, unless you're being strict. As Rudy points out, it's almost silly to call taking books from Ilsa Hermann's library "stealing." Her book thievery presents a pleasant counterpart to the very real crimes of the Nazis.Being a Jew in these times means being a criminal. There is no move a Jew in Nazi Germany can make that isn't considered a crime.Death explains to us that sau means a pig. Saumensch is an insult for women, Saukerl is an insult for men. Arschloch is "asshole" (sorry for using the term, but it’s nessecary to describe this part of the book). These terms become terms of endearment between the characters as the novel progresses.At this early stage, though, being called a pig-girl isn't exactly endearing. Liesel soon learns that calling Rosa "Mama" is one big way to stay on her good side.Death tells us that this is a definition that isn't found in the dictionaries. As we see when we get into the Duden Dictionary sections of the novel, it's sometimes hard to find the right words to express what we see and feel.This theme is repeated over and over in the novel, by anyone who survives. Michael Holtzapfel's guilt over his brother's death (which he had nothing to do with and couldn’t prevent) drives him to commit suicide.The passage does a lot to highlight Max's suffering. Two years hiding in dark sheds has made him an

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

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

Liesel is characterized as a girl full of courage and her unwillingness to back down. An example of her courageous mentality is when Ludwig Schmeikl bullies her because of her inability to read. The narrator explains, “(Liesel) stood up and took the book from him... she threw it away and kicked him as hard as she could” (82). This scene shows that Liesel is not afraid of standing up for herself and does not back down from Ludwig. Instead she retaliates back against him, bringing him to the floor. While she may be

The Book Thief is set in the time of World War 2 where the Holocaust is present and disaster is everywhere. Throughout the story, Liesel, the main character, learns that words are extremely powerful and hold the ability for people to use them for good or for evil. Among the disaster and altercations, Liesel uses her literature to comfort her and make herself more powerful due to her knowledge, which demonstrates the theme of the story, the comfort and power of literature and words softens the pain of loss.

Upon arriving at the home of her foster parents, housepainter Hans Hubermann and his wife Rosa, Liesel finds it difficult to adjust. She is haunted by nightmares about her mother and dead brother. She eventually develops a bond with Hans, who comes to her every night and stays with her until she is able to fall sleep again, Hans, upon noticing “The Grave Digger's Handbook” tucked under Liesel's mattress, decides to take advantage of the sleepless hours he spends with Liesel each night by teaching her how to read and write. Rosa Hubermann, whose personality is much coarser than Hans', takes Liesel under her wing in her own way by having her help with her job of washing and delivering laundry for other households. Shortly after

First to go is Max Vandenburg and then her beloved Papa. Hans Hubermann did help a Jew, which started the downhill spiral of loved ones leaving. Liesel wanted to comfort her papa from his decision for, “she’s never seen a man so devastated,” but she also knew Max had to leave and she knew, “Hans Hubermann was to blame” (399). Yet another downfall in Liesel’s life, her treasured relationship with Max was torn away by the foolish actions of her papa. She wanted to forgive him, but she knew she could not. Max, the person that built Liesel up and believed in her words was gone. A flame of inner conflict arose in her body, she loves Hans dearly, but today he was not a remedy to the numbness. He was the cause. In a matter of time Hans knew he would also leave Liesel and that day did come. She begged him: “Don’t go, Papa. Please. First we lost Max. I can’t lose you too” (423). During this time period, the consequences for helping anyone of the Jewish faith is being sent to the battlefront or death. Liesel does not realize this now, but Hans being sent away is a much better fate than being sentenced to death. She needs him to stay. She can not take anymore loss right now. The most important people in her life have vanished and all she can do is wait and hope they will come back one day. More cracks are pushing towards the surface of her heart, and it is slowly breaking. The only saving grace is words. Sharing words with Frau Holtzapfel undoubtedly disguised the sadness and brought small amounts of bliss. In the beginning, reading to Frau Holtzapfel was a job, “Come to my place and read it to me,” she said to Liesel (387). Goods were exchanged for Liesel’s work, which was helpful for the Hubermanns, but after Hans left reading to Frau Holtzapfel was much more. Reading is no longer a chore, it is an escape. Daily readings created an unseen realm that takes her on journeys far away from Himmel

He couldn't-.”. Liesel found it very hard for her to cope with the loss, which is ironic as the narrator is death. But it is understandable as death is very touchy, heartbreaking, and hard subject for anyone with a heart. In time Liesel learned to be strong and maintain her person, I showed this through the flower growing through the rubble and wanting to grow bigger. Liesel's brother's loss had become very an obvious hardship in her life but she was able to flourish and be strong through that loss at a young age, just like the flower through the rubble and ashes. The difficulty of losing Werner was heartbreaking and left a mark on Liesel's life, but she was able to persevere and push through that adversity, becoming a stronger better person.

As adults and children alike clamour and panic about their fates and the impending bomb threatening to blow up Himmel Street, Liesel gathers her courage to lift everyone’s spirits. She uses her power of words and calms everyone down regardless of age. Liesel doesn't want to learn to play the accordion, as she feels she would never be as good as Hans, but words are her own instrument. Liesel realized how her little act would give everyone so much hope, and just like Hans, she used her passion to give people hope and distract them from all the dreadful things happening. Everyone had already seen the power of words, since that was all Hitler had, but now Liesel had her own gift and used it to give everyone hope and distract them from the sense

“Liesel Shrugged away entirely from the crowd and entered the tide of Jews, weaving through them till she grabbed hold of his arm with her left hand”(510) At that moment Liesel wasn’t thinking about getting a beating, she was thinking about Max, and how she needed

When playing football, Liesel voluntarily harms herself and sacrifices her clothes for the safety of Max. For example, when playing football within the street one day Liesel notices that the Nazi soldiers have begun searching the houses on her street where Max is currently hiding. Liesel seeing that this, purposefully hurts herself to have a disguise from her motives to warn Max, without raising suspicion. This sacrifice was minor and minute in regards to the other texts however the example portrayed the theme significantly. Liesel was willing to sacrifice a possession for the safety of Max due to the fact that Liesel had grown to love as an older brother.

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).

The Book Thief is based around a character named Liesel Meminger. She is called the book thief because she is known for stealing books to help her read and advance in her knowledge. The theme of this book is mainly death, which is also the narrator. Death narrates throughout this whole book and brings a new perspective to the way war would have been seen.