Symbolism In The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

“Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness” (84). In the beginning, we are introduced to the narrator by the name of Death. He informs the readers that he has many stories, but only remembers the ones that interest him. The tale of Liesel Meminger is one such tale, as he was always fascinated by her will to live through the most horrible instances. It should be duly noted however, that this story does not have a happy ending. Death makes this clear before we even have a chance to get our hopes up. He tells us that everyone dies; the amount of time that they last is truly the only difference. After this sordid fact is in place, he mentions just Liesel first attracted his attention.

To Liesel Meminger, the accordion is a symbol of prosperity, hope, and a distraction. Through times of distress, Hans’ accordion was there to soothe and relax her. When liesel arrived at Himmel street she was overwhelmingly nervous and scared but one thing that gave her hope was the beautiful sound of Hans’ accordion. On september 19, 1942 Liesel experienced a very real and horrific air raid forcing members of the community to seek shelter in the Fielders basement. Liesel remembered the accordions ability to alleviate stress from a situation and wanted the community to experience the same. This lead liesel into reading The Whistler.

A common misconception of Markus Zusak – author of The Book Thief – is based off the incorrect origin of which culture and religion the book came from. The man is neither German nor Jewish, two main components that show themselves significant in the writing. Although beautifully crafted and eloquent within its wording, The Book Thief is based off secondary sources (told by his mother who lived in a small German village) that take away from the noxious events surrounding the Holocaust. If there was substantial information regarding more realistic scenes than just fiction of German nature, this book would be blooming with positive aspects to review. However, because of the fabricated characters of Liesel and Rudy roaming around the pages

Throughout this book, Liesel finds many friendships such as the Hubermanns, Max, and Rudy. I believe that Markus Zusak is trying to show that though war is a terrible struggle to be involved in, it can bring people who would never have met together. If Hitler had not taken Liesel’s mother away, Liesel may never have met the Hubermanns and learned to read with Hans. Though Rosa and Hans are her foster parents they learn to love each other and they become honest friends. The circumstances with Max led him to the Hubermanns for his survival and there he meets Liesel and their friendship slowly grows. Another unlikely friend of Liesel’s is the mayor’s wife. Though Liesel doesn’t see this as such, it definitely is.

There are symbols used in the novel, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. The symbols he uses are, books, bread, and an accordion. The objects Zusak uses to symbolize things have very deep meanings that help make sense of the novel. The author uses symbolism in different ways, yet there are many similarities between the three symbolic objects in, The Book Thief.

In Markus Zusak’s historical fiction novel, The Book Thief, Death, the narrator of the novel, expresses that, The quote appears in the end of Part Five where Death is narrating and reflecting on the day he claims to never forget― the day Death carried the corpses of hundreds of thousands of Jews to freedom. Death is, yet again, vindicating to the readers that he is sympathetic towards the humans that he’ll inevitably collect one day, but he especially merciful to the souls of Jews― one to which a readers can relate. In addition, Death provides readers with the terrible realities of the Holocaust as he incorporates the atrocities

Plot Summary The Plot of “The Book Thief,by Markus Zusak is interesting because it tell the time where the main character Death (Narrator) first time seeing the book thief on a train. The book also shows that it is between a first person or third person point of view. The book grabs your attention as which it has sad moments where Wener (Liesel Brother) Pass away and have to get off the train to bury his body. This book is dated back in Sydney Australia in 1975.

Symbolism and Thievery It is 1939, Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. While traveling on a train, Liesel Meminger witnesses the death of her brother. Distraught and withdrawn, Liesel is then taken away from her mother and is forced to live with the Hubermanns in the heart of Nazi Germany.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak has definitely become my favorite historical fiction novels. From the language used in this novel to the relationships developed, this novel has a more realistic feeling. One of the many reasons why I enjoy this novel is because I think the relationship between Liesel and Papa is very interesting. With Papa being an outcast among the adults of the town because he is not a part of the Nazi party and Liesel being mocked at from people her age because she was illiterate, they bond with one another and form a friendship. Whenever Liesel isn’t at school or playing soccer with the boys and Papa doesn’t have any work, they spend the majority of that time together, doing mediocre things, but enjoying it nonetheless;

The main reason the author of the article wrote this was to show how Markus Zusak (the author of the Book Thief) was inspired from a young age to write about difficult times during Germany’s regime. The article states, “ My mom is German my father is Austrian. I grew up hearing those stories. One of my mum’s stories was about something that happened when she was six. She heard a noise that sounded like cattle being herded down the street.

Over the summer, I’ve read some pretty disturbing books and none of them compare to the vivid images put into my head when reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. Other than the obvious fact that one book is held in 1940s Germany and one is in a modern day era, both books attain a variety of subtle, contrasting perspectives. For example, love is portrayed through a different approach in the two books. Both female roles demonstrate having a very strong and dynamic opinion regarding their best friends, thus, developing great bonds throughout the story.

In the book, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, the author writes about a young girl, Liesel Meminger, who was adopted by a German family because her brother died and her mother couldn't take care of her anymore. Liesel Meminger went to live with the Hubermann family on Himmel Street where she learned to read from her adoptive father, she stole books from the mayor's house, and she became good friends with Rudy Steiner and a Jew, Max Vandenburg. This book fits into the Holocaust Unit because the story takes place during World War II and the Holocaust. In the book, Hans Hubermann was summoned to fight in the war and the Hubermanns also decided to hide a Jew in their basement which was extremely risky. The Hubermanns didn't agree with everything

In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, we see the events of World War II Germany through the eyes of Death himself. In the novel, Death seems to think that humans are extremely brutal. At one point he admits that he is haunted by humans because of the horrible things they do. Although Death believes that humans are vicious, I do not. I believe that most if not all humans are good at heart. There is just something about being human that makes us beautiful. In today’s society it may seem as if the world is a bad place to be. However this is misleading. The only reason why people focus on the bad is because they fail to see the good. The same applies to The Book Thief. The only reason why Death is haunted by humans is because he only sees

Zusak, Housman, and Maupassant used symbolism to indirectly convey deeper meanings of the objects in their pieces of writing. The accordion, Mr. Hubermann’s favorite instrument, symbolized the theme of optimism in Zusak’s The Book Thief. Mr. Hubermann received the accordion from Erik

Much like waving a white flag, Emma Donoghue’s use of the colour white in “The Tale of the Handkerchief” is symbolic of both surrender, and the refusal to do so for both the Princess and the maid. As the story unfolds and the white items signifying surrender change, so too do the Princess and the maid, and it becomes clear that it is the position, and not the person who occupies it, which determines whether or not surrender is an option. Through imagery such as the Princess’ white horse, and the titular handkerchief, Donoghue makes use of this analogy, both before and after the juxtaposition with the Princess placing her destiny in the hands of others while, the maid is able to exert her own will and dictate what her future will be. From her