Symbolism In The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

When writing a book authors like to use colors and symbols to describe and help make the story. In most books color is used a lot in the story to describe things from the sky to people's clothes. The Book Thief use color theory very often. Color Theory says that people will judge a character on the environment and what colors are in the environment(“Color Theory“). We are told the color of the sky when the main narrator Death is doing his job. He does not like his job so he uses colors to distract him from taking people's souls. Death says that he looks at the sky when he is doing his job, "I do try to enjoy every color I see - the whole spectrum. A billion or so flavors, none of them quite the same, and a sky to slowly suck on. It takes the edge off the stress," (Zusak 4). The color of the sky when someone dies had a lot of meaning behind the color. In the Book Thief, the colors are red, blue, black show up in the book the most.

The title of the novel represents thieves such as Liesel, Adolf Hitler, and Death and why they stole books. Liesel stole The Gravedigger’s Handbook, The Shoulder Shrug, The Dream Carrier, and many other books. Liesel stole her first book from the gravedigger that buried her brother, Werner Meminger. The handbook starts out as something to remember her brother but then becomes something to learn from when her foster parent, Hans Hubermann, teaches Liesel how to read. She begins both reading and stealing to educate herself and to become a more independent person. With her newfound knowledge,

In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, there are two different symbolic actions. The characteristic are how the germans loved to burn down things and how Liesel can hate the Germans for burning down things. The action to this, is how the germans loved to burn things down. On page 84 it mentioned “The Germans loved to burn things. Shops, synagogues, reichstags, houses, personal items, slain people, and of course, books.”

To start off, the three main symbols used in The Book Thief can be distinguished from and categorized with each other by looking at what they represent. The similarities in what these representations portray is that they all manifest the protagonists of the story. For example, the bread shows the kindness from some Germans to the Jews, the accordion serves as the benevolent Hans Hubermann's connection to the the philanthropic Erik Vandenburg, and the books epitomize Liesel and her thirst for knowledge and power. “The Jew stood before him, expecting a handful of derision, but he watched with everyone else as Hans Hubermann held his hand out as he presented a piece of bread, like magic” (Zusak 393). The differences between what these symbols portray is that some represent actions, like Liesel vouchsafed bread to a Jew, while some are regarded as certain people, like the accordion to Hans. In conclusion, though it may seem that these symbols assume the roles of

There is always some kind of conflict that is happening to humankind, as is depicted in The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. Liesel and Ilsa are both haunted by the death of their loved ones, but throughout the novel, both Liesel and Ilsa work to get over their losses and become empowered. The mentor/pupil archetype and symbolism cooperate to reveal how Ilsa and Liesel help one another confront their pasts and move on to a more positive future in spite of the tremendous losses they have experienced. Their library sessions and shared love of words empower each of them; they both conquer fears and overcome griefs during one of the darkest time in history, WWII in Nazi Germany.

In The Book Thief, Liesel Meminger stole a total of five books. Each book that Liesel stole is ironically portrayed as metaphors of her struggles and happy moments in her life. The first book that was stolen was The Gravedigger’s Handbook. This book represents both happy and sad moments in Liesel’s life. It reminded her of her brother Werner’s death and the last moments with her mother before Liesel’s arrival on Himmel Street. However, this book also created happy moments and a new a bond between her new foster father, Hans Hubbermann, as they formed a routine of reading and learning new words after Liesel woke up from her nightmares. The Gravedigger’s Handbook also ignited the flame inside Liesel for her deep love for words. The next book she stole was The Shoulder Shrug from a pile

The first major use of symbolism The Book Thief conveys is the use of the gravedigger's handbook to help the reader remember characters and to help the reader more easily

In the book thief books were used to represent friendships, comfort, and opposition. Books were used as symbols by a friendship with the mayor's Wife. Liesel would go to the Mayor's Library and steel books. Liesel thought that she didn't know she was coming, but she actually did. After the bombing at the end “the mayor and a fluffy-haired woman...:” who was the mayor’s wife showed up to take her home.

Book burnings took place to rid of banned books and media that opposed the views of Nazi Germany. Liesel visits one of these book burnings and steals one of the books being burned. The theme of The Book Thief is finding your voice in dark times that are oppressive. This is expressed through Liesel finding that she likes books whether they go against the government or not. Liesel steals The Grave Digger’s Handbook and choses to keep her opinions the way they are. For example, on page 117 of The Book Thief, it says, “They came back and forth from a truck, and after three return trips, when the heap was reduced

Events can significantly affect someone’s way of life, whether it be their personality, or how they go about living. It’s just like how a child learns from their actions and consequences, or how a person’s beliefs are influenced by their family. The world is based on influence, as well as the characters from The Book Thief. Whether is be Max, Liesel, or Hans, they all have one thing in common, their trauma and important or powerful events throughout their life have influenced them to at a certain way.

“The Führer [Hitler] decided that he would rule the world with words. ‘I will never fire a gun,’ he devised. ‘I will not have to.’…” (Zusak 445) this excerpt comes from “The Word Shaker,” a short story written by Max Vandenburg in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The quote suggests that a plebian would effortlessly be able to use words rather than guns or other tools to take over the world, as Hitler actually did in the Holocaust. “The Word Shaker,” is just one of many paragons that demonstrate that words are very potent and are shown in The Book Thief through various actions of the characters.

The first book that the book thief, or Liesel stole was The Grave Digger’s Handbook. That is ironic because Liesel found it while her brother was being buried. “ When the dragging was done, the mother and girl stood and breathed. There was something black and rectangular logged in the snow. Only the girl saw it. She

Over the course of one’s life, it is inevitable to encounter bumps in the road. Some might be small, and some might be big. The response to these “bumps” is the development of individuals all around us. Some difficulties in our life help us realize our true hidden potential, whereas some problems help us understand life as a whole, these make us the people we are today. Living and understanding the disputes symbolise who we are. For instance, in Mark Zusak's book, The Book Thief, the reader gets an understanding of how certain conflicts create attributes in the characters and how it can symbolise an individual. The author manipulates symbolism, and conflicts to develop Liesel from a young powerless child to a woman who represents strength,

In history, art has been known as a production of works for emotional power. Art is formed by artists who have a story to share. It is used to express a deep emotion they cannot quite put into words, for example, sorrow or grief. Throughout the novel, Markus Zusak shows people distracting themselves from desperate times of sorrow through art. The use of art in The Book Thief represents creative outlets used as a coping mechanism for each character. The forms of art in the midst of pain are an accordion, a sketchbook, and books. To someone who were to pick up one of these items wouldn’t see much importance but to the main characters, they are what keeps them inspired and hopeful during the catastrophic events caused by Hitler.

A theme found in The Book Thief is words have power. The Book Thief’s main character Liesel Meminger is a symbol of words have power. Liesel symbolized a love for reading. Reading changed her outlook on life, it helped her grow as a character. Liesel’s first book, The Gravedigger’s Handbook, was a symbol