The Book Thief Analysis Essay

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a girl living in Nazi Germany through perspective of death. Just nine years old when her brother dies and her mother leaves her in the care of the Hubermanns, Lisel turns to the comfort of books to ease her pain. However, as she grows up the innocent words in her books lead her to discover the immense pain words carry through the horrific doings of Hitler, a man beloved by many Germans. The portrayal of life in Nazi Germany depicted by the Book Thief is accurate due to events in the book such as the book burning, the Hitler Youth, encounters of hate shown to Jews, and Germany’s invasion of Russia.

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.

Crises are inevitable. However, dealing with a crisis is not always arduous due to their prevalence. However, books seem to be a popular choice, why? What makes them special and useful in times of crises? Some of the most well-known books involve a description of crisis or a character going through the crisis.

In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel Meminger discovers the power of words and how important they are in the lives of everyone. Young orphan Liesel makes a habit of stealing books before she even knows how to read. By learning to read and write she discovers a deeper understanding of herself and the world around her. Liesel uses stories to express herself and realizes how words can be used to manipulate the thoughts of others. By reading Liesel better understands herself and the writings of others. By reading books and stories Liesel helps contribute to her community and help others. Through communicating with Max and listening to his stories she starts to put together how Hitler rose to power and became so influential. Learning to read and write allows Liesel to better contribute to her community and herself. Liesel’s discovery of the influence and power words changed her life forever.

Markus Zusak’s novel, The Book Thief, tells the heart-wrenching story of Liesel Meminger, a German girl, as she navigates adolescence in Nazi Germany. With his convincing depiction of the time, it could be said that Zusak worked within the conventions of realistic fiction were it not for his otherworldly narrator—Death. Death traditionally marks the end of a story, so Zusak’s decision to begin his novel with Death’s voice piqued my interest. This interest was intensified by Death’s unique characterization—he is personified, yet retains his inhuman features. This incongruity in conjunction with the aberrant choice in narrator raised the question:

In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, words can be very powerful. Words can either break a person down or build them up. There are several examples in this story where words either bring people together or tear them apart. While words prove to both heal and hurt in this story, the healing words leave a longer and lasting mark on the person that is being healed, while the damaging ones do less to hurt than the comforting ones do to help.

Historically, people have used literacy to obtain political power. In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, it is evident that books, reading, and words themselves represent power for different characters in different ways. Close analysis of Liesel Meminger and Max Vandenburg reveals that power can be achieved through literacy in a context where literacy is severely limited.

Students often find themselves lost and intimidated by their professor’s experience when analysing literature. In “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” by Thomas C. Foster, Foster attempts give students the tools they need in order to begin learning how to read literature. Each chapter covers a unique concept students can begin look for in their reading. The book details what certain events or settings could mean and how they may relate to similar events in other literature.

explores her love of books and her thrive to steal she is acquainted with a Jew, who comes to

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak takes place during World War II. The narrator of the book doesn’t give a name, though he gives clues about who he is and he turns out to be death. The narrator is death. His job was to carry souls of humans away when their time has come. When he first encountered the book thief, it had been when her brother had died. It was winter, January 1939. Liesel Meminger, her mother and her brother, Werner, were on a train leaving Munich, Germany to Molching to move in with her foster parents, Rosa, and Hans Huberman. Of course as you know, her brother had not made it. As they held a small funeral in a near town, the guy who dug up the grave had dropped a handbook in the snow. The Grave Digger’s Handbook the title read.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak shows through the midst of brutality, beauty can still be shown. The main characters Liesel Meminger, Rudy Steiner and Hans Huberman, prove this statement they are all faced with perilous situations, but still manage to show beauty throughout the situations. Liesel Meminger display beauty during the air raids, as she manages to read to people in the basement. Rudy Steiner displays beauty he jumps in the river to get Liesel’s book. Through Hans Huberman nobel character he displays beauty as he risks his life to hide a Jewish man in his basement.

I think that the place where they died and how they died is very important because it repeats items that represent time. I found this important because the author likes to repeat time and at first I didn’t realize how significant this was to the story. This shows that symbolizes in your book might mean more than just a object or a name. It can means that the book is about a certain thing or it can show you the theme.

History and especially World War Two is a testament to the duality of human nature. Jeffery Kluger in an article for Time Magazine reflects on this aspect of human nature. “The madness {lies} in the fact that the savage and the splendid can exist in one creature, one person and often in one instant.” I enjoyed reading about Liesel Meminger in the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Liesel is nine years old and lives in Nazi Germany. In the early chapters of the book we learn that her younger brother has dies, her father is missing ad her communist

Death states that, “I’m always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both” (Zusak 491). This book shows us human doing things that weren’t even imaginable before this point. Many people give into ideas that were lies. But, we also watch a few people go out of their way and sacrifice everything for a man they barely even know. They do everything they can to keep him safe and alive. They work harder, the get another job, and they even steal. In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, death examines the ugliness and the beauty of humans.

This year there is a big decision to be made in which teachers or students should choose the books for the upcoming year. Although this decision has many opinions on both sides of the argument I only support one. This decision in which the teachers will select the books would be inimitable for several reasons. One reason is that if the teacher selected the books then this would better help the class in lessons and challenge us. In addition, this would also increase test scores and reading ability for all the students in the class. Teachers would also help students to discover advanced genres of books and learn new and innovative vocabulary words.