The Book Thief

Commentary: Death is an omniscient narrator. He switches between many of the characters in the book. He describes many of the characters feelings, emotions, and thoughts throughout the story.

Reflection: The Book Thief contains many important concepts, but three of them play major roles in developing the characters and creating themes. One key concept discusses the power and significance of words. As seen in the novel, words can be used to influence people in negative and positive ways. For example, reading and writing save the lives of Hans, Max, and Liesel in the form of letters, a copy of MKPF, and Liesel’s life story. On the other hand, Hitler uses words to encourage the German people to hunt down and kill Jewish people. This shows how words can kill people and save people’s lives. Another important concept in The Book Thief is that life is unpredictable, and it can’t be meticulously planned out. Fate and chance will make a difference. This is shown when Hans switches seats with Reinhold Zucker in the military vehicle. Neither of them knows that the bus will crash, and the person in that seat will be killed. But fate isn’t tested, so Hans’s life is spared, and Zucker’s life is taken away. The last major concept, and perhaps the most important, is used as the framework for one of the most crucial themes. It is that humanity displays its duality in extreme ways. From Hans risking his life to give a piece of bread to a frail, old man, to Hitler killing six million Jews in cold blood, humans are capable of the amazingly kind and the incredibly

Markus Zusak, the author of The Book Thief, displays several ways to help readers analyze the story. He uses diction, imagery, details, language, and syntax which allows his audience to master the content in the story.

For example, in Document F it describes a girl who always carries around a book no matter where she goes. She also describes how attached she is to this book because the poet says, “Stories without corners./ She will have two families./ They will eat at different hours.” This shows how literacy can be different from other alternatives because literacy allows the reader to absorb into the story and can provide a comfort that can only be found in books. The girl in this poem even considers this comfort another family, something she can enjoy just like the comfort her own family gives her. In The Book Thief Liesel uses her stolen books in a similar manner. Before she came to the Hubermanns, she had lost two family members, and soon after she lost her entire family. Although the Hubermanns did their best to take care of her at first, Liesel was still uncomfortable in her new surroundings. In addition, she also had frequent nightmares and was not able to sleep at night. In order to find comfort, she tried reading a book she found at her brother’s funeral, with the help of Hans Hubermann. Thus, Liesel has a special connection to her books, just like she has a special connection with her biological family, as well

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.

The novel The Book Thief develops the relationship between Hans Hubermann and Liesel Meminger more than the film The Book Thief therefore minimizing the theme. First, Hans comforts Liesel when she has nightmares, “Possibly the only

Liesel most definitely could have trusted Rudy with the secret of having Max hidden in her basement. Rudy was clearly Liesel’s best friend and partner in crime when Liesel was doing her acts of thievery stealing the books from the mayor’s wife bookself. The devotion to Liesel Rudy also had was strong and I believe Liesel could have trusted Rudy.

The reader is able to see the emotional chaos the characters are subject to after trauma. It changes their behaviors and can make them take risks they wouldn’t normally take. Zucker opens readers to understand the sorrow of Jews and sympathizers that fled from their homes and families while under persecution during World War II, as well as World War I veterans. In the words of Death, the narrator “It’s the leftover humans. The survivors [...] I witness the ones who are left behind, crumbling among the jigsaw puzzle of realization, despair and surprise. They have punctured hearts. They have beaten lungs” (Zusak 5). It is true that this type of guilt is often paralysing to certain individuals; however, it can also create empathy and strength when survivors overcome these defining hardships in life. This is shown through Liesel’s friendships with Max and Hans, and the emotional maturity they each possess. These relationships help bring acceptance and joy back into survivors’ lives, and allow them to release the guilt of leaving one

As we have discussed the penalties for harboring a jew was very high. Throughout the book distant members of the Hubermann family come into the picture which makes hiding Max quite a bit harder. Just like today politics are a gray area in family discussions. Politics have a habit of making perfectly peaceful conversations into, Angry gibberish being shouted all over the place. But during world war two political conversation could stir up a lot more than just angry words. For example, We meet Hans Junior and right from the get go we know that he is a member of the Nazi party and quite disgusted by his father's lack of support for the Nazi party. In Summary the whole conversation ends with Hans Junior disowning his father and never talking to him again. The Hubermanns and many other families during this time did not inform their family that they were harboring a “fugitive” and you can clearly see why. Max did not exist as far as the rest of the Hubermanns family was concerned. The Hubermann fell apart ,over a secret. Which only added more fear and more hate towards the Nazis. The Hubermanns had the mindset of “you can do what you want as long as you don't get caught” and it is perfectly displayed on page

Each author had a similar way to see life, but the differences are particularly visible. “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak, is an extraordinary book which is situated on the World War II. The book and the movie have a lot of details and events that make the author stand up from these two literary works i mentioned before. Zusak showed how humanity can be so cruel and fascinating at the same time. The lost of humanity is one of the most noticeable themes on the book.

If you believe in yourself and have dedication, pride, and never quit, you will be successful. Markus Zusak, the author of The Book Thief, creates a story of a young orphan named Liesel Meminger, who is living with her new foster family. She learns the wonders of reading from her foster father and grows to love books. During Liesel’s time with her new family, she shows determination through her efforts and kindness with her encounters with other people. Liesel in The Book Thief expresses her traits, such as hardworking, and bravery.

Max Vandenburg was able to escape Stuttgart by carrying Adolf Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ which highlights Hitler’s hatred for Jewish people. The words in this story enforced the cruelty of human’s, the German’s who succumbed to Hitler’s words became Nazi’s. In this context, it can be seen that words can be used in a negative way, however, Max would later paint over the pages of ‘Mein Kampf’ to write his own story, ‘The Standover Man’ which he would gift to Liesel, “Max had cut out a collection of pages from Mein Kampf and painted them over in white.” This novel was an act of kindness for Liesel who was fascinated by words yet could not buy novels or obtain them legally. Max’s second novel ‘The Word Shaker’ was also gifted to Liesel when he’d left for Dachau, in this he discusses the power of words and how they can be used in a cruel way, “Yes, the Fuhrer, decided that he would rule the world with words….. He watched them grow, until eventually, great forests of words had risen throughout Germany.” Through ‘Mein Kampf’, ‘The Standover Man’ and ‘The Word Shaker’ the reader can understand the power of words on human

1) Prescribed Text – The Book Thief a. Compose a summary/synopsis of the text (plot/themes/characters/key concerns). (100 words only)

The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak shows how the impact on the power of language has on Liesel Meimeger through the structure of the novel. The structure of the novel shows the development of the character Liesel, highlighting the impact of the power of language. In her development, she finds the ability to express herself as well as to connect to others. Books become a comfort to her and heal her, they help her grow strong relationships with other characters in her life. However, she also sees the damage words have caused through Nazi propaganda, understanding that Hitler 's words have been the cause of suffering of the people in her life. Despite this, the structure of the novel shows the ability of the character to understand that

Movies and books can have very noticable differences. When movies take place based on books, they tend to leave out important details that a reader would know after finishing the book. Sometimes, directors have to change the main characters to fit the time limit or plot of the movie. In The Book Thief movie directed by Brian Percival, and The Book Thief book written by Markus Zusak, many differences impact the way the watcher of the movie interprets the actions of the characters based on the book. Items, too important to the author of the book to leave out, show in the movie to keep the general plot of the book intact. Both the book and the movie show the importance of the accordion, but lack showing the cigarettes and maturity in the main character, Liesel.