The Book Thief

The Book Thief is a historical fiction novel by Markus Zusak set in Munich, Germany during the Nazi reign from 1936-1943. The novel incorporates a main character that is, in the beginning, an innocent child who doesn't understand the world and takes her on a journey where she grows up and matures through the hardships and challenges of her life. The story is narrated by the character Death, who is a fresh take on the Grim Reaper, only wearing the black cloak when it's cold and never carries a syte. Death describes the life Liesel Meminger, an orphaned girl who witnesses her brother's death and burial and finds herself being adopted by the benevolent old couple, the Hubermanns. The rest of the story follows Liesel's journey through her incredibly challenging life with the Hubermanns and characters such as Rudy, The mayor's wife, and Max helping her along. Symbolism in The Book Thief deepens the story by conveying many different ideas and emotions that supports the reader's understanding of the story. This is especially apparent with the use of the gravediggers to help the reader remember characters, the use of color to help the reader feel the proper emotions and remember the correct events, and the use of Liesel's changing feelings about Rudy to convey how Liesel grows and matures through the book.

She realizes that words can bring both comfort and fear. While she is disdainful of Hitler’s words, she falls in love with others and recognizes the power they hold and as a result, her own writing embodies selflessness and love. Her actions in stealing books or rather ‘saving’ them like at the book burning, as well as her writing is her way of showing her opposition to the Nazi’s and their regime, their cruel behaviour and in a small way, it is her attempt to combat their savage and discriminatory written propaganda. This can be inspiring for youth of today’s society that they too can bring about change even through seemingly insignificant actions. Liesel’s juxtaposed kind behaviour earned her the nickname ‘the book thief’ and her words were her written legacy, these two things combined captivated Death. “The Book Thief,” shows that words are extremely powerful in themselves but they can be used in different ways ultimately it is behaviour that reinforces either cruelty or

Foreshadowing is a major technique Zusak uses in The Book Thief to portray the power of words. Within the first pages of the novel, the narrator gives the audience a glimpse into the novel’s content. This not only adds intrigue and encourages the audience to continue reading; it also foreshadows central themes – ‘some words’, ‘quite a lot of thievery’, and central characters, ‘an accordionist’, ‘a Jewish fist fighter’. The meaning and importance of these small phrases are not revealed until much later in the novel. ‘A Jewish fist fighter’ refers to Max Vandenburg, and foreshadows his appearance. His presence highlights the brutality of Nazi Germany, the immediacy of war, and the kindness and compassion of humans. Max is also an instrumental

“Words can light fires in the minds of men” (Patrick Rothfuss). Author, Markus Zusak, in his novel The Book Thief, narrates as Death to show the story of Liesel Meminger, a girl living in World War Two Nazi Germany. Zusak uses literary devices to depict a theme of how words can change the world in order to show their effect on people.

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

Max is also a book thief and that makes more than one book thief. There is more than

This can be shown with: “In her final visions, she saw her three children, her grandchildren, her husband, and the long list of lives that merged with hers. Among them, lit like lanterns, were Hans and Rosa Hubermann, her brother and the boy whose hair remained the color of lemons forever” (Zusak 544). At the end of the book, Liesel dies, and death can see her final visions. She eventually moved on, but even though she moved on, she never forgot her parents or Rudy. Liesel struggles with the challenges of losing family and friends and loving yet hating words, but copes with both.

World War Two is heating up. Jews are dying in massive numbers everyday. In Nazi Germany everything seems to be going Hitler's way. On a small street, named Himmel Street, in Munich there's a young girl named Liesel Meminger. Her world is torn apart, but also shaped by the death around her. In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief death is everywhere and impacts each character differently from Death’s interest with Liesel, to how Liesel grieves, and to the unknowing actions that come out of Erik Vandenburg’s death.

“I have hated the words, I have loved them, and I hope have made them right.” (Zusak 528) This quote then represents words in the story as they are shown in several purposes. Throughout The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, he exemplifies how words are both used for positive and negative purposes. The word choices used by Markus Zusak gave The Book Thief life and a meaning. The words used by Marcus Zusak had the power to negatively influence people and the society. Words within The Book Thief were also able to positive opportunities and chance. Words have the ability to make a stronger bond betwwen friendships. Words are weapons with the power to affect someone’s community, their opportunities, and their own friendships.

Words- they are used in everyday life, and they have the power to spark creativity, improve skills, and even create lifetime relationships. In The Book Thief, Markus Zusak portrays the way of life in Nazi Germany by showing the daily activities of fellow citizens on Himmel Street. Zusak creates a unique story through the eyes of Death, putting emphasis on the three times he watched over the book thief, Liesel Meminger. Liesel creates connections with characters such as Max Vandenburg, the Hubermann’s, the mayor’s wife, and Rudy Steiner. While there are several important relationships, Max and Liesel’s relationship is the most significant because it illuminates the overall theme- the power of words.

Nowadays, we take the ability to read for granted. But for Liesel Meminger, the opportunity to learn how to read was a gift. In the novel The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, more than one major theme relating to books and writing are evident. The power of words, literature, and reading, are all contributing to the overall theme of the power of books and writing in The Book Thief.

The Book Thief recounts the treacherous time of Nazi Germany through the years of 1939 and 1943 during World War II. The narrator, Death personified, tells the readers of the journey of Liesel Meminger during this time. The story begins with Liesel, her mother and her brother, Werner, riding on a train to Molching; a small town just outside of Munich, Germany. The plan was that once they got to Molching, Liesel and Werner were to live with foster parents named Hans and Rosa Hubermann. However, before they can reach Molching, Werner dies.

Relationship to meaning: Death being a narrator shows everyone perspective on thing other then it being to say Liesel where she would only show what she feels and sees. Death shows what’s going on in the war and how many people are dying and the outside world from Munich and what goes on at the time.

Death is inevitable in every person’s life, but death in these character’s lives is easily predicted to be early, and this represents the sadness and sorrows in the innocence of war. There are many ways to die, and war is the saddest way for that to occur, but at the same time,

“Liesel stood up and also raised her arm. With absolute misery, she repeated it. “Heil Hitler”. It was quite a sight-an eleven-year-old girl, trying not to cry on the church steps… ”(Zusak, 2005, p.40). “The Book Thief” fixates on the life of a young girl named Liesel. Throughout the book, communication, cultural awareness, and empathy are concepts that are stained across the pages. The conversations and language of the characters captivate the reader.