The Book Thief Empowerment In Book

At the library, she was offered a book by the mayor’s wife multiple times but Liesel declined. After being removed from the job because the mayor couldn’t offered job, Liesel must leave. Though she declined the book many times, she returns to the house to steal food but instead retrieves the book. She steals it for her close friend Rudy. The book itself represents the connection between the two especially Rudy valiantly saves the book after it was almost thrown into a river.

Every time Liesel steals books from people, she consistently places the lives of others at risk. An example of this is when Liesel is worried about Max dying and wants to steal a book and read it to him

The youngest kids were soothed by her voice, and everyone else saw visions of the whistler running from the crime scene. Liesel did not. The book thief saw only the mechanics of the words—their bodies stranded on the paper, beaten down for her to walk on” (Zusak 381). With the power of her words, Liesel effectively gave the people who once was scrambled and scared something else to think about. She allowed them the ability to imagine, and feel the story, rather than focusing on their reality, grounding them to a sense of security. Even when as their problems continue to knock onto their fear, Liesel was able to overcome, and help other overcome the chaos of World War II, even in the most briefest

Liesel, the book thief herself, steals books in times of pain. All six books Liesel steals are metaphors for the feelings of loss and pain during the time of which the book was stolen. She uses the books to grow knowledge of the situations occurring around her, one stolen book in particular is “The Gravedigger’s Handbook” This book is the first of all books Liesel steals, and it is the book that caused her to grow to love words, coincidently, she finds this book in the snow on the day of her brother’s death, which is when she was filled with grief and abandonment. This book is a symbol for Liesel’s grief and as she tries to learn how to read the book, her twisted comfort in the story shows how the words had a powerful effect on her grieving process shown by the quotation, “…Not to mention the morbidity of the subject. As for the girl, there was a sudden desire to read it that she didn't even attempt to understand” (Zusak, 66)

Liesel is given a black book from Ilsa Hermann where she will write about everything that happened in her life this far. When she starts writing she learns that words are good and bad for people. She wants to make sure she made it right by writing a story of love and friendship.

Her enthusiastic attitude can only be calmed down by the sound of Papa’s accordion. Nothing can come in between her and her words, not the darkness of the room, and of course not even the Nazi Germans. Furthermore, in the book A Girl Made of Darkness, it is shown that Liesel is intrigued by the smallest thing in life as she questions her parents about her Christmas present (Zusak, 89). Understand her family situation, Liesel is not expecting for any present for Christmas, however her dad has been able to trade cigarettes for some books . To most of us, when we receive presents we will just accept the present, no questions asked. On the contrary,many questions have been proliferating in Liesel’s mind when Papa gives her the gifts. Not to mention another obvious evidence is when Max first arrived at the Hubermann’s house. As can be seen, Zusak has portrayed Liesel as the book thief because her inquisitive characteristic indicate those who questions the Nazi German

11 million people died during the Holocaust. In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, Liesel Meminger loses many of her loved ones. At the beginning of the book, Liesel’s brother dies of illness on a train, and her mother is taken away by the Nazis for being a communist. After losing everyone she ever cared about, the story drags Liesel into a humble household where she discovers her passion for books, and her love for her family and friends. However, her loved ones are once again torn away from her as Himmel Street, the street she lives on, gets bombed. She loses her foster parents, her best friend, and everyone else she came to know. As a result of these adverse events, Liesel’s innocence was stolen from her. In The Book Thief, loss plays an essential role in developing characters, especially Liesel. After losing Werner, her brother, Liesel is plagued by

In The Book Thief, a work of historical fiction, written by Markus Zusak introduces the main character Liesel Meminger, the reader starts to see how she keeps having many conflicts but always stays positive. Liesel has many conflicts, for example her brother dies early in the book and that shapes the way she is. Later on Liesel steals books and that makes her happy because the first book she stole was the grave digger's handbook and that is how she remembers her brother. Liesel steals and reads books this is how she finds happiness with all the bad things going on around her. In the end of the book most of the people she loves die and it is hard for her to find happiness again. The author uses the setting and point of view to express theme and to make the reader feel sympathy; He uses this because with the theme of finding light in the darkness, deaths perception, and the setting of Germany makes the theme clearer.

3). In addition, literacy empowers Liesel when she reads to others to comfort them, and to feel in control of herself. During a bomb raid, Liesel reads to her frightened neighbours to help calm them down: “everyone was silent but Liesel…for at least twenty minutes, she handed out the story. The youngest kids were soothed by her voice, and everyone else saw visions of the whistler running from the crime scene” (Zusak 381). Liesel also begins to read to Frau Holtzapfel which helps console her during her time of grieving over her lost son. Frau Holtzapfel even offers to “‘stop spitting on [Rosa’s] door’” in exchange for Liesel to read to her. Being literarily educated, which is restricted during World War II, results in great power for many people. For Liesel, the power of words, writing, and reading help comfort her during her emotional trauma. Literacy “ultimately save[s] [Liesel]” (Smith para. 3) in the sense that books give her a strong purpose to her life. As Grace Lee has said, “not only does Liesel steal books, but she also steals her life back from death itself” (Lee 21). During a time where she is distraught and

Liesel stole a book for the first time before she knew how to read during her brother’s funeral. In the book, it reads, “When he walked away, after a few dozen paces, a black book fell innocuously from his coat pocket without his knowledge.” During this time, it was when the gravediggers were digging the grave for her brother and then a book fell out of one of their pockets. Liesel would then steal the book and kept it with her to remember her brother. Another time in the book that showed Liesel’s character was when she stole book during the burning of the books.

Liesel’s intense love for books engulfs her and yet she lived in a nation where the revulsion words and books has reached its peak. The fact about her is that “she was a girl. In Nazi Germany. How fitting that she was discovering the power of words”(Zusak 147). This passage really captures the true meaning of The Book Thief. The author’s way of incorporating such gorgeous language is incredible and very attractive to the eyes. Zusak’s use of sentence fragments increases the reader’s need to continue reading and understanding the novel. The qoute shows how Liesel was determined to keep what was most beloved to her closest, her books. Liesel enjoyed All around her were book burnings where beautiful literature was destroyed and it broke her heart

Her book thievery first began when she was illiterate. Liesel stole "The Grave Digger's Handbook" from her brother's burial as a symbol. It represented the last time she saw her brother and her mother since she was given away to a foster family.

More than the overt message about the power of words, it’s Liesel’s confrontation with horrifying cruelty and her discovery of kindness in unexpected places that tell the heartbreaking truth.” (1) I do not agree with statement about too much commentary, I believe the commentary gives a perfect amount of insight into Liesel’s backstory, as well as Death’s past in his morbid business. As well as with the too much switching from past to present time, the switching is from Liesel’s current memory to her memory before the Hubermann family, and Max’s life before and after he had to run from the Nazis. I do feel like there is a lot of point of view switching between characters and at times that can get a bit confusing. However, the characters are spectacular and the message comes across loud and clear as you progress in Liesel’s life and her adventures as a book thief. It’s a book that deals with the reality of the life that people had to face during Nazi Germany, but in an entertaining way that’s appealing to the young adult audience. Some World War II books can get extremely boring, with little high points in the plot. But young adults can almost relate to Liesel, she has different aspects that appeal to all audiences.

future of Liesel’s stealing career with books. Liesel owned fourteen books, of the ten most

After losing her mother and her brother, Liesel’s life and identity is changed drastically many times. It is through books that she discovers and becomes comfortable with this change. When she first meets Hans and Rosa Hubermann, her new foster parents, she does not wish to speak with them or get to know them. However, once Hans discovers Liesel with the book she stole when her brother was buried, The Gravedigger’s Manual, they bond over Hans teaching Liesel to read. Liesle describes the first time her and Hans have a lesson in the middle of the night: “She had done this at school, in the kindergarten class, but this time was better. … It was nice to watch Papa’s hand as he wrote the words and slowly constructed the primitive sketches” (Zusak