Love. Markus Zusak’s historical fiction novel, The Book Thief, tells the story of the Hubermanns living in Germany during World War II. The novel focuses on a young, adopted girl, Liesel, as she grows up and must survive in difficult times. Liesel keeps her morale high during the hard times she faces through her love and friendships with Max, a Jew that the Hubermanns secretly hide in their basement, and Hans, her stepdad. Liesel spends her days in the basement developing a close companionship with Max. Liesel and Max become great “friends,… [and]on her birthday it was [Liesel] who gave a gift to [Max].” (Zusak, 235).The gift she presents represents true friendship. They bring each other happiness with the presence of each other, and their friendship strengthens each time they are together. This special bond between the two emphasizes when Max comes back after the war ends and tracks Liesel down and “they hugged and cried and fell on the floor.” (548). Max and Liesel have become family at this point. Being separated for months and not knowing if the other is alive has a large mental effect on both of them. When they finally reunite, words can not explain their joy. …show more content…
Hans starts teaching Liesel in what death “Unofficially [calls]… the midnight class, even though it commenced at around two in the morning.” (39). The midnight classes start the great friendship between Liesel and Hans, and show Liesel she can trust Hans with anything that troubles her. When Liesel steals a book for the second time, Hans does not punish her or throw her under the bus and tell Rosa. Instead, he tells her “This is our secret, this book. We’ll read it at night or in the basement, just like the others.” (127). This shows Liesel that although she makes mistakes, Hans will always care for her and love
Through all of the irony and vivid coloring, The Book Thief is more easily understood after acquiring knowledge of reading literature with greater care and meticulousness. Applying chapters of How to Read Literature like a Professor can better enhance a reader’s awareness of hidden messages and symbols within certain works of literature. In Chapter Two, Foster explains how meals suggest a communion between all parties involved in it. Markus Zusak also uses meals and food to bring families together in The Book Thief. Foster also explains, in Chapter Eleven, how violence in literature usually stands for more than just violence.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak takes place in Nazi Germany between 1939 through 1944. This book is about a little girl named Liesel Meminger. Her mother and her brother Werner are traveling on a train traveling to a town named Molching. On the way to Molching her brother dies. At his burial, Liesel steals her first book and this leads to her understanding the importance of knowing how to read. Throughout this book, Zusak uses a chaotic setting, developers interesting characters, creates an intriguing plot conflict, symbols and themes.
Her father Hans Hubermann is the best father anyone could ask for. “Pappa grinned and pointed at the girl . ‘Book,sandpaper, pencil,’ he ordered her, ‘and acordeon!’ once she was already gone” (70).This was taken from the part of the book where Liesel and her father really start to become good friend bonding over writing, books, and the accordion. Liesel's mom on the other hand is very tough and believes in using force to teach her children so that they will listen to her and treat her with respect. Throughout the book Liesel starts to melt her heart and you can see her softening up to her “‘You told me to yell at you. You said they would all believe it’ she looked left and right, her voice like a needle and thread. ‘He woke up, Liesel. He’s awake’” (332). The last character is Rudy he plays the role of a young boy who is in love from the very beginning to the very end of knowing Liesel. Throughout the book Rudy would ask for a kiss and every time Liesel would refuse. Though as both of them start to grow older Liesel realizes that she might like him as more than a friend and starts hoping for a kiss as well. Sadly it is not till the end that they both get there wish just as Rudy
“‘Rudy Steiner - the boy next door who was obsessed with the black American athlete Jesse Owens,” described Death. Rudy is a young boy in Markus Zusak’s death-narrated novel, “The Book Thief”. After befriending and falling hopelessly in love with the main character, Liesel, the two endure countless adventures together. Living in Nazi, Germany this pair spent their time delivering laundry, playing soccer, stealing, and even feeding parading Jews on an occasion. Rudy loved his partner in crime until his tragic death. Rudy Steiner was Liesel's trustworthy sidekick, a romantic, a kindhearted, and impartial young man.
Picture, you are child, in Nazi occupied Europe. You have just returned to your village, after only a short trip away, to see it burned to the ground, and the bloodied corpses of your friends, your family, your loved ones, litter the ground. Picture you are a young African child, who as you hid in the forest, just watched your village burned to the ground and its people, everyone you have ever known, slaughtered, by a rival tribe. Picture you are an Armenian child, who just snuck away from one of the infamous death marches, in which you saw men, women, and children, forced to march through the desert until they either died of exhaustion, or were shot by Turkish soldiers for being too slow. There are many things you could be feeling in these situations.
When Hans Hubermann finds out that liesel had been hiding a book he teaches her to read even though he knows books are frowned upon
What are you afraid of? Is it the sound of slithering snakes, prickly tickly spiders? Or is it worse? Is it the glistening thoughts of our reality? Maybe, just maybe, it’s that first glimpse of the afterlife in which you finally close your eyes perminitaly and see nothing. Darkness. Wait, do you see something? In the novel “The Book Thief” by Marc Zusak, that is a day to day challenge many people recognize. When Death, the narrator of the novel, enters the life of Liesel Meminger a 9 year old German girl with the struggle of surviving during the first year of coping without a mother and brother soon becomes a world win full of colours, bomb threats and the bitter truth that everyone will soon enough die by the end of the novel. Because of the
The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak is an intriguing tale, that focuses on the life of a ten-year-old girl named Liesel Meminger, living in Germany during World War II. Liesel’s experiences and the stories of those around her are narrated by Death, who describes both the beauty and the destruction of life during that cruel era, thus allowing the story to be told through a unique perspective. Written with a spectacular range of literary devices, a captivating plot, individualistic characters and compelling content matter, The Book Thief should be required reading for all high school students.
The books Liesel and Max created add to the novel’s meaning by enhancing the theme books have a large worth. Because Liesel uses the books she steals throughout the novel to learn how to read and write, they symbolize her desire for education. However, the books she steals are not the only ones involved in the story. The books Max and Liesel write for themselves and each other contribute to the idea of books by making them more personal. After Max was gone and Leisel received the book from him, she fell asleep “with Max’s sketchbook against her chest” (691). The books they wrote each other served as a reminder of their friendship after they were separated. Clearly, books meant a great deal to the characters in the book thief and therefore have
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak presents a magnificent story with heartbreaking and heartwarming moments in which the author captures the reader’s attention until the last chapter. The unusual narrator gives the novel a unique point of view and impressive description of human nature as well the narrator illustrate in a brilliant way the equal qualities of humans. The novel presents the impressive consequences about corrupt power and destruction; however, the significant concept focus on the story around strong women, and particularly the way in which war affects their lives. The novel exposes the pain and suffering experienced by mothers, sisters and daughters; consequently, it represents a break from history which has always
“The Book Thief” is a novel written by Markus Zusak. The story follows a nine-year-old girl named Liesel Meminger as she adapts to her new home in Molching, Germany during World War II. She is forced to live with a foster family, the Hubermanns, after the death of her brother and the separation from her mother. During the time at her new home, Liesel falls in love with books, resulting in her decision to steal several. Also, despite the dangers of harbouring a Jew in Nazi Germany, she decides to hide one in their basement. Throughout the story, Liesel’s friends and family help her overcome difficulties and find her identity. The people who have impacted Liesel’s character the most are her foster father Hans Hubermann, Rudy Steiner and the
Liesel arrives in a small town, Molching, where a child welfare worker places Liesel with her new foster family, Hans and Rose Hubermann.
In this book, the narrator, Death, notices colors, that no one else notices, to distract himself from the reality of the world around him.The colors help him cope and they keep him sane, away from the point of breaking down. He uses the colors seen in the day, that nobody else notices, to get away from the horrendous world around him,“The answer, of course, is nobody... needless to say, I vacation in increments. In colors” (4).This proves that no one else can take over all the hardships for him. He knows he can’t just leave and go away from the terrible times all around him, so he uses the colors as a getaway from the real world. Also, he uses them to preoccupy himself so he doesn’t pay attention to the people he can’t stand, “The survivors.
Quality adolescent novels are becoming increasingly available in today's society; nonetheless, some easily rise above while others prove less effective. Markus Zusak’s novel, The Book Thief, proves exceptionally phenomenal, but why was it saved for last? Is it truly more substantial than other young adult literature? Five-hundred and fifty-two pages takes a considerably longer time to read than the average adolescent novel; however, the extensive reading is not the only reasoning behind saving The Book Thief for last. At first glance, The Book Thief is an ordinary Holocaust story from the perspective of an adolescent German girl who fell in love with books, her foster parents, and an extremely fortunate Jew. This novel has a dynamic presence, covering most of the common factors present in young adult literature. Death, the narrator, tells the story of Liesel, a young girl who is left in a foster home after the death of her brother when her birth mother can no longer care for them. Life at this time is overwhelmingly difficult, and with being behind in school and not able to read, Liesel sets out to master reading, encouraging her book stealing. The right, the wrong, the black and white, everything turns grey and muddy. Death is justified, giving is looked upon with disgust, and morals are questioned. A truly brilliant story is present, intertwined with quality concepts and perspectives that commonly cannot be covered in a single novel.
“I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness; I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too. I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more” (Anne Frank). The Book Thief is a magnificent story about a little German girl, Liesel, who has to survive during the Holocaust. Throughout the novel, Liesel and the other characters have to mature through tough situations that have emotional effects on them. The author of The Book Thief, Markus Zusak, uses extraordinary imagery about the sky to describe these emotional feelings and situations that Liesel is in and the people she encounters. Similar to Anne Frank’s quotes about the sky, characters from the novel repeatedly refer to the sky to express their feelings. Over the course of this novel, Zusak writes about the Nazi propaganda, the relationship between characters, and the bombings that occurred by using imagery about the sky.