The Book Thief Quotes

The Nazi were looking in people houses to find if people where helping the Jews but Liesel saves Max by tell her parents that the Nazi where coming. Liesel steal a book from the major house again and someone found out Ilsa found out and left a note saying she knows about the thievery and that it is okay for Liesel to take the books, but that she should come to the front door next time. A bunch of Jews were walking in the street of Molching and Hans see an old man fall and Hans give them food and gets beat up because people said that Hans was a Jew lover. Hans got accepted to be in the Nazi Party his job is Special Air Raid Unit. They remain above ground during an air raid to clean up and collect the dead bodies. Hans broke his leg and came back to his family. A bunch of Jews came on the street of Molching but this time max was in the group and Liesel and Max get beat up for talking together. Liesel goes back to the mayor house and shreds a book and leaves a note saying I’m not coming back. Ilsa give a little black book to Liesel telling her to write her own book and she does the title of the book was “The Book Thief”. Liesel few months later was in a basement editing her book but then the book gets picked up and thrown to the garbage and somebody picked

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.

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

The mayor's wife then takes Liesel to the library, and Liesel is very amazed. “A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship.”  [Zusak, 154]. This quote made me laugh quite a bit because it shows the friendship beginning to form between Liesel and Rudy. “She tore a page from the book and ripped it in half.

Liesel Meminger, who was a very sympathetic young girl which her words were used from her warm heart towards people. Frau Holtzapfel had lost both of her sons, so for her to be happy, Liesel would read to her a lot, which also made Frau Holtzapfel feel comforted. Also when Max was taken in by the Hubermann’s, he was a Jew, which meant he wasn’t allowed to see the outside world. Liesel would go outside and tell Max the

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

When faced with these moments of isolation, Max, Liesel, and Hans try to escape it, sometimes leading them into dangerous situations, to no longer feel alone. In Liesel’s case, one of these attempts was to start stealing books. Liesel stole books like “The Shoulder Shrug” and “The Whistler” and enjoyed reading them. She read these books so she could “escape” her isolation and enter different worlds. While stealing these books, she also bonded with many people (mainly with Rudy), helping her to slowly strengthen her relationships and move away from her loneliness. Max, another character

In The Book Thief, we saw how Liesel felt through the words that were written. The book told us in detail how Liesel felt about both Max Vandenburg and Rudy. When I watched “The Book Thief” as a movie I saw in even more detail Liesel’s empathy for Max. Liesel we could tell was a very brave girl. Liesel had also gone through a lot of hardships throughout her life and we got to learn about them form both the book and the movie.

PART 1 – Chapter Questions What did Death find painful about his duties? That he did the same thing over and over again. What mistake did Death make at the train line?

“The first event in the book was a murder” (213). The book seems to relate to the events happening in Germany at the moment, Hitler and all the killings. A huge concept in the book she stole was foreshadowing and similarity as to what is going on in her life. Really, all of the books Liesel has stolen goes along with what is happening to her at the moment. It is like a theme. She stole The Gravedigger's Handbook at her brother’s funeral. Then she stole The Shoulder Shrug, a hebrew book, at Hitler’s birthday fire, where bad books were being burned, and at the time, Jews were

On her way to meet the family for the first time, her little brother dies. While burying him, Liesel finds a book in the snow, The Gravedigger’s Handbook, and steals it. This is the first of many books for the Book Thief. Too young to understand why her mother has to leave her, she quickly becomes accustomed to her new family. Her foster father, Hans Hubermann, is a house painter who plays the accordion, loves Liesel, and comforts her every night when she has nightmares about her brother’s death.

Liesel loves to read and it doesn't take her long to withhold her title as Book Thief. She starts with The Grave Digger’s Handbook which is the book she picks up after her brother’s death. Hans teachers her to read and painted her a “chalkboard” in the basement so that she can write down the new words she has learned. There ends up being a town “parade” which is really a book burning event where Hitler and the Nazis are commemorated, during this time Germany was looking towards invading new countries. Liesel is handed a book and pressured to throw it into the fire, to which she eventually does so. However, once the fire has been put out and everyone has gone home, she notices a book that is only slightly charred, not destroyed by the fire and picks it up. A car drives by and a woman, who is Ilsa Herman, the mayor’s wife, sees her take the book, but Liesel hides it under her coat and runs away quickly back home.