The Book Thief Words Analysis

This shows when Hans slaps Liesel for saying she hates Hitler. Although Hans dislikes Germany’s leader as well, he chooses to reprimand his daughter for her spiteful actions in public. He slaps her “squarely in the face”, but whispers to her right after that he allows her to “say that in [the] house” (116). This verbal juxtaposition from Hans affects Liesel, by showing her what not to say because it appears inappropriate; however, it more importantly shows how one decision Hans makes the choice to hold off on affects him for the rest of his life. Here Zusak uses juxtaposition to inform the reader of Hans’ duality and inner confliction.

“From the toolbox the boy took out, of all things, a teddy bear. He reached in through the torn windshield and placed it on the pilot's chest.”“The book thief has struck for the first time – the beginning of an illustrious career.”“Then they discovered she couldn't read or write.”“Unofficially, it was called the midnight class, even though it commenced at around two in the morning. ““The last time I saw her was red. The sky was like soup, boiling and stirring. In some places it was burned. There were black crumbs and pepper, streaked across the redness.”“That was one war started. Liesel would soon be in another.”“In fact, on April 20 – the Führer's birthday – when she snatched a book from beneath a steaming pile of ashes, Liesel was a girl

For example, after the book burning, there were some books that were too wet to burn, and Liesel took advantage of this moment, “When she reached her hand, she was bitten, but on the second attempt, she made sure she was fast enough. She latched onto the closest of the books. It was hot” (Zusak 120). Jewish book burnings were popular across Germany during this time, as they were trying to destroy the power of the Jewish community. During the novel, Liesel is empowered by the words she reads in these books, and even shares this power with Max Vandenburg, the Jewish man living in her basement. The courage Liesel shares with Max allows him to build the hope he needs to want to fight Hitler. During his dreams, he imagines himself in a boxing ring with Hilter, and even though Hilter had the upper hand during the match, Max had hope that he would win, and therefore in his dream “he punched him [Hitler] seven times, aiming on each occasion for only one thing. The mustache” (Zusak 253). As previously mentioned, the accordian was also a very important form of symbolism in this novel. Not only does give the family hope during their

When Max moved into the Hubermann’s basement, it was a favor for the person that saved Hans’s life, “‘He saved my life’” (Zusak 179). This is where we need to understand the power of words and see that they are the difference between life and death. When Hans make this promise, not knowing that the power of his words was going to affect him in the future, it really was the difference between the life and death. Next, there was the situation with the bombing in Molching. When Death is collecting the souls in the Hubermann household, as said by Death, “But there was no Liesel in that house. Not for me, anyways” (Zusak 532). During this time, Liesel was writing her own book in the basement. The words were powerful, and in this lucky situation, they literally did save her life. Again, understanding that there is so much power within one person with words. They come from people and they are able to create amazing stories and say amazing things with them. It is amazing how powerful one book can be with all the words in it. By way of contrast, words still do have the power to ruin lives. During this time period, Hitler had so much power with his words. To further explain, “The words. Why did they have to exist? Without them, there wouldn’t be any of this. Without words, the Fuhrer was nothing. There would be no limping prisoners, no need for consolation or worldly tricks to make us feel better. What good were the words?”

Max Vandenburg, who was a very supportive boy of Liesel, always helped her during her worst times and even her best times. Max had missed Liesel’s 12th birthday so he made her a little gift. He took a book called Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler, but made it his own called The Standover Man. He gave this book to Liesel as it symbolizes how people have always stood over him in his life to help him just like Liesel has. “During that week, Max had cut out a collection of pages from Mein Kampf and painted over them in white. He then hung them up with pegs on some string, from one end of the basement to the other … Only then, on the paper that had bubbled and humped under the stress of drying paint, did he begin to write the story. It was done with a small black paintbrush” (Zusak 223). This quote reflects the power of words because Max is doing this for Liesel since they are good friends, and since it's her birthday. This comes to show that Max is about positive words towards his friends, but mainly Liesel.

The book 's importance is explained through Death where ‘“The books meaning 1. The last time she saw her brother. 2. The last time she saw her mother.” Despite Liesel being illiterate, the Gravedigger’s handbook holds significant meaning for the character. Liesel has an overwhelming feeling of loss of control and acts out in rebellion to steal the book that lay beside her brothers grave. By stealing the book, she has a reminder of her small family and it stops her feeling defeated by her ever changing life, which she has no control over. This idea is then reinforced with another action of the character. Liesel then finds out that Hitler was the cause of the suffering and loss of freedom of the people she loved and knew in her life.This second act of rebellion takes place while Liesel visits a Nazi book burning. Liesel soon understands that the Nazi’s burnt books to brainwash citizens of Germany(_____). As a result of this Lisel then understands the importance and power words have, causing her to again acts rebelliously in a protest. “And it was anger and dark hatred that had fueled her desire to steal it.” This passage from the novel shows the emotions of Liesel. As a character who is unable to express herself verbally, her actions speak for her. Liesel 's desire to understand words begins to grow, with her understanding that Nazis burn books in fear of what they may do to society.

“We are socialists, we are enemies of today’s capitalistic economic system for the exploitation of the economically weak, with its unfair salaries, with its unseemly evaluation of a human being according to wealth and property instead of responsibility and performance, and we are determined to destroy this system under all conditions.” Words stated by a ruthless ruler named Adolf Hitler. It's the1930s and it's the start of a new era. The era of the Nazi Party. An era of the persecution of Jews and Communists. Not only did this totalitarian group discriminate against minorities, it promoted pride and Anti-Semitism that expressed disapproval of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Liesel's mother and father, both communists, were characters that experienced such a vehement amount hatred during this regime of this auspicious party. Communism, the Holocaust, and the ruling of the Nazi Party were all factors that lead to the abandonment of Liesel's parents and her beloved friends.

World War II, Nazi Germany, 1939. Liesel Meminger is a young girl who is going to a new foster family in Molching, Germany with her brother. Though the narrator, death took Liesel's brothers life, at his funeral Liesel finds a grave digger's handbook and steals it. From this point on, Liesel learns how to read the gravedigger's handbook and many other books from her foster papa Hans Hubermann. After years of learning how to read, a Jewish man named Max Vandenburg hides in the basement of the Hubermanns house to not get caught by the Nazi Party. Max and Liesel discover that they have the same passion for words and reading. Max starts to write books for Liesel called “The Standover Man” and “The Word Shaker”, that is about Max’s and the Jewish struggles while incorporating the friendship created with Liesel. In particular, “The Word Shaker” was the story of Führer taking over the world with words that spread like wildfire and grew into trees to create a forest. While one girl had to power to overpower the Nazi trees grown by the use of her words, that could not be cut down until the power of friendship from an axeman torn down some of the shorter Nazi trees. The underlying message of “The Word Shaker” written by Max Vandenburg is that the power of words used for good can create friendship and will overpower the words used in an appalling way.

Everyone of us has impacted someone with our words, whether you’ve realized it or not. Whether it was used for bad or good, to convince them to make a choice or to prove a point, you’ve impacted them with just the use of your words. In Zusak’s novel, the Book Thief, the main message is that the power of words can have a major impact on people.

“The Wordshaker” is a story that Max had written for Liesel and left for her. The short story shows how Hitler, who is known as the Führer, uses his words to rule the people. As stated in the story, “Yes, the Führer decided that he would rule the world with words. ‘I will never fire a gun,’ he devised. ‘I will not have to’ ” (Zusak 445). Hitler manipulates his way into being the leader of Germany, and made a whole country loathe and destroy an entire race, just by using words to plant ideas in the public’s brains. In the beginning of the novel, a large bonfire is held in the center of town to burn Jewish books on the Führer’s birthday. The bonfire is held to burn the beliefs and ideas that oppose the teachings of the Führer. This displays how Hitler had realized that the power of opposing opinions can make people think differently and see beyond Hitler’s

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

Through the novel The Book Thief, the author Marcus Zusak conveys that words have a powerful effect which can be positive and negative. Towards the middle of the book, Liesel Meminger, an adopted girl living in Nazi Germany, and Ilsa Hermann, the lonely wife of a mayor, become friends over their love of books. Their relationship began when Liesel often read in Ilsa’s library while dropping off the laundry. Ilsa kept her house very cold and dark. As she grieved the loss of her son in World War I. Over time. LIesel was able to comfort Ilsa using her words and convince her to let go of her loss. Later on, after Liesel’s family died in a bombing, Ilsa Hermann returned the favor by taking Liesel, the lone survivor, in. This is just one of the many

Words have the power to negatively influence people and the society. After Max left and Liesel recieved the story that Max wrote, The Word Shaker, it included similar ideas that was happening in Germany during that time. “Words were fed into them. Time dissapeared and they now knew everything they needed to know. They were hypnotized.” (Zusak 446) In this story that Max created, he was capturing how words were changing the people of Germany, and what he thought of this. For instance, the Führer ruled with his words by expressing his thoughts and opinions about the Jewish people. Then from this, citizens of Germany in a way were actually hypnotized into thinking what was right and what was wrong. The books in Germany were sometimes about or

Liesel is a German and is a very stubborn and curious person. Liesel is also a very kind person once you get to know her. Liesel lives with her two foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann. Liesel’s birth parents (who were communists) had to give her up due to the fact that Hitler hated the communists and also due to the fact that her

Unlike the Nazi’s however, Liesel realizes the pain her words caused. "Blood leaked from her nose and licked at her lips. Her eyes had blackened. Cuts had opened up and a series of wounds were rising to the surface of her skin. All from words. From Liesel's words" (Zuask 253). A child, no more than 12 years old, was telling someone not to cry, that she was being “pathetic.” It was all because of one group of people taking the lives of millions that a young girl believes crying over your loved ones deaths was ridiculous. At one point, Death even compares itself to humanity saying, "You want to know what I truly look like? I'll help you out. Find yourself a mirror while I continue" (Zuask 307).