The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

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.

Hope and courage are two feelings that are only powerful when used together. To be courageous and not hopeful is a suicide mission; on the other hand, having hope and no courage will never give one the urge to oppose the problem. In Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief, the whole story is the epitome of courage and hope. During the second world war, the young Liesel Meminger is adopted by the Hubermann family, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, who teach her the power of words, as well as the importance of kindness. Moreover, one of the themes of this novel is the creation of hope from courage, and it is shown through the author’s use of symbolism, allegory, as well as irony.

The Book Thief is about a young German girl named Liesel Meminger as she goes through life while living in Germany in 1939. Liesel and her foster parents live a normal life on 33 Himmel Street. There is only one difference between their family and the others, they are hiding Max Vandenburg (a Jewish man) in their basement during the time of the Holocaust. This story, narrated by Death follows the life of Liesel from her first step into 33 Himmel Street, until the day she died in Sydney, Australia.

The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, outlines the tragedies and events that take place in Liesel Meminger’s life, in Nazi Germany. Throughout this young girl’s struggle of living in the oppressive Nazi regime, she is able to learn crucial lessons about life and the art of survival- some that follow her to the grave. The most important lesson she learned and the pivotal theme of the novel is that rebellion can be and beneficial in certain situations.

Liesel Meminger is a main character described in “The Book Thief”. After her mother can no longer support her Liesel and her brother, although he does not make the journey, are sent to a foster home in a small town in Germany called Munich were Liesel meets Hans and Rosa Hubermann or Mama and Papa. Although the initial warming up is hard Liesel soon becomes very close to her Papa. “Over the next few weeks and into summer, the midnight class began at the end of each nightmare” (Zusak,69). Hans teaches Liesel each night how to read and write to ease her mind when all Liesel can think about is her dead brother. Hans truly becomes Papa when Liesel trusts Hans will never let her be

The Book Thief (2013), directed by Brian Percival, is about a young old girl living in Nazi Germany (between 1939 and 1943) in the fictional town of Molching, Germany. Death narrates the story of the main protagonist, Liesel Meminger, beginning when she is nine years old and suffering from the death of her brother and separation from her mother. Liesel then goes to live with Hans and Rosa Hubermann (played by Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson). When Liesel arrives, she is illiterate and is made fun of in school by the other children. Hans, a painter and accordion player, teaches her how to read, using the book Liesel took from her brother's burial: The Grave Digger's Handbook. Over the course of the movie, Liesel develops a love for reading and decides to steal books because of the economical hardships associated with World War II. Liesel's foster parents also decide to help a young Jewish man named Max, whose father fought with Hans as in World War One as German soldiers. The Book Thief illustrates a different perspective in regards to the Nazi Regimen and its effects on the German people, specifically children.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a story set in Germany during World War 2. This novel follows the life of Liesel Meminger, a girl who develops greatly. With Death as the all knowing narrator of the story, the reader has the ability to see various perspectives. It tells the story of oppression, portrays the power of words, and shows the human ability for kindness or cruelty. I chose to do option four, in which I have chosen important sections from the novel.

In the first chapter, I discovered who the narrator was on page 21. It specifically was revealed when the narrator is talking about the dead brother of Liesel Meminger saying, “It was exactly when I knelt down and extracted his soul, holding it limply in my swollen arms” (21). revealing the narrator’s identity as Death.

Imagine yourself being alone in the world, isolated from everyone else. You have no friends or family and are discriminated against by the rest of the world. Now, imagine the things you would do to escape this isolation. If you are anything like the characters in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, then you would take great risks, even if they can result in your death, to get away from this solitude. In the novel, isolation plays an important role in the character’s lives as it causes a great deal of pain, creates life changing moments, and affects the character’s actions in such a way that causes them to take dangerous risks in order to escape this isolation.

Markus Zusak, the author of The Book Thief, was able to entice his readers by successfully framing the book thief 's story and giving us a better understanding of the book through the use of many color metaphors by the narrator. The prologue is my most beloved part not only because the color metaphors give captivating descriptions of every scene at the beginning of the story. Additionally, in the prologue—the author introduced us to such an “unlikely” narrator, and to the protagonist. Death, who associates the demise of others with the changing “colors of the sky,” and what those colors mean to the story; and the book thief—as a survivor.

Chapter 2 - Liesel’s Relationships With Her Parents Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief contains complex character relationships. When, the main character, Liesel first arrives on Himmel Street it is immediately clear the relationships that Liesel will have with her new parents. The relationships between Liesel and her parents change as The Book Thief reaches its climax. For example, at the beginning of The Book Thief Liesel and her mother have a distant relationship.

Words can influence the mind in many ways that thought may not be able to. They are carefully placed and shared in different ways by each and every individual. Words have powerful impacts and can majorly impact how one may think, feel, or even lead others to feel. Written by Markus Zusak, “The Book Thief” describes a story of an innocent foster girl, Liesel Meminger, who resides in Munich, Germany at one of the most troubling time periods in history, Nazi Germany. A tale narrated by the one and only Death himself, shows the perspective from his point of view, as well as others, describing how Liesel had been seized away from her birth mother at a young age, and put into a foster family. Her new family, the Hubermanns. As she matures and grows into a more critical thinker, understanding and analyzing everything that carefully happens around her. Her foster-father, Hans guides her and teaches her how to read, which little does she know sparks her journey, the art of stealing books. Liesel soon discovers that words aren 't simply lines on a page, they are strong emotions packed into a form that merely is held in her delicate hands. Not only did she hold the pages of emotion, she held a power, a dangerous weapon of words, a weapon of control, and every book that she had stolen was giving her unimaginable power that made her think in ways that she would’ve never thought she could have. As with Nazi propaganda, and a gift that enabled her to broaden her worldview. Liesel evolves

“Even death has a heart” (Zusak 242). Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief is a novel of love, death, and survival. This novel consists of the love of a parent, the death of a friend, and the survival for those who are strong willed. Many were not compatible with the traumatizing events throughout the history of World War II, resulting with population decreases. Zusak’s The Book Thief is a story, narrated by Death, of Liesel Meminger and all her accounts with death and how she coped through it all; her survival was all through words. Throughout the novel, Death repeatedly adds his own thoughts and feelings of Liesel and the events around him. The Book Thief makes readers realize the power that words can have; we as readers just have to pay attention

The Essence of The Book Thief In 2005, Markus Zusak published a book entitled The Book Thief; in 2013, a movie adaptation was created. Throughout the movie, the plot follows the book quite well for the most part, and the characters are portrayed accurately. However, the filmmakers forgot some very important aspects of the novel. These aspects are not simply plot details or characters’ actions, but instead they take conscientious reading, insight, and evidence to understand.

If you believe in yourself and have dedication, pride, and never quit, you will be successful. Markus Zusak, the author of The Book Thief, creates a story of a young orphan named Liesel Meminger, who is living with her new foster family. She learns the wonders of reading from her foster father and grows to love books. During Liesel’s time with her new family, she shows determination through her efforts and kindness with her encounters with other people. Liesel in The Book Thief expresses her traits, such as hardworking, and bravery.