The Theme Of Kindness And Cruelty In The Book Thief '

The abstraction behind the term empathy is easily argued as one of society’s greatest misconceptions, actively acting as a redoubtable paragon of delusion. Much of this idea is founded upon the belief that the general collective are inherently good people. However, the concept, through its delusive facade, is repeatedly betrayed in the media as well as in various works of classical and modernized literature. As effectively portrayed in the novel, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, as well as in the film, The Boy in Striped Pyjamas directed by Mark Herman, this self gratifying concept created by society is recurrently illustrated and personified through the events of the holocaust. The basis of this argument is engendered by the belief that relationships— amatory or platonic— are radically based off the findings of common interests, more specifically those developed between the protagonist and supporting characters of each given story. This concept of empathy, although perceived in leading roles, is a non existent trait among humans that is recreated purely in the interest of convenience further demonstrating its delusory nature. Through friendships formed by elements of relatability, the struggle-some attempts at being sympathetically rounded, and prompted acts of benevolence that work in the favour of self image, this quality of empathy as argued inherent in humans is proven to be nothing more than an inventive trait idealized in fictitious characters.

Death brings up the theme that humans enjoy violence in the beginning of the last quarter of the book when he states, “He made three separate formations that led to the same tower of dominoes in the middle. Together, they would watch everything that was so carefully planned collapse, and that would all smile at the beauty of destruction.” I thought this quote was really powerful because it was Rudy and his little siblings that were playing with the dominoes and Death points out that all humans admire destruction, even little kids. This only confuses Death even further because he cannot understand how humans can both be so cruel and so kind.

According to Napoleon Bonaparte, courage isn’t having the strength to go on … it’s going on when you don’t have strength. Liesel, Max and Hans are the main characters in “The Book Thief” that have acts of courage entirely change their lives. This novel takes place during WWII in Germany. Countless Jews are desperately looking for the courage to endure the harsh rule of the Nazis. On the other hand there are some Germans who use their courage to stand against the Nazis in their own exceptional ways. The characters in “The Book Thief’ show acts of courage and this greatly affects the course of their life and relationships with other characters.

In Markus Zusak’s, The Book Thief, adversity is an important factor in shaping character. Liesel, Max, Rosa and Hans Hubermann all face hardships that help their character develop.The Book Thief is set in Germany during the time of WW2 when Hitler, the Fuhrer, rose to power. This was a hard time for Rosa and Hans because of their struggle to raise a foster child. It was also tough for Liesel because she had to get accustomed to a new place with different rules, but out of everyone, Max definitely faced a lot of problems.

Would you risk your life for someone else’s? Would you give up the only thing keeping you warm to keep someone else warm? If you had little food would you give some to keep someone else from being hungry? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, you are compassionate. According to Webster's Dictionary, compassion is defined as literally, suffering with another; a sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or misfortunes of another; pity; commiseration (Webster's Dictionary). Throughout the novel The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, the personality trait compassion was magnified. During the toughest of times, Markus Zusak showed that hope and goodness could still be displayed while the worst of people were being

Hatred is an intense feeling of resentment that is usually mutual. Hatred can grow at a rapid pace, it is caused by feelings of disgust, anger, and disposition; however, hatred can be stopped when people stand up and do what is right. In “The Book Thief”, by Markus Zusak, if historical fiction that takes place in the 1940’s when WWII was in its prime it follows a young girl named Liesel who loathes a man named Hitler. Hate can be stopped when people work together for the greater good. Hatred can be stopped when people work to right the wrong they have done; to start,“He was a member of the Nazi Party, but he did not hate the Jews, or anyone else for that matter,”(Zusak, 40).

Max and Liesel were scared of each other at the beginning of the novel because they didn’t know what was going on. Throughout the book they both become very close friends and start to give presents to each other. “As it turned out, the gift was delivered on paper, just over a week later. He would bring it to her in the early hours of the morning, before retreating down the concrete steps to what he now liked to call home” (pg.222). Max has been hiding in the basement for many weeks now and he makes a book called The Standover Man. This is the book Max is delivering to Liesel so they can have a closer relationship and become like family. This is the first item that Max gives to Liesel and Liesel will give lots more because her love for Max is very strong and cannot be broken. A quote from this novel that explains their unbreakable relationship would be when Liesel sees Max walking to a concentration camp. “‘You have to let go of me, Liesel.’ After a long line of steps, the first soldier noticed. He pointed his whip. ‘Get out of there.’ When she ignored him completely, the soldier used his arm to separate the stickiness of people. The soldier took her. ‘I said get out!’ he ordered her, and now he dragged the girl to the side and flung her into the wall of onlooking Germans. She reentered” (pg.511). This passage shows the unbreakable relationship of Max and Liesel. Even though the soldier pushes

Chapter 45 (The Loneliness of Abandonment) There were no monsters on the way back. Before, we had killed them too fast, and they had not respawned yet. Besides, I now had two additional high-level equipment. With a Defense of 212 and Attack even reached 200-245 now, to hit a skeleton on the same level, even without dealing a critical hit, I would still cause a damage of over 300.

In “The Book Thief”, there are many characters that show love between each other, such as Death and Liesel, Liesel and Hans, Liesel and Rudy, Liesel and Max. Each of these loves are very different, each shows a different kind of love, many of these are very important towards Liesel. There are many caring characters in this book but there must be a kindest. In my opinion, the kindest character in “The Book Thief” is Hans Hubermann. Hans was the most caring person in the book— he was always kind to Liesel. There are many reasons why Hans is the kindest person in this book, at least to Liesel.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak narrated by death. It really shows the resilience of the human spirit by all people especially the people that lived during Hitler's reign. Resilience means “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties”,which is exactly what everybody struggles with in this book. The resilience of the human spirit is expressed by Liesel dieing at old age after everything she went through, Walter looking out for Max, who is a Jew while Walter is a Nazi, Max surviving everything just to live, by Desmond Doss surviving and saving 75 soldiers in World War II and by kids in Iraq being strapped with bombs.

The Book Thief, is a Death narrated novel by Markus Zusak. The story takes place in Nazi Germany, 1939, where Liesel Meminger arrives on Himmel Street to start a new life with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. She lives to a very old age and when Death finally comes to take her away, he wants to tell Liesel about beauty and brutality. But what could he tell her about beauty and brutality that she didn’t know, the Book Thief had lived through it all. The time she saw Max marching to Dachau, the time Rudy went into the Amper River to save The Whistler, and the final moments she spent with Mama. Liesel Meminger’s life had always represent beauty in the wake of brutality.

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.

In history, art has been known as a production of works for emotional power. Art is formed by artists who have a story to share. It is used to express a deep emotion they cannot quite put into words, for example, sorrow or grief. Throughout the novel, Markus Zusak shows people distracting themselves from desperate times of sorrow through art. The use of art in The Book Thief represents creative outlets used as a coping mechanism for each character. The forms of art in the midst of pain are an accordion, a sketchbook, and books. To someone who were to pick up one of these items wouldn’t see much importance but to the main characters, they are what keeps them inspired and hopeful during the catastrophic events caused by Hitler.

What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word death? In most cases, people fear death but as the narrator in Markus Zusak’s novel, The Book Thief, Death is a compassionate and honorable character.

The acts of human nature can become a very difficult concept to understand. Markus Zusak uses Death throughout the The Book Thief to express the complexity of human nature. Death illustrates how complicated beings humans are and how they hold the capacity to act in both evil and beautiful ways. Throughout the novel Death helps give readers insight to the ignorance displayed and the pain it may cause a person. In the most troublesome and discriminatory times of the Holocaust, Death will point out the beautiful acts of compassion carried out by characters involved in the novel. Sometimes beauty and pain is mixed within the sacrifice some make for those they love and are loyal to.