Theme Of Guilt In The Book Thief

Sophie and her brother both start as being fans of Nazism and Hitler’s rein. “Hans was an active Hitler Youth leader- all the children had been members of the movement- the most disturbing aspect of their lives had been the conflicts this had aroused with their fathers” (Dumbach 15). They did this even against their father’s wishes and beliefs. They thought that it was the right thing to do because all of the other children around them were doing this same thing. They saw it as an exciting thing to participate in. They “felt themselves a part in the rebuildings of their deeply divided and demoralized nation”(24). Before Hitler came to power, when they listened to him speak they liked what he had to say about the youth. However they ended up changing these views. “All of the Scholl children had grown disillusioned with National Socialism, and after a few tension-filled years, the family was reconciled” (Dumbach 15). They do this because “their family stood posed against a regime that was making increasing inroads into the peace and autonomy of their lives”(15). Also Hans was appalled by the rules that the Hitler Youth had in place. “[A]n early confrontation that raised within him doubts about the organization to

“Why do I want to live? I shouldn’t want to but I do.” (Zusak 487) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is encircled with the idea of trying to find freedom from one’s guilt. Several characters’ in this novel such as Hans Hubermann, Max Vandenburg, as well as Ilsa Hermann all experience guilt throughout the story which slowly eats away at their lives and it’s up to them as to how they will deal with their guilt. Guilt came in to Hans Hubermann’s life when he escapes death in World War I. Hans friend Erik, saves Hans life and now, Hans carries the guilt of Erik’s death and promises to help Erik’s family. Little did Hans know, that in the near future he would save Erik’s son, Max Vandenburg from death. Previously, Max Vandenburg left his family

The Book Thief is set in the time of World War 2 where the Holocaust is present and disaster is everywhere. Throughout the story, Liesel, the main character, learns that words are extremely powerful and hold the ability for people to use them for good or for evil. Among the disaster and altercations, Liesel uses her literature to comfort her and make herself more powerful due to her knowledge, which demonstrates the theme of the story, the comfort and power of literature and words softens the pain of loss.

Liesel and her brother are travelling by train to Munich with their mother to be given to their foster parents when she notices her brother is sideways and dead. After Werner’s funeral, Liesel, overcome with shock and

Resolution – Liesel goes to live with Ilsa Hermann. After the war was over Max went to visit Liesel in the shop. Liesel ends up dying in Australia and she has a conversation with

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?”

As we have discussed the penalties for harboring a jew was very high. Throughout the book distant members of the Hubermann family come into the picture which makes hiding Max quite a bit harder. Just like today politics are a gray area in family discussions. Politics have a habit of making perfectly peaceful conversations into, Angry gibberish being shouted all over the place. But during world war two political conversation could stir up a lot more than just angry words. For example, We meet Hans Junior and right from the get go we know that he is a member of the Nazi party and quite disgusted by his father's lack of support for the Nazi party. In Summary the whole conversation ends with Hans Junior disowning his father and never talking to him again. The Hubermanns and many other families during this time did not inform their family that they were harboring a “fugitive” and you can clearly see why. Max did not exist as far as the rest of the Hubermanns family was concerned. The Hubermann fell apart ,over a secret. Which only added more fear and more hate towards the Nazis. The Hubermanns had the mindset of “you can do what you want as long as you don't get caught” and it is perfectly displayed on page

Throughout the novel, Hans Hubermann shows many examples of caring. He first shows his caring side when he stays with Liesel after her nightmares and reads to her: “Hans Hubermann sat sleepy-eyed on the bed and Liesel would cry into his sleeves and breathe him in. Every morning, just after two o’clock, she fell asleep again to the smell of him”(37). By staying with her when she wakes up from a nightmare, Hans shows that he cares for her even though he just met her. Furthermore, Hans shows his caring side when he trades in his cigarettes to get books for Liesel’s Christmas present:“‘You know what he did? He rolled up all of his filthy cigarettes, went to the market when it was in town, and traded them with some gypsy.’ ‘Eight cigarettes per book’”(89). By trading in his cigarette rations for a Christmas present for

First to go is Max Vandenburg and then her beloved Papa. Hans Hubermann did help a Jew, which started the downhill spiral of loved ones leaving. Liesel wanted to comfort her papa from his decision for, “she’s never seen a man so devastated,” but she also knew Max had to leave and she knew, “Hans Hubermann was to blame” (399). Yet another downfall in Liesel’s life, her treasured relationship with Max was torn away by the foolish actions of her papa. She wanted to forgive him, but she knew she could not. Max, the person that built Liesel up and believed in her words was gone. A flame of inner conflict arose in her body, she loves Hans dearly, but today he was not a remedy to the numbness. He was the cause. In a matter of time Hans knew he would also leave Liesel and that day did come. She begged him: “Don’t go, Papa. Please. First we lost Max. I can’t lose you too” (423). During this time period, the consequences for helping anyone of the Jewish faith is being sent to the battlefront or death. Liesel does not realize this now, but Hans being sent away is a much better fate than being sentenced to death. She needs him to stay. She can not take anymore loss right now. The most important people in her life have vanished and all she can do is wait and hope they will come back one day. More cracks are pushing towards the surface of her heart, and it is slowly breaking. The only saving grace is words. Sharing words with Frau Holtzapfel undoubtedly disguised the sadness and brought small amounts of bliss. In the beginning, reading to Frau Holtzapfel was a job, “Come to my place and read it to me,” she said to Liesel (387). Goods were exchanged for Liesel’s work, which was helpful for the Hubermanns, but after Hans left reading to Frau Holtzapfel was much more. Reading is no longer a chore, it is an escape. Daily readings created an unseen realm that takes her on journeys far away from Himmel

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, shows the theme statement of surviver's guilt can be dealt with through kindness and friendship, and is proven in how characters manage the guilt by assisting the living. To start, Hans' life is

Hans’ life was altered in this time period by the Nazi Party. When he gave the soldier the bread, he was sent to the LSE (Air Raid Special Unit.) The Author wrote, “Hans Hubermann grew smaller and smaller, and his hand held nothing now but empty air.” When he left for the army he escaped death yet another time. Hans broke his leg in a car accident and was be sent home by his sergeant. If Hans didn’t live in that neighborhood at that time he would have never been punished by getting drafted; he would never have had the wonderful return celebration with his

Hans Hubermann is a character in The Book Theif who experiences a large amount of survivor’s guilt. Hans fought in the Great War along with his friend Erik Vandenburg. On a day that everyone else was sent into battle, Hans was not, due to the fact that Erik nominated him to stay and write letters for their sargeant. He stayed while everyone else went off to fight. “None of them came back” (Zusak, 178). Hans escaped death while the others in battle were not as fortunate. It was because of Erik Vandenburg that Hans was still alive, and his feeling of guilt was overwhelming. Because of this, he went to see Erik’s family. “He saved my life… If there is anything you ever need…” (Zusak, 179). Hans knew that his offer was no comparison to Erik’s saving his life

Guilt plays a very big role in “The Book Thief”. It is one of the ways in which characters suffer. Guilt is a feeling of having done wrong or failed in an obligation. The feeling of guilt is inescapable and it constantly makes you “look behind your back”. Analyzing my observations, I concluded that there were two major characters that experience guilt: Hans Hubermann and Max Vandenburg. “Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then, think of doing it twenty-four hours a day.” (Zusak 211). This was a description of the feeling of guilt that Hans Hubermann was experiencing. He felt guilty because hiding a Jew. In Nazi Germany, this was very wrong. In fact, it was considered a crime. This feeling of guilt was eating him. Max Vandenburg was also being

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

The air felt like death and the sky was gloomy. Hans and papa have both left for war. Hans Hubermann is a very tall man who walks upright, plays the accordion, and has silver eyes. Whereas my papa, Alex Steiner is a tailor man and a member of the Nazi party. But not because he hates Jews,