Zusak's The Book Thief

Zusak has used rhetorical questions in the text in a sarcastic way which makes death seem amusing and engaging. For example, “Where are my manners? I could introduce myself properly, but it’s not really necessary”. This is different to what we would expect from Death as the reader would probably expect Death’s narration to be depressed and low-spirited. Therefore, this makes Death seem friendly and amusing.

Without presenting the biological facts and the psychological process of the human in a textbook presentation, he successfully managed to represent the human condition in each of his vignettes in an entertaining format that appeals to any type of audience. Suitably, he made the content of the book as universal as possible by not limiting it to appeal to a specific religion, race, or culture. The stories are a product of his enormous imagination, regardless of his formal education about the brain’s functions. One type of afterlife describes that death has three phases. The first two phases deal with the body physically dying.

Zusak displays Death as an omniscient narrator because Death is always ever-present he holds most of the power in regards to immortality. Death is powerful due to him being able to take souls and send them to the afterlife/heaven. Death is also knowledgeable, he perceives every character and knows the result

Death’s detailing and descriptions of his soul gathering in the war and his human-like emotions further to the conclusion that is Death being or resembling humans. By Death saying “Far away, fires were burning…I had just picked up 200 murdered souls” (Zusak, 478), he discusses and implies his soul gathering and subtle emotions about what it is like to be Death. In Death saying “murdered souls”, Death shows the emotion of compassion towards the Jews being slaughtered in WWII. Death uses his experience as a gateway to express his inner feelings toward the situation with Liesel Meminger. By Death saying “I was on my way to Molching for more [souls]” (Zusak, 478), it effectively shows the connection in which is the third time Liesel and Death are united. This further depicting that Death uses his personal experiences of and with Liesel Meminger and War to express his true colors. In a final attempt to completely share his ideas,

In an alternate universe where it’s a common notion to witness a decaying body lie stretched out on the side of the road, the thoughts and ideas of death of death are no longer foreign concepts. But why is death such an important part of this novel? The answer is simple. Humans are obsessed with the idea of death and the aftermath. For example on passage on page one-hundred thirty, “He walked out into the gray light and stood and he saw for a brief moment the absolute truth of the world. The cold relentless circling of the interstate earth. Darkness implacable… The crushing black vacuum of the universe… Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it.” explains that the Man saw the harsh reality of their world for a split second and knows he’s most likely going to die and does nothing about

Death becoming interested in the girl proves how he starts to feel about the girl. Death wants to understand the girl and her pain which he has never done before. Their interaction has changed Death and how he views people on life. Their pain tells more about them and can change your point of view on them and others. That is how viewing things in life defines our interactions with

By biological logic, we human beings will face death sooner or later in our life and death has its very own ways to approach us - a sudden deadly strike, a critical sickness, a tragic accident, a prolonged endurance of brutal treatment, or just an aging biological end. To deal with the prospect of death come different passive or active reactions; some may be scared and anxious to see death, some try to run away from it, and some by their own choice make death come faster. But Viktor Frankl, through his work Man’s Search for Meaning, and Bryan Doyle; in his essay “His Last Game” show us choices to confront the death, bring it to our deepest feelings, meaningful satisfaction. To me, the spirit of the prisoners at deadly concentration camps, Frankl’s Logotherapy theory of “. . . striving to find a meaning in one’s life is the primary motivational force in man.” (99), as well as the calmness of Doyle’s brother on his last ride, like an awaken bell, remind us of how precious life is, how we should find the significance in every act of living, determine to live a meaningful life at any circumstances; hence, when death comes, we can accept it without anxiety nor regrets.

I wanted to say: “I’m sorry, child.” But that is not allowed” (Zusak, pg. 2). 14 pdf) it also says, “That’s the sort of thing I never know, or comprehend—what humans are capable of" (Zusak, pg. 32 pdf files (see pdf). We might already have a set perception of Death being ”heartless, cold, and unaffected” by death, but these pieces of evidence give us a new insight into how tired Death is of being the cause of death.

Painful as it may be, such experiences brings home the finality of death. Something deep within us demands a confrontation with death. A last look assures us that the person we loved is, indeed, gone forever.” (108) Cable finishes his essay by asking, Tim if his job ever depressed him. Tim in reply says, “No it doesn’t, and I do what I can for people and take satisfaction in enabling relatives to see their loved ones as they were in real life.” (108) After reading this essay I feel as though sometimes we don’t understand death so therefore we do not talk much about it. By reading about what goes on after your loved one dies and is sent to these places to be prepared and ready for burial, it helps to understand why morticians and funeral directors do what they do. Knowing that someone enjoys taking the responsibility in providing that comfort in a sorrowful time makes me appreciate these people in these occupations a bit

But actually, death is used as a type of counterclaim to the theme. If something usually so sinister believes in the power of love- it serves to make the theme even stronger. Markus Zusak the author uses death as an opposite to the love and friendship he wants to convey throughout the book- which serves to make the love and friendship even stronger. Death genuinely cares about people. On page 15, Death says that the reason he watched Liesel Meminger's life so closely, a life so full of love and friendship, was to “prove to me that you, and your human existence, are worth it.”

The author shows another face from the typical description of Death that humans have. On the movie his values and attitudes are not as visible as on the book, is hard to perceive what his values are, but most of it, he shows calmness and

In the Book Thief by Markus Zusak,Zusak chose Death to be the narrator because he wanted there to be more than one point of view. Death has a big impact on the story because he always foreshadowed a death that was going to happen,he could also always see things most of the characters couldn’t. I believe that Death thinks the human race is complicated because they are essentially good,but can be driven to evil all while surviving life’s obstacles as only they knew how. One reason Death thinks humans are complicated,is because they are essentially good. An example of this is how the Hubermanns are hiding Max in their basement,even though they could get caught “Downstairs Hans and Max placed a matress down beneth the steps and built a wall of

In the play “everyman” death is depicted as something that is terribly feared as no one seemed ready for it, death is perceived as something that takes one away from the pleasures of this world.

Death often foreshadows, or even just tells the reader, what will happen in the future of the book. This prepares the reader for what will happen in the future, making the book even more unique than it already is. It is not often that a reader learns of the death of a character before it actually happens (Cooley, Steffen). This is quite the opposite of what happens in The Book Thief. Death, as a narrator, knows what will happen and to whom it will happen to (Cooley, Steffen). One of the most extreme cases of this is the foreshadowing of Rudy Steiner’s  death. On page 241 Death openly says:”A SMALL ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT RUDY STEINER. He didn’t deserve to die the way he did” (Zusak). This tells the reader that Rudy will die, but not telling the reader when he dies, adding more suspense to the book. Death also

The theme death has always played a crucial role in literature. Death surrounds us and our everyday life, something that we must adapt and accept. Whether its on television or newpaper, you'll probobly hear about the death of an individual or even a group. Most people have their own ideas and attitude towards it, but many consider this to be a tragic event due to many reasons. For those who suffered greatly from despair, living their life miserably and hopelessly, it could actually be a relief to them. Death effects not only you, but also those around you, while some people may stay unaffected depending on how they perceive it.