“I am haunted by humans.” (Zusak 550). Being narrated by Death, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, is a novel about an orphan, named Liesel Meminger, who moves in with the Hubermanns in Himmel (Heaven) Street. While she is there, she plunders books from libraries and book burnings during the horrors of World War II. Liesel Meminger’s desire to read helps her deal with the incidents around her and gain insight about the power of words while her insecurity helps her create connections with the beneficent people. Besides stealing and reading words, Liesel Meminger made constant bonds with people. Being moved from place to place and relying on people who ended up leaving her made Liesel not able to trust anyone as quickly as others. Her insecurity sent many other people away but the people who truly loved her. When she first arrives in Himmel Street, she refuses to get out of the car and enter the house until Hans Hubermann comes with his cigarette and coax her out. After that, she has always trusted Hans Hubermann and knew that he would always be there for her unlike the other people previously in her life. When she blocked Rudy’s kick in soccer, he hit her with a snowball and ever since then, he would always follow Liesel and make sure she was okay. He never gave up on her even when she would be annoyed and they ended up being best friends and partners in crime. Finally, Rosa Hubermann, Liesel’s foster mother, would bash her with a wooden spoon and cuss at her but she knew she loved her. Rosa never stopped which made Liesel know that she could trust her foster mother. Although her insecurity drove off many people, it allured the people who have the patience to help her. They never left her intentionally like the other people previ... ... middle of paper ... ...d her and her books. Liesel, the mayor, and the mayor’s wife were the only ones left alive in the community. The most important message is that words have an impact on us for it is the theme of this story. This is what the author wants to convey to the readers. Words have an influence on people to do good and bad things. In the Word Shaker, Max wrote about Liesel and how Hitler realized that words have an effect on people. He also wrote that the people on top are the ones that fully understand words. She benefited from the friends she had. Liesel learns how to read from Hans Hubermann and steal what she loves with Rudy. As Liesel Meminger concludes her narrative, she says, “I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.” (Zusak 528) Works Cited Zusak, Markus. Book Thief. United States of America: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print.
In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak the narrator is Death, who shows itself as sympathetic and sensitive towards the suffering of the world and the cruel human nature, through its eyes, we can get to know the heartbreaking story of Liesel Meminger an ordinary, but very lucky nine-year old German girl; living in the midst of World War II in Germany. In this book the author provides a different insight and observation about humanity during this time period from a German view and not an Allied perspective, as we are used to.
This is a story of courage, companionship, affection, survival, decease, and sorrow. This is Liesel’s life on Himmel Street, narrated by Death. There are two major themes in this book that are experienced at any point of time in everyone’s life. Those themes are “Survivor’s Guilt” and “Abandonment”. This book should be read by everyone. This book has a lot of themes that is beneficial for people in their lives. I feel that this book is interestingly written for an important piece of history.
While the story is focused on Liesel, it’s told through the perspective of Death. Death, of course, is what takes your soul from your body and takes you to the afterlife. “It suffices to say that at some point in time, I will be standing over you…” (Zusak 4). Liesel is just 9 years old at the beginning of the book. After losing her family she feels hopeless. But eventually she is somewhat happy with her new family and Max, who is hiding in their basement. She becomes intrigued by books and writing. One day, she steals and book from a book burning, which was a serious crime in Nazi Germany and she’s seen by the Mayor’s wife Isla Hermann. Isla invites Liesel to her library and that leads to Liesel becoming more obsessed with writing. She eventually comes to realize that along with the hope that the written word brings-the stories Max wrote for her and even her own writing-is also the source of her pain and suffering because of Hitler’s propaganda. This is one of the things that...
“I am haunted by humans” (Zusak 550). The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is about the horrors of World War II. Liesel and her family help out an old friend by hiding a Jew. Liesel also steals her first book when she at her brother’s funeral. Liesel Meminger’s remarkable actions like feeling good when she steals a book and her family hiding a Jew help demonstrate why Death is “haunted by humans”.
The negative effects of that the theme of the power of words causes Liesel to experience misery throughout her lifetime.
One major scene occurs moments before the bonfire of books. A series of events trigger recollections of Liesel’s past family which causes her to construe the reason why her family is separated. Liesel finally asks Hans, “Is my mother a communist?” (115). This question acts as Liesel’s confirmation of her thought that the Nazis has indeed taken her mother away just like how they took her father for being a communist. Liesel is perplexed because she knows her mother is not a bad person at all, yet, her personal experiences with her mother contradicts with the ideals she has been taught; her mother is a criminal for believing in a utopia different than Hitler’s. In the following scene, Liesel is slapped by Hans Hubermann right before he said, “You can say that in our house… But you never say it on the street, at school, at the BDM, never!” (115). It pained him to punish Liesel and he longs to embrace and comfort her, but he was forced to take drastic actions to protect Liesel from being taken away by the Gestapo. Hans understands that he is Liesel’s sole protector and he shall act as a shield along Liesel’s journey to find her truth. Hans’ actions acts as an example for Liesel to follow. He tells Liesel to never admit her thoughts in public but he tells her that she can in private when she is safe from prying eyes and ears. Hans himself is hiding his insurgent activities behind closed doors. He hides a Jew in his basement, fully knowing it could very well kill him and his
Liesel steals the books she is ,at the same time, liberating them from destruction. The whole idea of stealing as a horrible thing to do comes into question. Liesel risks death or torture in doing this as well. Her theft is also a self-education and an act of rebellion against the Nazis. Lie...
“The Book Thief” and the “Berlin Boxing Club” were both astonishing books. Liesel from the “The Book Thief” and Karl from the “Berlin Boxing Club” were very powerful characters by the end of these books. Though, at the beginning of the books these characters were far from anything powerful. In fact, they were small and weak. In a way, these characters were both alike, but so different. Liesel and Karl changed and grew throughout the course of these books. They both had struggles that over time shaped them into amazing, independent characters.
How does friendship between a Jew and a German bloom in a basement? By building a bridge of words. The pen is indeed mightier than the sword in Max’s dream where he beats Hitler in a fistfight, but Hitler harnesses the power of speech to turn the crowd against Max. Yet Liesel finds another method to capture people with words, to fight fire with fire against Hitler. While Hitler creates hatred and strikes fear, Liesel uses speech to build relationships and calm people in a bomb shelter. Though words, Liesel provides a welcomed repose from the constant suffering for herself and the people around
Reading and writing has shown her that, "The best word shakers were the ones who understood the true power of words. They were the ones who could climb the highest. One such word shaker was a small, skinny girl. She was renowned the best word shaker of her region because she knew how powerless a person could be without words. That's why she could climb higher than anyone else. She had a desire. She was hungry for them. “(445) Liesel has reached the top because she knew life before learning how to read and write. She had the curiosity, and the drive to want to learn. She met many people along the way of her journey of learning such as Hans, Max, and Rudy. Liesel has a very large bond with all of them, and when death takes their souls it leaves her heartbroken. But this tragedy only motivates her to keep going and tell their stories. Along Liesel’s adventure, a man named Max came to hide at their house because he was a Jew. Since, he was a Jew he had to stay in their basement so no one would see him. One day he asks, “Could you fo up and tell me how the weather looks?” This is not Liesel asking but it’s Max. Liesel responds back with, “The sky is blue today, Max, and there is a big long cloud, and it's stretched out, like a rope. At the end of it, the sun is like a yellow hole. . .”(249) Liesel answers Max’s curiosity. This gives Max and Liesel a bond. By
The heavily proclaimed novel “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak is a great story that can help you understand what living in Nazi Germany was like. Throughout the story, the main character, Liesel goes through many hardships to cope with a new life in a new town and to come to the recognition of what the Nazi party is. Liesel was given up for adoption after her mother gave her away to a new family, who seemed harsh at first, but ended up being the people who taught her all the things she needed to know. Life with the new family didn’t start off good, but the came to love them and her new friend, Rudy. As the book carried along, it was revealed that the Hubermanns were not Nazi supporters, and even took in a Jew and hid him in their basement later on in the book. Liesel became great friends with the Jew living in her basement, Max, who shared many similarities which helped form their relationship. Both of
...ook from a fire, during Hitler’s birthday celebration, Death narrates, “Smoke [lifts] from the cover as she [juggles] it and [hurries] away…the sick beauty of nerves proved more shortly with each stride” (Zusak 120). Thus, his impression of Liesel’s act of thievery demonstrates her animosity towards the oppressor. Stealing is her way of getting revenge on her enemy (Hitler), to take back what he destroyed (her family). Undoubtedly, the verbal and physical acts of Liesel Memminger demonstrate her opposition against fascism.
The Holocaust is marked as one of the most horrifying events of the 20th century.The person who was responsible for the Holocaust was Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi Party. The question is, how, and why was Hitler able to do this? The actual truth behind all this is that, Hitler could make the world his, just by using words. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, it tells a story about a young girl growing up when Nazi Germany was invincible. The author explores some very meaningful, yet, controversial themes for the most part of the novel. Out of all themes, he believes that words hold a remarkable power. He explores how words manipulate, divide, and connect people.
Max showed her a side of the world that was technically forbidden for her German roots and family. Either way, her family housed a jewish person. Which was illegal at that time and punishable by death. Not a topic to take lightly. Anyways, Max wrote Liesel a book called “The Standover Man”. A quote from the book makes his story ironic. “It makes me understand that the best standover man I’ve ever known is not a man at all…” (Zusak, page 205, line 5-8) This is ironic because Liesel could be a man with her guts, but she is different. She doesn’t put up with any crap from anyone (but her parents of course), but she can also at the same time be very caring. She is as mean as an angry bull, but as nice as a caring mother with her newborn child. It’s kind of hard to think of any female being like that but that is how Liesel is
Death states that, “I’m always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both” (Zusak 491). This book shows us human doing things that weren’t even imaginable before this point. Many people give into ideas that were lies. But, we also watch a few people go out of their way and sacrifice everything for a man they barely even know. They do everything they can to keep him safe and alive. They work harder, the get another job, and they even steal. In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, death examines the ugliness and the beauty of humans.