Towards the end of the book, the narrator says, “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. In the text, it said: The seat in front was flung forward… She would not move. Outside, through the circle she made, Liesel could see the tall man’s fingers, still holding the cigarette… It took nearly fifteen minutes to coax her from the car… There was the gate next, which she clung on to. A gang of tears trudged from her eyes as she held on and refused to go inside (Zusak 28). The tall man was Hans Hubermann, her foster father. 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, wo... ... middle of paper ... ... Liesel change was Max. Max was the son of Hans Hubermann’s dead friend who is wanted for being Jewish. While Max hides in their basement, he writes his own books that were called The Standover Man and Word Shaker. 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). Like Liesel, we need to make sure that we use our words properly, whether it is to our advantage or for others. Works Cited Zusak, Markus. Book Thief. United States of America: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print.
Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief depicts the life of a certain young German girl named Liesel Meminger during World War II. Her story was told through the eyes of Death, who narrates both the blessings and devastation that occurred during that era. Liesel experiences living with her new foster parents and come across a boy named Rudy Steider who will later on become her best friend. As the story unfolds, Liesel gradually discovers the horrifying truth behind the Nazi regime as her foster parents take refuge of a Jewish man. Despite being in the midst of destruction and recently coping from her traumatic background, she undertakes on a journey of self-discovery and
Max uses Mein Kampf as a kind of cover so people wouldn’t suspect that he was a Jew and he escapes to the Hubermann’s house as Hans promised to help the Vandenburg’s if they ever needed it as he was friends with Max’s father in the war and Max’s father saved Hans’ life. Liesel is curious but also scared of Max at first but they bond over the fact that they both have nightmares, have lost their families and are both “fist-fighters” Since Max is always hiding in the basement, Liesel begins to describe the weather to him and brought him snow where they had a snowball fight and built a snowman with Hans and Rosa. Soon after, Max falls ill and she brings him 13 presents, hoping that he will wake up and reads to him every morning and night. Max also begins to share stories with Liesel and for her birthday makes her a book called “The Standover Man” which is about his life and journey. Max also begins to have daydreams where he fights Hitler and Hitler always uses his words to excite the crowd and uses them as a weapon. Liesel and Rudy also begin to steal food with a group of
Not that it was a living hell. It wasn't. But it sure wasn't heaven, either”. (5.87) Death tells us. She became really fond of Hans Hubermann; a painter and accordion player, but with Rosa things were more complicated; she was a rough woman who did the washing and ironing of Molching’s wealthy inhabitants. Liesel starts to have dreams of her brother dying and wets in bed which leads us to her first reading session; Papa finds the book hidden under Liesel’s mattress and after a while he notices that Liesel does not know how to read and doing his best with a fourth grade education he teaches her how to read and write. She also makes a friend that she would never forget Rudy Steiner or we can call it Jesse Owens too; they met on the street during a soccer game and since then they became
This realization, although suspected by the narrator for a long time, shows the true irony of Liesel’s thefts: that she never needs to steal them. When she steals her last book, The Last Human Stranger, she even takes a plate of cookies and leaves a note. Although none of these books are featured as heavily as her first few thefts, their titles reference parts of Liesel’s struggles such as her relationship with Max, her role in uplifting her community in the bunker, her continuing education, and her status being the only survivor of the final bombing. In conclusion, the books which Liesel steals are very influential in her development through the course of the novel, with the titles themselves references other parts of her life.
Guilt is a prevalent theme throughout The Book Thief. Liesel endures guilt multiple times, when she steals laundry money from Rosa, gets Max sick, verbally attacks Ilsa Hermann, and experiences the guilt of surviving. All of these acts caused Liesel to experience some sort of guilt which later causes her to perform questionable tasks.
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
In Night, Author Elie Wiesel describes his experience in Nazi Hungary and in concentration camps such as Auschwitz and Buchenwald to bring awareness about the horrors of the Holocaust and warn the people about any future atrocities. Furthermore, in The Book Thief, the main character, Liesel Meminger, describes her experience with stealing books and how it helped her survive and stay courageous during the Nazi regime. Lastly, in The Dairy of a Young Girl, Anne Frank writes a series of Dairy journal entries that describe her horrendous experiences with the Jewish persecution in the Netherlands. Additionally, he used posters to portray his hate against the Jim Crow laws.
Liesel Meminger was a very bright girl that didn’t have the resources to flourish. Her mother must hide from the Nazis because she is a communist and sends Liesel ...
Words, so simple, yet are the most powerful ways of communication. The weight of words is one of most impactful themes in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, and is felt throughout the entire novel. The Book Thief is a story that takes place during World War II, and follows the Hubermann family and friendships as the Narrator: Death follows them through their journey of Germany in 1939. Hans Hubermann is one of the greatest supporters of words right next to the Book Thief herself, Liesel Meminger. Words are emphasized through stolen books, spoken conversations, and thoughts of the characters. Hans Hubermann backs Liesel’s desire to read through many long nights, protects Max Vandenburg while in hiding, and consistently stands up against the dehumanization
The novel The Book Thief is a book about a young girl by the name of Liesel Meminger. Observing the life of this young girl is not easy as this is the time of Hitler’s reign in Germany. In a short period of time, this girl faces many difficulties. More than any child should ever have to encounter. She has to deal with being abandoned by her mother, the death of her younger brother, and relocation to another part of Germany. Immediately when Liesel arrives to Molching, her life is forever changed. She is forced to live with two strangers, now her new mama and papa. Liesel faces much abuse both at school and at home. At school she is made fun of for her illiteracy and at home, mama speaks very rudely to her calling her a swine and other insults.
“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”.
Liesel Meminger, is a young extremely shy girl who is afraid to speak her mind, i...
Liesel Meminger went through a great deal of survivor’s guilt but she managed to get back up after every single moment. Liesel was the only one to survive from her family in which that caused guilt to build up. When her brother Werner died she had the guilt spill out. As she lived with her foster parents every night she wouldn’t have a pleasant dream she would have a nightmare. The guilt of surviving while her brother didn’t, was one of her factors of survivor’s guilt.”As usual her nightly nightmare interrupted her sleep and she was woken by Hans Hubermann. His hand held the sweaty fabric of her pajamas “‘The train?”’ he whispered Liesel confirmed,”’The train.”’ (Zusak 86) The nightmare of the train is her seeing her brother dead on the floor in which happened to her and the survivor guilt comes to her causing her to have these nightmares. As she learned to read and write, she went on many exploits and met many people. Ilsa Hermann gave her a book to write in, leading to her being the only survivor on Himmel street. Since she was the
“No soldier had seen her yet, and Max gave her a warning. ‘You have to let go of me, Liesel.’ He even tried to push her away, but the girl was too strong. Max’s starving arms could not sway her, and she walked on, between the filth, the hunger and confusion.”(511) If Liesel would have continued talking to Max, the guards could have killed her for defying them. This demonstrates Liesel’s defiant and rebellious side, risking her life to save her friend. Liesel also demonstrates
Even though the style of writing is simple and direct, it does a good job conveying the different themes of the story, including the different conflicts between politics and religion, separation of families, death, and etc. The power of words is shown as soon as Liesel learns how to read. Her will for prosperity and curiosity becomes more powerful with every word she learns. She realizes that words, through cruel and wicked manners, can be impact people to force acts of brutality. During the burial of her baby brother, she finds her first book, the grave digger’s manual. Even though liesel couldn’t read at the moment, she knows the memories its words