Book Thief Themes

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The novel, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak is set in Nazi Germany in the midst of World War 2 and considering this, is an uncommon type of novel in regards to its focus. The Jewish, or other non-Aryan people who were persecuted so vehemently are often the focus of books set during World War 2, rather than the Aryan German population. Having this seen so predominantly in The Book Thief enabled the consequences of Hitler’s regime that are more sparsely known to be displayed, accrediting a much further depth to the detriments of the war upon European society. The novel exhibits this death, destruction and tragedy implicit in war as one of its main themes. This theme is displayed by the evils which humans are able to inflict upon each other, of which there are …show more content…

Such a contrast highlighted the moments of joy and kindness, which were displayed by three characters in particular – Liesel, Hans and Max.
The trauma and tragedy of Liesel’s life is evident from the very beginning of the novel. In the first chapter she watches her brother die and then be buried in a cold, anonyms field. Soon after only to be give to foster parents, leaving a resounding feeling of abandonment. “The car moved on, with Liesel dreading the last, lethal turn.” (P27, L9). This quote captures a moment in Liesel’s head while she is in the car driving away from her mother and towards unknown foster parents, an unknown town and essentially an unknown way of life. Consequently, it exhibits her dread for the situation and hints that she thinks that taking this step into the unknown will be deadly. However, Liesel finds ways to blossom in the face of such adversity. Max joins her in the Hubermann household, and soon is forced to hide away in the icy, dark basement. Their friendship flourishes none the less, and one afternoon when Liesel descends the stairs into the basement to boast to Max of her soccer

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