Death

Death’s (the narrator) fascination with the colors of the sky functions as imagery. It helps set the mood of the story.

Death’s eagerness to observe different colors indicates his indecision about whether the human race is good or evil. In his analysis, human beings are capable of being either good or bad.

Death merges these colors into the Nazi flag; a black swastika in a white circle surrounded by a field of red.

Zusak compares the sky with soup when Himmel Street gets destroyed by bombs.

The Gravedigger’s Handbook is the first book Liesel steals. For Liesel, the book represents great loss, sorrow and her feelings of abandonment because of her brother’s death and her mother’s abandonment.

The irony in Himmel (Heaven) Street is that it is anything but heavenly.

Death explains to us that “sau” means “pig.” “Saumensch” is used to humiliate a female. “Saukerl” is for a male. Arschloch can be translated into another word that means donkey plus the word hole.

Rudy shows a central theme of courage throughout the book because he doesn’t care what other people think.

Hans Hubermann is courageous for not supporting Hitler, even if he pretends that he does.

Liesel’s mountain is her struggle to read. Papa helps her to reach the top and eventually succeeds.

Liesel steals The Shoulder Shrug after learning that Hitler was most likely responsible for the disappearance of her parents. Stealing this book for Liesel is like getting revenge on Hitler.

Max is using this book to look like a “normal” German which saves his life but can also lead to his distruction. For Liesel, the book means Max’s life.

Max feels guilty over asking the Hubermanns to hide him in their basement and to risk their lives for him.

For Hans, ...

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...x after she and Max have been whipped. Readers see Rudy becoming more serious and thoughtful.

The irony in this is also that Max survives the war and Rudy does not.

The irony of the title is that Liesel isn’t really a book thief. She had help from Ilsa Hermann most of the times.

In this passage, Zusack uses an effective use of personification and metaphor to portray how Papa plays the accordion and the effect it has on Liesel.

Leisel realizes that words can cause both violence and comfort and she strives to make them “right” by battling vicious propaganda with writing that emerges from selflessness and love.

I was surprised when Max showed up. I thought he was dead. I’m glad for the happy ending though.

This quote is ironic because humans are haunted by Death.

Works Cited

Markus, Zusak. The Book Thief. New York: Random House, 2005.