Markus Zusak was told first hand experiences from World War II, which gave him the inspiration for The Book Thief. In an interview Zusak talks about a story from his mother whom witnessed a teenage boy giving bread too an old Jewish man which resulted in both men being whipped. This idea of destruction and beauty inspired him to show how the world can be good one minute and then the good can be torn away. When these two mix, it shows the lives of humans, and the struggle and love that most everyone has during their life. War isn’t black and white, there aren’t just two sides to war, as shown in the interaction between the soldier, old man and teenager. There was a Jewish man and a German soldier, who were on opposite sides of the war. The teenager …show more content…
He is playful but is there for Liesel when she needs him. Rudy seemed to be especially playful and happy but turns serious as soon as he needs to. Liesel goes through so much before she actually moves in with the Hubermanns, but then adding the stress of not knowing how to read, and the fights that she had at school was too much. With all the stress on her mind Liesel has a breakdown. The eight year old couldn’t cope with the sadness and humiliation in her life, and becomes vulnerable when she starts crying on the side of the road. Rudy, being the great friend that he was just waited for her and showed that he was there for her. “”Why did he have to die?” she asked, but still, Rudy did nothing; he said nothing. When finally she finished and stood up, he put his arms around her, best-buddy style, and they walked on” (80). Rudy knew that Liesel was in a hard place, so he gave her exactly what she needed, a person to be with her as she cried. The vulnerability shown in this scene by Liesel was heart breaking, and the way that Rudy accepted it and became the sweetheart that he is showed just how much he cared for Liesel. After showing the emotion of sadness and stress Liesel and Rudy’s relationship would become stronger and they would trust each
A example why people are brutal in The Book Thief is when the bomber planes were dropping bombs on the small town killing many people. My thoughts on this is even though the Nazi started this doesn’t mean they should kill innocent families.
Rudy and Liesel continue with their friendship through becoming partners in crime (Zusak 149). They meet up with Arthur and Andy, and then the four of
Liesel thinks of them as best friends until the day he dies and then she realizes how much she really loves him. Rudy has always loved Liesel from the day they met. Rudy saves Liesel’s book from the river and comes up asking for a kiss. He walks her to school for her first day and then they race home one day and tie. Their relationship evolves from strangers to friends to best friends. In the beginning of the story they do not realizes what good of friends they will
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
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a young German girl of about ten years of age, who is fostered by the Hubermanns’, in a small town in Germany between 1939 and 1943. In the prologue, the reader is informed that ‘It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery’. It is however, much more. Despite the immense sadness and heartache of the overarching context, Zusak employs powerful techniques including; Death’s distinctive narrative voice, the symbolism of words and the inclusion of graphic stories to encourage the reader to feel enlivened throughout the story.
Throughout life many people face difficulties. Depending on the person’s strength some will get through tough times, but some will fail to overcome them. Two books where characters have to face many challenges include: Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Book Thief. These two stories deal with people overcoming the difficulties faced throughout everyday life. Some difficulties include racism, religious discrimination, and dealing with others’ cruelness or kindness. Examples from these books prove that the characters have challenges throughout the stories to overcome. In the face of adversity what causes some individuals to fail while others prevail?
“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”.
Zusak uses his characters and their experiences to demonstrate the theme of the beauty and brutality of human nature in the novel. First, Zusak uses his character, Rudy, to support his theme of the brutality and beauty of human nature. Rudy’s brutality is revealed in a certain moment when he devises a plan to steal food from the priest by causing the delivery boy to wreck on the way to the priest’s house. Rudy’s beauty is also displayed in many things he does for Liesel, such as jumping in the ice-cold river for her book.
Harper Lee’s novel, Go Set a Watchman, presents a southern society during the beginning of the civil rights era. Markus Zusak writes about a small town in Germany during WWII his novel The Book Thief. In each of their novels, Zusak and Lee present a society almost devoid of resistance due to the deep integration of prejudice and bigotry within their societies. While Lee’s novel focuses on an individual’s reconciliation with the society, Zusak focuses on an individual trying to overcome and grow out of that society. Despite their differing commentary on individuality, both Lee and Zusak show how complacency can lead societies and individuals into seemingly unaccountable atrocities.
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.
Death introduces himself as the narrator of the story. He summarizes the three times he has met “the book thief,” and the story begins when he tells her entire story in in-depth detail. He tells the story of their very first encounter, on the train where Liesel’s brother suffers an unfortunate and untimely death. Liesel is then transported to the Hubermann’s, where she’ll be living. Liesel is extremely closed off, that is until Hans teaches her how to roll cigarettes, and she begins to trust him. Liesel starts getting used to her new situation, even though she is having terrible nightmares about her brother's death. Liesel then meets Rudy, a boy in her neighborhood who has a crush on her, and idolizes Jesse
Markus Zusak is the author of The Book Thief and it’s theme that Markus Zusak tries to convey to the reader is “ the power of words”. He shows how words can affect people’s lives in a positive and negative way. He used the characters to interpret and develop the theme of this book. By analyzing what the text conveys about the power of words, The reader can tell that Markus Zusak develops the theme of this novel by, how does power manifest itself in the novel, and who possesses power and how they acquire power through words and language not only positively but also negatively.
I’ve never read Markus Zusak’s 2006 historical-fiction novel The Book Thief, though I’ve seen and heard many of my friends obsesses over the World War II-set coming of age drama, which spent more than 230 weeks atop The New York Time’s bestseller list. Narrated by Death, Thief is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young German foster child who is taken in by Hans and Rosa Hubermann, a lovingly aged couple who end up hiding a Jew in their basement as the Nazi regime takes control of the country. I was a passionate fan of the book that I really like and I remember that this movie is dedicated to the people of world war 2, stopping after a chapter or two and taking a few deep breathes to clear my mind from the dark subject matter. sigh, “It’s
We watch death explore the beauty and ugliness of the human race in Markus Zusak’s book The Book Thief. We watch as Liesel, Hans, and Rosa do everything they can to help out a group of people who were treated with such disrespect during this time period. This group, the Jews, were beaten for taking food that was given to them, and when they died no one would even care. But, these few people gave them food, a place to hide, a sense of belonging, and and a reason to live. They have to work day and night, and do everything they can. Even though people aren’t so beautiful at all times, there is still hope. As we have learned in this book that even when 99 percent of humans aren’t so marvelous there is still that one percent that is to delightful that it would touch anyones heart.
The author of The Book Thief, Markus Zusak, grew up in Australia with a German mother and an Australian father. Both of his parents experienced the effects during and after World War II and told him stories of the events during that time. Zusak’s mother grew up in Munich, Germany and told him of her experiences in Nazi Germany. Because his mother is a primary source of events that went on, he has insight on the social aspects of the war such as people’s reactions to the Nazis and the people’s thoughts of everything going on around them during World War II.