How Does Zusak Show Courage In The Book Thief

A quote from The Magus, by John Fowles, reads, “The human race is unimportant. It is the self that must not be betrayed. I suppose one could say that Hitler didn’t betray himself. But millions of Germans did betray themselves. That was the tragedy. Not that one man had the courage to be evil. But that millions had not the courage to be good.” Throughout The Book Thief, Zusak illuminates characters that show passion and courage towards what they believe in, and how they use this to take a stand. In doing so, Zusak incorporates the stealing and encountering of books to not only suggests the significance of words, but how largely individuals are influenced and affected by them.

Through the entirety of The Book Thief, the significance of books plays a major role in developing the relationships between numerous

By the end of the book, it is finally revealed that Liesel is the writer behind The Book Thief. Through the clever way Zusak finalizes the book, it illustrates how much Liesel has grown, matured, and learnt throughout the entire book. Through the tragedy that transpires towards the end of the book, Zusak completes the Epilogue by having the narrator (death) “handover” the book to return to Liesel after he arrives to take Liesel away. During the bittersweet ending it quotes, “... And I pulled a dusty black book from my pocket. The old woman was astonished. She took it in her hand and said ‘is this really it?’ I nodded… Even Though the text had faded she was able to read her words. The fingers of her soul touched the story that was written so long ago in her Himmel Street Basement.” (549-550) These final words emphasize the significant impact Lisel has made in regards to the perspective of the reader. Throughout this book liesel clearly proves that through passion and interest, you have the power to stand up for what you believe in and can, meaningfully convince others, to do what is