Power Of Words In The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

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Words are more influential than thoughts. They are crafted and woven around the lives of every individual. Words have a powerful impact on how one interprets things, feels, and how one person can lead another person to feel. Written by Markus Zusak, "The Book Thief" is about a foster girl, Liesel Meminger, who lives in Nazi Germany and "scratches out a meagre existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she cannot resist: books" (Goodreads). As she matures and becomes a more critical thinker, she comes to understand that language can be both a dangerous weapon of control, as with the Nazi propaganda, and a gift that enables her to broaden her worldview. She evolves from a powerless to a powerful character that deeply empathizes with the voiceless through the books she steals, reads, and writes. Expressing the central theme of the novel, Zusak reveals the power of words “its beauty and ugliness“ through its impact on the characters, especially on Liesel. …show more content…

The novel is set during the World War II where Adolf Hitler uses charismatic speeches to hypnotize people. Before the war, Hitler and the Nazi party pass laws to effectively legalize the crimes they are committing and the crimes they intend to commit. They manipulate words to involve the German people to carry out the Holocaust. Molching, where most of the actions in the book take place, is introduced as a place where Hitler develops the idea to rule the world, and as "the birthplace of Nazism" (Zusak 199). Hitler uses his words to strike fear into the hearts of many. He does not require any sort of gun or military weapon to be feared; with his words, he is able to cause the death of

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