The Book Thief Point Of View

Maybe we shouldn’t fear the idea of death. Maybe the black hooded Grim Reaper who carries a scythe is just a figment of our imagination that we cling to because it is oblivion, not death, that we truly fear. And maybe, just maybe, Death has more in common with us than we think. Mark Zusak explores this ideology by introducing Death as the narrator, who tells about the vivid but tragic stories of human brutality and kindness. By choosing such an anomalous entity, Zusak created an omniscient narrator who is able to tell about the story and the fates of the characters from an unbiased point of view. Because of this, Death is able to foreshadow and slightly spoil important events of the story in order to keep the readers focused on the conflict

Death identifies himself as being fair, in the sense that he comes for everyone, no matter how old, kind, or venerable they are, even though he wishes he didn’t have to come for those he cares for. He notices the colors of the sky with each person he takes away and urges the readers to consider what color the sky will be when he comes for them specifically. At first he tries to describe himself as someone who is detached from humans and tries to distract himself from his distressing job by noticing the colors of the sky. However, his true personality is revealed through his close bonds with some of the characters. The omniscient point of view also allows Death to describe each character’s thoughts and feelings in depth and interweave each character’s personal story into the big picture. Death chooses not to introduce the readers to Max, Hans, or Rosa until they are introduced to Liesel’s first. Through this technique, the readers learn to understand the background of where each character came from and why they did the things they did. For example, when Hans gave bread to a walking by Jew, the readers could associate this action with his previously mentioned anti-Nazi beliefs and arguments with his son over joining the party. Death is also able to show the characters’ growth and emotional change over the course of the story. When Liesel arrived on Himmel Street, she was scared and

He is portrayed as a human-like being who cares and has compassion for the souls he takes away. Ironically, death is the only thing that we all have in common and that makes us human. Death mentions that he is not what causes people to die. He is a result. He is not a Grim Reaper and he doesn’t want to take us away to heaven or hell. He conflicts the readers by asking, “You want to know what I truly look like? I'll help you out. Find yourself a mirror while I continue.” This means that the only thing that kills people is humanity; all the disease, all the murder, and all the conflict is caused by humans. Death only exists to help carry the souls of the dead away. In the book, Death feels a certain connection to Liesel and her family. He claims that when he came for Hans and Rudy, they sat up to meet him. They were ready. As Death picked up Rudy’s innocent soul, he began to cry. This shows that Death is not the big scary thing we all fear of, he is somebody who struggles to do his job. This view of Death gives the readers a comforting impression that death is always there with them, watching their every move and growing closer to each person as their life goes on. This creates a lasting impact on the readers’ feeling of safety and understanding the close connection Death had with Liesel. Death is fragile and vulnerable, and quite frankly afraid of humans. As people are born,