Analytical Essay On The Book Thief

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According to Society- A Book Thief Analysis Everyone has done something that may seem wrong in society’s eyes, but these decisions or actions could end up changing society’s view about the situation. This is the case for characters in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The Book Thief is about a girl named Liesel who struggles to readjust to her new home with Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Along the way, she makes new friends such as Max Vandenburg, the son of a man that Hans is in debt to, and Rudy Steiner, a young boy who lives near Liesel. Over the course of the book, Liesel learns just how powerful words can be, and how society can impact one’s decisions. One of the main themes in the book is that sometimes going against society will lead to the …show more content…

Erik had volunteered Hans to stay and not fight in the war because “If someone stepped forward now, the platoon would make his life a living hell for the rest of their time together. No one likes a coward” (Zusak 177). If Erik never volunteered Hans, they both would have died in the war. The following quote is said by Erik Vandenburg when he volunteered Hans before the battle was to take place. “It said ‘Hubermann, sir.’ The voice belonged to Erik Vandenburg. He obviously thought that today wasn’t the appropriate time for his friend to die” (Zusak 177). Again, this quote elaborates how doing the wrong thing in society can lead to the better. Erik Vandenburg volunteered Hans Hubermann for good handwriting and it ended up saving Hans’ life because he didn’t go into battle that day. If Hans were to have died in the battle, Liesel may not have been adopted by the Hubermanns and she might have been killed along with her mother and brother- being branded as a Communist. Without Liesel, none of the events concerning her and others she influenced would have taken place. She never would have become the book thief that defines her personality, and she never would meet Ilsa Hermann, a woman who is still in distraught because of her son’s death, years

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