Liesel Meminger, from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, is no stranger to both glowing beauty and stunning brutality. This tumultuous upbringing is because she was raised by foster parents in World War II Germany when stable living conditions were scarce. The narrator of this novel, Death, is ever-present throughout her life, beginning at age nine when she tragically loses her brother but is also pursued by the light-hearted event of finding a new family. The following excerpt explains her sad-to-happy pattern: “Perhaps the only good to come out of these nightmares was that it brought Hans Hubermann, her new papa, into the room, to soothe her, to love her” (Zusak, 36). This pattern of losing loved ones and being reimbursed with happiness is omnipresent …show more content…
They first saw each other when Liesel stole The Shoulder Shrug from a bonfire. She was moved to steal after Hans (reluctantly) slapped her in the face for saying that she hated Hitler. The spite from these events led her to steal. Mrs. Hermann saw her take the book and later invited her into the library, suggesting that she, “Come and see” (Zusak, 133). Her summer “consisted of four main elements”(Zusak, 142), one of which being, “Reading on the floor of the mayor’s library” (Zusak, 142). Her coping mechanism for sadness became reading at the mayor’s library. Another event of beauty after tragedy was Rosa giving Liesel the book Max made for her, The Book Shaker. It was after Max left to find another hiding place and Hans was drafted into the military, two events that stabbed Liesel in her heart. Books were Liesel’s escape from the emotional debacles of her life and helped her deal with loss and despair. By far, the biggest tragedy of Liesel’s life was the 1943 bombing of Himmel Street, in which she lost everyone she knew and loved in their sleep; all but one. Liesel was the only survivor in an air raid that flattened her street, and she only survived by being her basement writing a book. After this, Rudy’s father returns from the military, and they begin to reconstruct their lives until Max reunites with her while she works in Mr. Steiner’s tailor shop. This was the first of many occurrences that (metaphorically) brought Liesel back to
Characters of Himmel Street which support those who have been marginalized by society encounter love for humanity as they share a form of love with the individual they are comforting. Liesel Meminger is a character on Himmel street that continually comforts others, which is noticeable in the way she treats the character Max Vandenburg who has been abused by societal ideologies. It is evident that Liesel supports Max when she obtains gifts for him, while he is ill and concealing from the Nazis, “Whenever she
After Liesel steals her second book she pulls it out and her father sees The Shoulder Shrug (Zusak 126). However, he tells her it will be their secret and he will not tell her mother (Zusak 126). Although her father will keep the secret, she is worried about the mayor's wife who saw her take the book (Zusak 132). Much to Liesel’s surprise, when she delivers the laundry to the major's wife doesn't scold her; instead the she allows Liesel to use her library (Zusak 134). Later Liesel finds out the mayor and his wife lost their son, probably, in World War I and she sees their grief (Zusak 145).
Liesel yearns to discover the power of words through reading books. Throughout the story, she repeatedly steals books to grasp more information. It all starts with The Gravediggers Manuel; Liesel attains this book the day that her brother dies, while he is being buried by the gravediggers. Liesel pilfers this book from the gravediggers because the book will symbolize her remembrance of her brother, Werner. This also will start the beginning of her acrimony for the Fuhrer, because Liesel discovers that he is answerable for his death.
Hans can’t help to offer a piece of bread to one of the prisoners and is beaten along with the prisoner for this act of nobility. He is frightened that the Nazi will search his house and discover Max. That same night Max leaves Himmel Street. Hans is sent to war as his punishment and Alex Steiner is also conscripted for not permitting Rudy be part of a special training school. With Hans and Max gone, Liesel does her best to go on. She reads to the inhabitants of Himmel Street in the bomb shelter during air raids, robs food with Rudy, and helps Rosa who is devastated by Hans’s departure. The last book she steals is called “The Last Human Stranger” at this point she is frustrated and
Loss can be a heartbreaking experience or just an inconvenience. It is significant in both books because of what the characters loss or what the characters loose. Whether it is a family member or an object, all the losses have some significance to the war or symbolism. In the novel, the book thief Liesel loses her mother. “ There was a chaos of goodbye”(Zusak 25). “The sudden realization that this would all be for nothing - that her mother would never write back and she would never see her again.” (Zusak 99). These two quotes explain Liesel's loss of her mother. When Liesel joined her new family and she never got a letter back, she realized that her old life is behind her and she can never go back to her mother. Her mother is thought to have
After Liesel learns how to read and write, she receives the task of , “completing a letter for homework” (Zusak 95). Eventually she arrives at the conclusion to write to her biological mother. Liesel then continues to write more letters, but lacks the money to purchase stamps in order to send them. On her birthday, she would give “a present from herself. She would gather all the accrued letters to her mother, stuff them into one envelope, and use just a tiny portion of the washing and ironing money to mail it” (Zusak 98). Consequently, Liesel’s foster mother, Rosa soon discovers the gap in her laundry payments. When enraged, Rosa makes Liesel break just by asking her about the missing money. It was Liesel’s guilt that made her feel the need to confess so easily to the crime.
Liesel Meminger was a very bright girl that didn’t have the resources to flourish. Her mother must hide from the Nazis because she is a communist and sends Liesel ...
Suffered the loss of her brother werner, while attending his funeral “there was something black and rectangular lodged in the snow. Only [liesel] saw it. She bent down and picked it up and held it firmly in her fingers. The book had silver writing on it” (zusak 24). It was a book named “the grave digger 's handbook”. This proves that without even understanding the book Liesel was already looking for ways to learn and find a passion to mourn her brothers death. Next, is the relationship Liesel has with her papa, Hans. He shows Liesel how to read and write. Liesel, who doesn 't know how, grabs books that Hans then quietly shows her to translate. He does this through their night time nightmare hours “Unofficially, it was called the midnight class, even though it commenced at around two in the morning” (70). furthermore in the storm cellar, utilizing Hans ' paints to show her how to compose. He is staggeringly understanding, as this is an extremely troublesome and moderate procedure, and he never demonstrates restlessness or dissatisfaction with Liesel 's moderate advancement, thus proving that liesel stuck with her idea and followed through with her passion. Lastly, Liesel 's passion for reading and writing progressed when Ilsa gave her the a journal to write her story in, “[she] thought if [Liesel was not] going to read anymore of [her] books, [she] might like to write one instead.”
Fellow classmates in Liesel’s class mock her because she didn’t read the passage he was instructed to read. This shows Liesel experiences unhappiness because of her lack of reading and the power of words.
It was on a train with Liesel’s mother and brother where they were travelling when death made his first appearance in the book thief’s life. He took the soul of her brother and only glanced at the girl truly, not taking real note of her as he did his job. She knew that her brother was dead at that point, but the shock wouldn’t truly take her until she snatched a book from where it had fallen near her brother’s hastily made grave. After he was buried, Liesel and her mother continued on their way, arriving at the town of Molching, where she met Hans and Rosa Hubermann. In the first few months that she had arrived, nightmares plagued her mind, haunting her with images of Werner, her brother, and his cold dead eyes. Hans is the one to comfort her, and because of this she grows to trust in him and truly view him as her father. She enjoys his company as well, for he can play the accordion and is always smiling and winking at her in a joyous way. He also begins to teach her how to read the book that she picked up on the day d...
Exposition: Death begins to narrate Liesel’s story as she is sent to her foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann, on Himmel Street in Molching, Germany.
The book takes place in WWII, and centers around what Death sees in this time. Death’s job is to collect the souls of many found dead, but he takes an interest in Liesel, who isn’t someone he really needed to pay attention to. However, he followed her because he pitied her, and The Book Thief is the story of her life, narrated by him. Everyone always tells you to find the silver lining in the bad things that happen, but this book doesn’t just tell someone to do that but shows someone how to do that. He makes Liesel’s best friend, Rudy, smile by showing him Liesel kissing his corpse. He follows Liesel because he sees something interesting in her, showing even Death has a heart. He chose to retell signs of good that he saw in the book, specifically
...t Max gave to Liesel as a gift. This book represents the power of words, and how words can make a difference in a person’s life.The readers are engaged because it is interesting know the back stories behind these books when we read about them in the novel. Finally, Hans’ accordion symbolises comfort in The Book Thief. When Hans leaves to go fight in the war, he leaves his accordion at home with Rosa and Liesel. This is the moment that Liesel know that Rosa truly does love Hans, although she might not show it. “Liesel watched. She knew that for the next few days, Mama would be walking around with the imprint of an accordion on her body” (429). Rosa, Liesel’s “Mama”, keeps the accordion close to her heart because it reminds her of her husband, Hans, whom she misses so much. In The Book Thief, symbolism attracts attention to certain thematic ideas and the novel itself.
Liesel experiences abandonment throughout her life, and the novel during a suppressed time in World War II Germany. Through her experiences Liesel’s learns to equate abandonment with love knowing that circumstance have forced her loved ones to leave her.
8.The Standover Man: Max makes the book for Liesel’s birthday. In the book he talks about how they have things in common, and how she gave a gift to him on her birthday. It connects her to Max.