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Examples of symbolism in the book thief
The book thief analysis
The role of a narrator
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The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a deep and emotional story that demonstrates the impact of the role of the narrator in a story perfectly. In this case, the narrator is Death. The voice of Death provides an omniscient yet caring viewpoint to a story about an uncaring world with a lot of death and destruction. “I wanted to stop. To crouch down. I wanted to say: “I’m sorry, child.” But that is not allowed.” (Zusak 14) The narrator, Death, seems to be a friendly face in Nazi Germany, which is in opposition to the normal perception of death as scary and unsympathetic. This juxtaposition of perception against the reality of the book is interesting because in a different setting, Death would be scary and life would be soothing. What this is saying …show more content…
Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched on my shoulder. I will carry you gently away.” (Zusak 7) The author makes Death seem relatable and truthful, like a person you already know. This book’s impact is increased because when you cry for the characters, this narrator cries with you, like in the last piece of evidence. What you feel in this book is compounded by the feelings that Death feels, so you can see more similarities, and he seems more human. This book’s depiction of death is a drastic contrast to the main ideas of death in culture and society. “I could introduce myself properly, but it’s not really necessary. You will know me well enough and soon enough, depending on a diverse range of variables.” (Zusak 7) The idea of death comes with so many predetermined connotations and assumed feelings and thoughts that our perception of the narrator could easily be influenced and we wouldn’t see the true story. In the beginning of this story, the author goes around this by not explicitly mentioning the narrator’s name for a big chunk of the book. Instead, we meet the narrator first and come to our own conclusions about what kind of a ‘person’ they
The deep complexity of its message is furthered by Olds’ use of metaphor. In describing the unburied corpses strewn about the cemetery, she notes a “hand reaching out / with no sign of peace, wanting to come back.” Through indirect metaphor, she is able to not only bring emotion to the stiffness of a frozen hand, but ponder a greater question—whether the “eternal rest” of death is peace at all. Despite the war, despite “the bread made of glue and sawdust,” and despite “the icy winter and the siege,” those passed still long for life. Human cruelty and the horrors of existence permeate even the sanctity of death. In war, nothing is
Hiding from those who would find him and carry out the wrath of vengeance upon him, the protagonist plans his escape. About to dive in the rancid water and swim for it, a body in the shallows abruptly stops him. The bloated and decomposing corpse pulls the narrator back from his adrenaline-induced frenzy. After a few moments, he settles and reflects, “I thought about him, fog on the lake, insects chirring eerily, and felt the tug of fear, felt the darkness opening up inside me like a set of jaws. Who was he, I wondered, this victim of time and circumstance bobbing sorrowfully in the lake at my back” (193). The narrator can almost envision himself as the man whose corpse is before him. Both deceased from mysterious causes, involved in shady activities, and left to rot in the stagnant lake water, and never to be discovered by the outside world. This marks the point where the main character is the closest he has ever been to death. Although he makes it out alive, the protagonist and his outlook on life are forever changed.
Death has feelings as much as any human, imagining, getting bored, distracted, and especially wondering (350, 243, 1, 375 respectively). Odd, one could say for an eternal metaphysical being. But then again, not that queer once having considered how Death spends his time. He is there at the dying of every light, that moment that the soul departs its physical shell, and sees the beauty or horror of that moment. Where to a human witnessing a death first hand (even on a much more detached level than our narrator) can easily be a life changing event, Death is forced to witness these passings for nearly every moment of his eternal life. Emotional overload or philosophical catalyst? Death gains his unique perspective on life through his many experiences with the slowly closing eyelids and muttered last words. Yet in this...
on my shoulder. I will carry you gently away” (4). This is how death explains the day you will
An emotion felt by anyone who loves, loss comes in all different shapes and sizes. For most, loss through death hurts the most, depending on how close the relationship. Due to its relatability, loss through death often presents itself as the theme of bestselling stories. From “Gwilan’s Harp” by Ursula K. Le Guin, to “The Washwoman” by Isaac Singer, and finally “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry, death possesses as a conflict characters must overcome. In “Gwilan’s Harp” death of a spouse forces the main protagonist to find her own identity.
It is simply impossible to live life unaffected by others. In everyday life individuals are being influenced and shaped by their peers, families, and friends. People learn, follow, and adapt to what they have experienced or been taught. One’s identity is shaped greatly by the people involved in their lives, with that said, depending on the situation the outcome can either be negative or positive. The Book Thief, a screenplay by Michael Petroni, follows a young girl as she adapts to living with new adoptive parents, learns the true tragedies of war when her family takes in a Jew, and explores her passion for words and reading.
We all see things differently depending on our perspective. That may be the only viewpoint we get without somebody else’s opinion. Markus Zusak shows us an interesting view on Death in his novel, The Book Thief. The Book Thief is a story of a young girl, Liesel, who grows up in Nazi Germany, narrated by Death. Death does not usually have a voice, and it is interesting that Zusak chooses Death as the narrator. Throughout the book, Death interrupts to give us background information, little details, or often the blunt truth. One of Zusak’s purposes in The Book Thief is to show a new perspective of Death, and how he may be different than how we expected.
Death states that, “I’m always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both” (Zusak 491). This book shows us human doing things that weren’t even imaginable before this point. Many people give into ideas that were lies. But, we also watch a few people go out of their way and sacrifice everything for a man they barely even know. They do everything they can to keep him safe and alive. They work harder, the get another job, and they even steal. In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, death examines the ugliness and the beauty of humans.
These stories and their authors portray different possibilities and aspects of coping with death, whether positive or negative, as exemplified through their various characters.
Along with his stream-of-consciousness style, Zusak has his narrator divide the book into quick, choppy chapters, rarely any longer than five pages. Death also throws in his own personal thoughts as interjections in the action of the story. Sometimes it’s with small facts about himself, other times its deeper insights into the action and sometimes it’s with clarifications. Death is really the perfect narrator for this story. The Book Thief stands out in its genre as a smart, entertaining, albeit sometimes dark, novel for young adults.
Death is depicted as an individual’s affair, in which, neither one’s closest friends or closest blood relatives can give a hand in. Upon receiving the tragic news Everyman first approaches his friend Fellowship. At first he is hesitant to reveal his sorrow to Fellowship for he considers it too tragic a plight. After cajoling and assurances by Fellowship to stand by him in whatever situation, Everyman finally pours out his sorrow to Fellowship. Upon realizing that Everyman has been summoned by death, fellowship turns his back on Everyman ...
Death is both an interesting and appealing concept to readers and writers alike. It is a powerful tool which can derive many emotions out of their readers and sometimes the writers themselves. Many writers use this tool to evoke emotional responses to their work by either removing a character from existence, portray a character going through the loss of a loved one or simply writing about the subject in general. There are many ways to portray death, but the outcome is usually the same, but what is it that affects of reading and writing about such a topic and why do people gravitate to this subject? The causes that lead to writing about death are not a choice but the path that was walked.
Even after his mother’s death his careless attitude continued. Death in this novel is a prominent theme depicted throughout the course of the story. The motif of death is one consistently brought
Death can really be a turning point in literature; it can either be a positive look or negative. Sometimes the main character of the work looks upon death as a person being free from hardships or suffering. Other times, death is looked as if the person dying was the only person they had in their life and now there grieving from it. A death caused in literature is very powerful and can have lots of meaning behind it. The theme of death in the works, “Do not Go Gentle Into that Good Night’, “Daddy”, and “Death be Not Proud” all have a very positive messages and takes on the fear of death to whole new level.
Death gives the story and interesting perspective that other books don’t have. The Book Thief fits into the contemporary realistic fiction genre because it has realistic characters, is sensitive towards religions, races, and genders, and has events that are true to history along with others that are realistic. This story would also do great in a classroom because students have more fun reading something with a story then they do reading from a textbook. All in all, this is a very enjoyable book and is a great read for any young