PART ONE
Page 52
The Evidence: This page contains a panel sequence that relates to Vladek’s time as a prisoner of war. It begins with a German commander announcing that those who have been captured will assist in carrying dead and wounded German soldiers to Red Cross trucks. Here, Valdek is questioned of his whereabouts by two soldiers which he answers by leading them to the soldier he killed prior to being captured. This ends with Valdek coming face to face with the soldier and his remark, “And I said to myself: ‘Well, at least I did something.’”
My Understanding/Interpretation: This sequence comes to contain several meanings beyond that of the reader’s initial belief. In my interpretation of this, there comes to be two contrasting meanings
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In this page, Valdek speaks of the fact that he did not contain the right papers in boarding the train, yet boarded such with a clever plan. This being his successful attempt in convincing a train man that he was a Pole, like him, and gaining his assistance in getting to the right side of Poland to his family due to this “connection” and similarity with the Pole.
My Interpretation/Understanding: This scene includes the tensions present between the Germans and the Poles at the time. This is so as Valdek mentions that, “The Poles were very bitter on the Germans, so it was good to speak bad of them,” which refers to the tensions present with these two groups of people over territorial differences. This being due to German attempts to conquer the land at the time and the ongoing war present. This is a crucial aspect as it is not only a critical issue of the time, but Vladek's knowledge of such leads to his safe homecoming due to his ill-talk of the Germans. Besides this tension, I also came to interpret this scene to also speak of the racist and race-favoring values present at the time. This conclusion being based upon the fact that this train man was incredibly willing to aid Vladek due to Vladek's disguise as a Pole as it came to be evident that a Pole would be less inclined to aid a Jew, but loyal in assisting one of their own
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This is so as this scene comes to demonstrate the innocent and caring intentions of Valdek who gains the courage to ask for shoes, a belt and several other items for a friend who was in great need of such. This being the Jewish viewpoint of such as one, especially a Jew present in the Holocaust, can come to view Vladek's act of something noble in attempt to aid a friend. However, the supervisor’s angry response comes to illustrate German, Polish and other supporting races’ perspective on the Jews as the line, “You Jew! You’ve been here a few days and you’re ready to do business?!” comes to relate to the “business” and “profit-loving” Jewish stereotype that these races associate with Vladek's actions. In which one who contains this perspective can view Vladek's request as something containing audacity to ask for more once given something that was a gift. In other words, these panels come to illustrate the two contrasting perspectives present in the Holocaust as those against the Germans can view Vladek's actions as something of attempted kindness towards a friend, while those for the Germans contain a similar viewpoint as the angered supervisor who interpreted Vladek's actions to correlate with the “cheating” businessman
“The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak is narrated by death and begins when Liesel’s brother dies on a train with her and her mother. At her brother’s burial, she steals her first book, “The Grave Digger’s Handbook” and soon after is separated from her mother and sent to live with foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, in Molching, where the majority of the book takes place. At school, Liesel is teased because she can’t read so Hans teaches her to read when she wakes up from her frequent nightmares about her brother’s death. Hans is a painter and an accordion player and also plays the accordion for her after her nightmares. Liesel grows very close with Hans and also becomes close friends with her neighbor Rudy Steiner who constantly asks her to
Sajer describes the pride he felt at Chemnitz—and continues to feel—but struggles to reconcile with the ragged image of himself and his comrades under such incredible duress (Sajer 49-50). Sajer recounts how, soaked in rain and mud and subjected to ongoing artillery fire, he felt “like nothing.” (Sajer 50) This description exposes a break in the sense of significance he felt in the eyes of Germany while at Chemnitz, a significance that seemed to abandon him as he traveled deeper into Russia.
In The Book Thief, author Markus Zusak tells the tragic story of Liesel Meminger and her experiences in 1939 Nazi Germany. Zuzak incorporates compelling literary devices such as toe curling foreshadowing, personification, and vivid imagery in the form of simile and metaphors to grasp the readers’ interest. Zusak’s use of various literary devices helps to deepen the text and morals of the story, and makes the dramatic historical novel nearly impossible to put down.
In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak the narrator is Death, who shows itself as sympathetic and sensitive towards the suffering of the world and the cruel human nature, through its eyes, we can get to know the heartbreaking story of Liesel Meminger an ordinary, but very lucky nine-year old German girl; living in the midst of World War II in Germany. In this book the author provides a different insight and observation about humanity during this time period from a German view and not an Allied perspective, as we are used to.
’’Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver. Like soft silver…..upon seeing those eyes,she understood Hans Hubermann was worth a lot.’’ (Zusak,34) Liesel saw kindness in Hans Hubermanns eyes which made her feels more comfortable with him rather than Rosa Hubermann.
Throughout life many people face difficulties. Depending on the person’s strength some will get through tough times, but some will fail to overcome them. Two books where characters have to face many challenges include: Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Book Thief. These two stories deal with people overcoming the difficulties faced throughout everyday life. Some difficulties include racism, religious discrimination, and dealing with others’ cruelness or kindness. Examples from these books prove that the characters have challenges throughout the stories to overcome. In the face of adversity what causes some individuals to fail while others prevail?
...trol. In this novel he states that Germans are the highest forms of humanity, and that they must remain “pure”. In his opinion that meant there could be no cross marriages between people of Jewish of Slav decent. He also blamed the Jews for all the problems that had been occurring in Germany. “By defending myself against the Jews, I am doing the Lord’s work.”
Ackerman is able to detail the life of the Żabiński’s and their Guest by backing it up with historically accurate information. The use of historically accurate information allows for the reader to dive into an accurate depiction of what people of Poland experienced during World War II. Hitler's seizure of the Sudetenland in 1938 brought real worry over the borders of Poland. The author details the worries the Poles faced during this time because of this event. This sets the time setting for the reader––it allows the reader to further look into the life the Żabiński’s and those living in Poland. This aspect of the book was done well. The author would not have been able to accurately explain the worries individuals faced without stating these details.
These brave young Belorussian soldiers that set out to war against their opposing German forces may not be portrayed accurately by this unforgettable cinematic masterpiece for a more contemporary time period, as, say, the solders that are currently settled in and fighting with the regions of Iraq and Afghanistan, but the portrayal can be said to be accurate for how the soldiers and their opposing forces behaved within the film, and acted their roles well. Near the middle of the film there is a scene where a crowd of villagers are put inside of a barn in a village, revealing to the audience that the Nazi German officials are in total control of the situation and whatever will occur next, because they are directing the villagers their exact orders, “We have opened this
The novel describes his family life in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and his rebellious teenage years in the newly created state of Czechoslovakia. The novel informs the reader of Oskar Schindler’s relationship with his father and how his father abandoned Oskar’s mother, in which Oskar never forgave his father for leaving his mother alone. This information of how Oskar Schindler became to be how he is, is all significantly missed with Schindler’s List, Because it gives the viewer a whole outlook of Oskar Schindler and a better understanding of the ...
Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 film Inglourious Bastards entails a Jewish revenge fantasy that is told through a counterfactual history of events in World War II. However, this story follows a completely different plot than what we are currently familiar with. Within these circumstances, audiences now question the very ideas and arguments that are often associated with World War II. We believe that Inglourious Basterds is a Jewish revenge fantasy that forces us to rethink our previous understandings by disrupting the viewers sense of content and nature in the history of World War II. Within this thesis, this paper will cover the Jewish lens vs. American lens, counter-plots with-in the film, ignored social undercurrents, and the idea that nobody wins in war. These ideas all correlate with how we view World War II history and how Inglourious Basterds muddles our previous thoughts on how these events occurred.
The film “ The Pianist” directed by Roman Polanski can be deemed somewhat useful to a historian studying the period of time during the Holocaust and the pernicious impact it had on the city of Warsaw and its civilians. The film's portrayal of the Holocaust is highly accurate depicting the horrors and trauma during that time through the eyes of Wladyslaw “Wladek” Szpilman and his experiences. Although the film presents a few historical inaccuracies and fictionalizations the film is highly accurate, as it is solely based on the memoir of Wladyslaw Szpilman. This is evident in the quote “ I heard the hoarse bellowing of the German on the other side of the wall. I ran to the child to help him squeeze through as quickly as possible, but in defiance of our efforts, his hips stuck in the drain” (Szpilman, W., and Hosenfeld, W. (2008).
Early in the night, while life is still normal despite German occupation of their town, Wiesel explains: “Three days later, a new decree: every Jew had to wear the yellow star” (11). This decree is demoralizing to Jews because it labels them and sets them apart from the rest of Sighet’s population. Like trees marked for logging or dogs marked with owner tags, many people in Sighet are marked with yellow stars, to reveal their Jewish faith. Avni describes Wiesel and the Jews as being “propelled out of himself, out of humanity, out of the world as he knew it” (Avni 140).
The comic implies that surviving the holocaust affects Vladek’s life and wrecks his relationship with his son and his wife. In some parts of the story, Vladek rides a stationary bike while narrating his story (I, 81, panel 7-9). Given the fact that it is a stationary bike, it stays immobile: no matter how hard Vladek pedals, he cannot move forward. The immobility of the bike symbolizes how survivor’s guilt will never let him escape his past. Vladek can never really move past the holocaust: he cannot even fall asleep without shouting from the nightmares (II, 74, panel 4-5). Moreover, throughout the story, the two narrators depict Vladek before, during and after the war. Before the war, Vladek is characterized as a pragmatic and resourceful man. He is resourceful as he is able to continue his black business and make money even under the strengthened control of the Nazi right before the war (I, 77 panel 1-7). However, after surviving the holocaust, Vladek feels an obligation to prove to himself and to others that his survival was not simply by mere luck, but because h...
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.