Summary The novel, The Book Thief, is narrated by Death who tells us about the experiences a girl has during World War II in Nazi, Germany. The story is about a girl who steals back the words that are stolen from her. She is separated from her mother and is put with a new family. She makes an unexpected friendship with a Jew who is a common enemy in Germany. It starts with nine year old Liesel Meminger on a train with her mother and brother to Mulching, Germany. On the way, Liesel awakes to her dead brother staring at her. He is then buried and at his burial Liesel steals her first book, The Grave Digger’s Handbook. Once the trains arrives in Mulching, Liesel is separated from her mother because she is a communist and is sent …show more content…
When Liesel is done reading in her library, she ask for the laundry, but is soon angry because her mother is losing money and she yells harsh words to Ilsa. Rudy and Liesel join a group who steals so they can have more food because they are basically starving. One day they plan to steal from the mayor’s kitchen but Liesel has other ideas. In that moment, Liesel steals her third book, The Whistler. Summer 1942, is filled with Hans and Liesel painting windows black for free to prepare for the air raids. Rudy is training for the Youth Carnival where he plans to win four gold medals like his hero, Jesse Owens, but he only wins three because he is disqualified in the fourth race. It also contains Liesel stealing more books from the mayor’s library. She takes the Duden Dictionary that is left for her and the note from Ilsa that says she knows it is Liesel taking the books and hopes one day she will come through the door instead of the window. Soon comes the air raids and the Hubermans are forced to leave Max behind and go to the Fiedlers’ basement to wait out the raid. In everyone’s panic Liesel reads, The Whistler which brings comfort for everyone. This soon becomes a habit whenever there is a
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).
She also dreams about her brother and has internalized this dream and has a contemporary one for Max. The eighth book is A Song in the Dark. Liesel steals this book from Ilsa Hermann’s Library because it is green. The ninth is The Complete Dulden Dictionary and Thesaurus. This is a reference book, a contribution from Ilsa Hermann.
She finally tells Rudy about Max after the incident. Liesel returns to Ilsa Hermann’s library and destroys a book because she becomes angry with how words can bring so much hate and then she writes and apology to Mrs. Hermann. Mrs. Hermann comes to Liesel’s house a few days later and gives her a journal so she can write her own story. One day while she was writing in her journal in the basement, an air raid happens and Liesel is the only survivor because she was safe in the basement. She is saved by the LSE and kisses Rudy’s dead lips and says goodbye to her Mama and Papa. She is taken by the mayor and his wife and when Alex Steiner comes back from the war, him and Liesel spend a lot of time together. Eventually, Max shows up and they have a bittersweet
Not that it was a living hell. It wasn't. But it sure wasn't heaven, either”. (5.87) Death tells us. She became really fond of Hans Hubermann; a painter and accordion player, but with Rosa things were more complicated; she was a rough woman who did the washing and ironing of Molching’s wealthy inhabitants. Liesel starts to have dreams of her brother dying and wets in bed which leads us to her first reading session; Papa finds the book hidden under Liesel’s mattress and after a while he notices that Liesel does not know how to read and doing his best with a fourth grade education he teaches her how to read and write. She also makes a friend that she would never forget Rudy Steiner or we can call it Jesse Owens too; they met on the street during a soccer game and since then they became
In this essay I will talk about The Book Thief Characters. The characters are Liesel, Rudy, And Max. I Will talk about how they are Influenced by society in This Book/Movie. I am going to three Paragraphs about these three characters. This essay is going to be a Compare and Contrast Essay.
The Book Thief: A novel taken place in Germany during War World 11. Throughout this novel we meet a girl named Liesel meminger,
... Liesel’s family would have also been affected. It is times like this where Liesel should have learned to control her actions towards those more powerful than her as she and those around her could have been punished.
Death narrates the novel we’ll be reading which is The Book Thief (yeah, you heard me it’s narrated by death) which proclaims to us the story of Liesel Memingers rough life. The date was January 1939, Liesel Meminger (who was ten at the time) was traveling via train, accompanied by her mother and little brother Werner. They were being taken to a small town called Molching, right outside of Munich, Germany, to be with her foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Liesel’s brother Werner dies while riding the train from hunger, cold, poverty, and lack of medical treatment. Before Liesel had arrived in Molching, Liesel was present for her brother Werner’s funeral in a snowy graveyard. Liesel
Words, so simple, yet are the most powerful ways of communication. The weight of words is one of most impactful themes in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, and is felt throughout the entire novel. The Book Thief is a story that takes place during World War II, and follows the Hubermann family and friendships as the Narrator: Death follows them through their journey of Germany in 1939. Hans Hubermann is one of the greatest supporters of words right next to the Book Thief herself, Liesel Meminger. Words are emphasized through stolen books, spoken conversations, and thoughts of the characters. Hans Hubermann backs Liesel’s desire to read through many long nights, protects Max Vandenburg while in hiding, and consistently stands up against the dehumanization
The novel The Book Thief is a book about a young girl by the name of Liesel Meminger. Observing the life of this young girl is not easy as this is the time of Hitler’s reign in Germany. In a short period of time, this girl faces many difficulties. More than any child should ever have to encounter. She has to deal with being abandoned by her mother, the death of her younger brother, and relocation to another part of Germany. Immediately when Liesel arrives to Molching, her life is forever changed. She is forced to live with two strangers, now her new mama and papa. Liesel faces much abuse both at school and at home. At school she is made fun of for her illiteracy and at home, mama speaks very rudely to her calling her a swine and other insults.
The general setting and time of The Book Thief is roughly from 1939 to 1943. The rough summary of the bulk of the book is about a young girl named Liesel, who she and her mother are on a train, when suddenly her brother Werner dies. They get off immediately at the next stop to bury him. One of the gravediggers had a book in his hand, but he drops it, and Liesel picks it up. Liesel and her mother keep going to Munich, then to a place called Molching. When her parents are sick, Liesel needs to be put with foster parents. She is put with a couple named Hans and Roma. Liesel has nightmares about her brother who died on the train, when she first arrives at the Hubermann’s house and she would wake up screaming. Liesel goes to a school, where she is made study with the younger children because she is behind in her education. Liesel turns ten in February, and is given a doll by the her foster parents. She also gets a uniform, and is enrolled in the Hitler. Her foster mother starts taking Liesel with her when she gets washing from the neighbors in Molching, and when Liesel is old enough she is going to start doing the same thing also.
“Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness” (84). In the beginning, we are introduced to the narrator by the name of Death. He informs the readers that he has many stories, but only remembers the ones that interest him. The tale of Liesel Meminger is one such tale, as he was always fascinated by her will to live through the most horrible instances. It should be duly noted however, that this story does not have a happy ending. Death makes this clear before we even have a chance to get our hopes up. He tells us that everyone dies; the amount of time that they last is truly the only difference. After this sordid fact is in place, he mentions just Liesel first attracted his attention.
In The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, beauty and brutality is seen in many of the characters. Rudy, Liesel, and Rosa display examples of beauty and brutality often without realizing what exactly they are doing, because it is a part of their human nature. Zusak not only uses his characters, but also the setting of the novel in Nazi Germany to allude to his theme of the beauty and brutality of human nature. The time in which the novel is set, during World War II, displays great examples of beauty and brutality, such as the mistreatment of the Jews. As a result of this time period, the characters have to go through troubling times, which reveals their beautiful and brutal nature in certain circumstances. Zusak uses his characters and their experiences to demonstrate the theme of the beauty and brutality of human nature in the novel.
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
The Silber Medal winning biography, “Surviving Hitler," written by Andrea Warren paints picture of life for teenagers during the Holocaust, mainly by telling the story of Jack Mandelbaum. Avoiding the use of historical analysis, Warren, along with Mandelbaum’s experiences, explains how Jack, along with a few other Jewish and non-Jewish people survived.