The Book Thief Isabela Greene The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, is a book about a young orphan girl growing up during the World Wars. The Book Thief is a historical fiction, coming of age story. main character is Liesel Meminger. Her foster parents are caring for a young Jewish man. Throughout the story Liesel experienced death, and hurt. Because of her experiences, Liesel has matured and learned to trust people Liesel Meminger is a young girl who lived in Germany During WWI.. The book began with her being nine years old. She was traveling with her mother and brother in a train on the way to her foster parents, when her brother died. It was at his funeral that she stole her first book, The Gravedigger's Handbook. It was her foster father Hans Hubermann, who sparked her love of books. When Liesel would have nightmares, he would sit in her room with her. He taught her to read and write. He would play his accordion in bars to earn money to buy cigarettes. He would then sell the cigarettes for books. Liesel is closer to her papa than her mama. Later in the book, we found out that Hans was in the World War One. While he was serving, he befriended a Jewish man named Erik Vandenburg, who taught him to play the accordion. …show more content…
Liesel avoids the Mayor's house because she thinks that Frau Hermann saw her take the book from the bonfire on Hitler’s birthday. Frau Hermann has a giant library. When Liesel went to pick up the wash, she would read or get a new book. Frau Hermann is one of the reasons that Liesel started writing, she gave her a notebook. Frau Hermann was depressed about her son's death and Liesel's presence filled that missing presence of her son. Liesel blows up at Frau Hermann and tells her to move on from her son's death. Liesel then would keep stealing books from her library. Frau Hermann knew she just didn’t say anything. After Liesel’s family dies in the bombing of Himmel Street Frau Hermann takes care of
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.
“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
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.
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
The Book Thief: A novel taken place in Germany during War World 11. Throughout this novel we meet a girl named Liesel meminger,
The heavily proclaimed novel “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak is a great story that can help you understand what living in Nazi Germany was like. Throughout the story, the main character, Liesel goes through many hardships to cope with a new life in a new town and to come to the recognition of what the Nazi party is. Liesel was given up for adoption after her mother gave her away to a new family, who seemed harsh at first, but ended up being the people who taught her all the things she needed to know. Life with the new family didn’t start off good, but the came to love them and her new friend, Rudy. As the book carried along, it was revealed that the Hubermanns were not Nazi supporters, and even took in a Jew and hid him in their basement later on in the book. Liesel became great friends with the Jew living in her basement, Max, who shared many similarities which helped form their relationship. Both of
“‘Book burning’ refers to the ritual destruction by fire of books or other written materials. Usually carried out in a public context, the burning of books represents an element of censorship and usually proceeds from a cultural, religious, or political opposition to the materials in question.” (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
In the beginning of the novel, books are a source of great importance for Liesel. The first book she finds is titled The Grave Digger's Handbook which she finds while visiting her brother’s grave. Liesel cannot read, so
Being young, Liesel is always wondering about the things in life. But, these thoughts cause her to do some risky actions such as taking a book from a fire. In the novel, Liesel's eyes are drawn by the fire of books. She couldn't resist the urge to go in and grab one (119-120). This displays her curiosity because she just couldn't ignore the fire and it's treasures, even if it means burning herself in the process. Additionally, Liesel displays her curiosity when she asks Frau Hermann about Johann Herman. She says, "Johann Herman," she said. "Who Is that?" "(145). Even though Liesel knows it is never polite to ask about someone without them being brought up first, she couldn't resist because she's seen his name in almost every book in Hermann's
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.
If you were a German citizen during World War II, do you think you would be a Nazi? Most people would say no even though, in actuality, most people would be. It is because people need to succumb to societal expectations to survive in a society such as that of Germany during WWII and in the book, The Book Thief, this theme of individual versus society is explored with people complying and fighting social expectations. Sometimes people side with the Nazi Party out of fear of being targeted and other times fight against Nazi Party because of love for their family and fellow man with usually terrible consequences. In The Book Thief, the theme of the individual versus society is shown many times with characters conforming and defying social expectations.
Hans is forced to leave Liesel to serve in the military due to the Nazi Party accepting his application. “Don’t go, Papa. Just don’t go. Let them come for you if you stay. But don’t go, please don’t go.”(Zusak 424) Liesel understand due to the circumstances Hans, and not because of his choosing. Even Max had to leave at one point in order to maintain the safety of the Hubermanns. This still is all do to circumstance, which has thrusted Hans, Max and Liesel Mother to leave her
“Here is a small fact: You are going to die”(Zusak 3). The Book Thief, a historical fiction book by Markus Zusak, is narrated by Death. The novel takes place during the 1930’s and 40’s in Nazi Germany and follows 9 year old Liesel Meminger, who death refers to as “The Book Thief.” After her father, mother, and then brother are killed, Liesel becomes an orphan and is taken in by Hans and Rosa Hubermann in Molching. Throughout the book, she meets many people including the Mayor’s wife, Isla Hermann, and Max Vandenburg, a Jew who is hiding from the Nazi’s in the Hubermann’s basement. Although Liesel’s life is filled with death and loss, she ends up surviving an air raid on her street and after the war, she is reunited with Max who survived the Nazi death camp.
She realizes that words, through cruel and wicked manners, can impact people to force acts of brutality. During the burial of her baby brother, she finds her first book, the grave digger’s manual. Even though Lisel couldn’t read at the time, she knows the memories its words hold.
Throughout time, children have read stories of brave knights, running into battle with their swords ready to defeat the invader. They have read tales of everyday girls turning into princesses by kissing a frog or wearing a glass slipper. Also, some of these stories contain accounts of historically poignant moments. For example, the novel The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak takes place during World War II. It gives a lasting impression on what this time was like for everyday people and the impacts the war had on them. The author does this through the many storytelling elements incorporated into the book. Also, Zusak displays how people respond to changes within their lives during these taxing times. For instance, the main character, Liesel