The Power Of Words In The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

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The power of words is a prominent theme throughout the story, “The Book Thief”, by Markus Zusak. Zusak develops this theme in many different way throughout the story, however this theme is mainly developed through the books characters. The three main characters in the book that relay this theme are Liesel Meminger, Adolf Hitler, and Max Vandenburg. One very interesting thing about this theme of the power of words is that all three characters use this power in extremely different ways, as shown when Liesel says; “I have hated words and I have loved them, I hope I have made them right”(Zusak,528). This is a good example of how the power of words is many different ways because Liesel, a character who now understands the power of words and has …show more content…

Liesel Meminger is a great example of someone discovering the power of words. Liesel originally discovered the words as what seemed to be a way to survive. She first began when she started to read, which was originally just a way to cope with what had happened to your family. The words in “The Gravedigger's Handbook” soothed Liesel, and made her want to read more. Every night Liesel would wake up after a terrible nightmare and begin to read with Hans, calming her down while also furthering her ability to read, this is shown in the text; “Over the next few weeks and into summer, the midnight class began at the end of each nightmare”(Zusak,69). This quote is referring to how she would have terrible nightmares, but she would always be soothed by getting to read and learn right after them, when her papa would come into the room and read with her. After discovering this power that words had, she began to use them in many different ways. In the middle of the story she had a tantrum and she discovered for the first time

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