Whether people are noticing a fight or hearing about a person who risks their life for someone else, people always witness good and bad human behaviour. However, these actions can have negative results: a person in a fight can become seriously injured, and a person risking their life can easily end up dead. In The Book Thief, Markus Zusak proves that kind or cruel human behaviour often causes consequences through the actions of several characters. First off, Liesel Merminger displays through many situations that being compassionate or hateful can have negative outcomes. One instance is when she yells at Ilsa Hermann for firing her mother; the things Liesel says ruin her friendship with Ilsa and deprive her of access to the mayor’s library. …show more content…
One example of this is when Max rudely leaves his family behind in order to hide from the Nazis. It is clearly stated in the book that his need for survival undesirably overcomes his loyalty to his family, “when he was pushed out by the rest of his family, the relief struggled inside him like an obscenity. It was something he didn’t want to feel, but nonetheless, he felt it with such gusto it made him want to throw up. How could he?” (Markus Zusak 193). The somewhat unintended abandonment results in a life of guilt for Max. Max Vandenburg also displays an act of kindness when he leaves the Hubermann’s home. Max values the Hubermann’s safety over his when he decides to leave the safety of their house after Hans’ incident with the Jew. Max realises that he was putting the whole family at risk of being caught by continuing to take refuge in their house, and determines that the only way to keep them safe is to leave. By committing this extreme act of kindness, he puts his life in danger and is eventually caught and sent to a concentration camp. Max’s acts of kindness and selfishness help enforce Zusak’s theme that kind or cruel behaviour can end in a …show more content…
One of the many kind things Hans does is paint over the racial slurs on a Jewish man’s door. He risks his safety to do so and ends up being suspected as a “Jew-lover”, which puts his business and family in jeopardy. Hans also performs a great act of kindness when he keeps his promise to Erik Vandenburg and agrees to house his son, Max. By doing so, Hans takes on the impending consequence that he may be caught hiding a Jew in his basement, putting his whole family in danger. One of the most benevolent things Liesel’s foster father does is give bread to a Jew being marched through their town. He cannot help but aid the struggling man, however, he regrets his decision soon after realising the consequences that will come. First, Hans is whipped in the middle of the parade of Jews, and then a few weeks later he is sent to war to be part of the LSE, also known as the dead body collectors. Sadly, Hans’ sympathetic behaviour was often followed by consequences, as the theme of The Book Thief
Hans can’t help to offer a piece of bread to one of the prisoners and is beaten along with the prisoner for this act of nobility. He is frightened that the Nazi will search his house and discover Max. That same night Max leaves Himmel Street. Hans is sent to war as his punishment and Alex Steiner is also conscripted for not permitting Rudy be part of a special training school. With Hans and Max gone, Liesel does her best to go on. She reads to the inhabitants of Himmel Street in the bomb shelter during air raids, robs food with Rudy, and helps Rosa who is devastated by Hans’s departure. The last book she steals is called “The Last Human Stranger” at this point she is frustrated and
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.
Reluctance or stubbornness in ending impulsive actions can have consequences. In the Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel Meminger’s inability to halt her dangerous habits put her and others’ lives in dangerous situations. Three main examples of Liesel’s dangerous activities are when she steals books, when she demonstrates kindness at improper times, and when she disrespects others for her own selfish reasons. In all these examples, there is always one moment where Liesel places her or others in harm’s way and narrowly escapes punishment.
Guilt is a prevalent theme throughout The Book Thief. Liesel endures guilt multiple times, when she steals laundry money from Rosa, gets Max sick, verbally attacks Ilsa Hermann, and experiences the guilt of surviving. All of these acts caused Liesel to experience some sort of guilt which later causes her to perform questionable tasks.
In chapter (?) The Gates of Thievery. In this chapter Hans Hubermann ( Liesel Foster farther) meets Liesel on the church steps after a book burning. Liesel she asks Hans if her mother is a comm...
Towards friends and neighbours, Hans aids all of those that need it. After Mr. Kleinmann’s clothing store was vandalized, Death, the narrator, observed,“In sloppy lettering, the words JEWISH FILTH were spilling over at their edges.[...]Hans moved closer and stuck his head inside. “Do you need some help?” Mr. Kleinmann looked up.[...] “No, Hans. Please. Go away.” Hans had painted Joel Kleinmann’s house the previous year. He remembered his three children. He could see their faces but couldn’t recall their names. “I will come tomorrow,” he said, “and repaint your door”(181). Despite not knowing them very well, Hans still offers help towards those who have nothing, even if it may affect his own financial situation. As women who had nothing would come up to Hans and ask him to paint their blinds black, he said, ““Frau Hallah, I’m sorry, I have no black paint left,” he would say, but a little farther down the road, he would always break. There was tall man and long street. “Tomorrow,” he’d promise, “first thing,” and when the next morning dawned, there he was, painting those blinds for nothing, or for a cookie or a warm cup of tea”(354). Even though it was against the values of WWII Germany’s society, Hans still felt the need to help anyone, even if they were Jewish. “Papa reached into his paint cart and pulled something out. [...] The Jew stood before him, expecting another handful of
Both of the characters faced difficulties that they overcame. Which came to answer the guiding question “In the face of adversity what causes some individuals to fail while others prevail?” well the main characters both prevailed through their challenges. In Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie overcame the challenges she faced with her three husbands. In The Book Thief Liesel overcame moving away from her mother and the death of her brother all while the war was going on in Germany, and she had to protect those around her like Max. These main characters are both strong individuals that overcame many challenges throughout the book. When faced with challenges how will one react? The strong individuals that relate to Janie, Liesel, and the Jewish people will prevail through tough times. Those that are weak will fail during challenges in
During times of chaos, the victims’ morals begin to be corrupted by their surroundings. Elie Wiesel, himself, witnesses the process of dehumanization frequently during his time in the Holocaust. The atrocities that Elie Wiesel witnesses often begin due to a lack of morals. Elie witnesses a son abandon his morals in order to stay alive. The son, “had seen him losing ground, sliding back to the...
Zusak demonstrates this through Liesel’s relationship with her mum. Her mom left her to fend for herself with an unknown family because she and her husband were communists that greatly disliked by the Nazis. “A gang of tears trudged from her eyes as she held on and refused to go inside.” This quote shows that Liesel’s has a strong relationship with her mother due to the fact that she doesn’t want to be apart from her. This is important because it contradicts the well-known statement that a mother's love in unconditional. Zusak uses this to challenge a point that most deem a fact. The relationships that are most important are those with our family members as we expect endless love, yet even abject hatred can destroy the strongest of bonds. One must be careful to not let the hate projected upon one to them to create a mutual hate. Zusak shows how dislike is destructive through Max’s obsessive hatred towards his oppressed; the nazis. Max’s relationship with the Nazi’s is filled with anger because of how the way his people were treated and hated by Hitler. “White light lowered itself into a boxing ring … Diagonally across, Adolf Hitler stood in the corner with his entourage” In this excerpt, Max’s true hatred is shown by him visioning a fight between him and Hitler. Zusak displays how the Nazi’s dislike of the Jews leads to Max sharing the same feelings for the Nazi’s. Hatred can start off being one
Elie Wiesel once stated that “More dangerous than anger and hatred is indifference. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end-and it is always the friend of the enemy.” Wiesel was a survivor of a German concentration camp called Buchenwald during the Holocaust and later dedicated his life to groups suffering from persecution for their beliefs and discrimination against their national origin. He had first hand experienced of the horrors that anger and hatred are capable of, yet still believed that indifference was worse. This is because indifference shows no emotion, fails to take action against existing anger and hatred, and cannot be used to promote growth within the world.
In The Book Thief, Liesel realizes quickly that people around her have a huge lack of intolerance. Liesel believes that what Hitler and the Nazis are doing is wrong and she notices their actions quickly. For example when she hides Max Vandenburg in her basement she realizes that punishing Jewish people for their religion is wrong.
Many people during the Holocaust made choices that could either be small or life changing. Simple choices and actions could very easily get a person killed in those times. The Holocaust is one of the most devastating historical times that has ever happened to this day. Over eleven million people were murdered during the Holocaust. Six million were Jews and the rest were from other ethnic groups such as the Slavs or Roma. Some of these deaths were caused by simple choices that people made. Millions of people during the Holocaust made difficult choices that can be displayed in two pieces of Holocaust Children’s Literature, the amazing and fictional story of The Book Thief, an amazing true tale called Eva’s
Although she has to leave many family members behind in the past, she maintains deep connections to them on an emotional level. Liesel has also been able to build a very strong relationship with her foster family, to an extent where she treats them like biological kin. Even as she has gotten used to her new home and to her foster parents, Liesel still constantly thinks about her mother and continues to care deeply about her. When Liesel learns that Hitler took her mother away, she states bluntly and out of anger that she “hate[s] the Führer” (Zusak 115). With no more than these few words Liesel rebels, not merely against the Führer, but against societal standards. In Nazi Germany, everyone is expected to love Hitler and the Nazi party. They are expected to salute, not by hello or Guten Tag, but rather by “Heil Hitler” (50). This is taken very seriously by some; Frau Diller, an owner of “the corner shop at the end of Himmel street” (49) refuses to serve customers who enter her shop without saying “Heil Hitler”. One must also remember that Liesel once dreamt that “he crouched down and smiled at her” and then “she returned the smile” (20). This means, not only did she not hate Hitler, but she also admired him and wanted him to recognize her. Out of affection towards her mother , Liesel changes her views towards the Führer, rejecting social and political standards; it is only natural that her love
Every life occurrence happens for a reason. Hardships in life make you value and cherish the beauty of life. The hardships an individual has faced in the past will make them succeed in the future. Hardships happen because you need to have negative
In Markus Zusak’s best selling novel, ‘The Book Thief’ he utilizes a stark contrast of ideas in beauty and destruction. In real life, war and famine devastate the people of this world. At the same time, however, there are elements of beauty such as peace and love. Many events in the book display this contrast, such as Death’s exhaustion of the human race and their complexities, or when Hans slaps Liesel to protect her. Because Zusak interconnects beauty and destruction, he is suggesting that the kindness of humanity far outweighs it’s cruelty