The Book Thief Theme Essay

479 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: An essay on perseverance

Finding beauty in ugly situations was a theme that was very key in the development of the Book Thief. This can be seen many times in the text and really brings the whole story together. Keeping a positive attitude in a bad situation and finding the good things is what keeps Liesel’s happiness. She may not have the best life yet she has a very positive outlook on life. It doesn’t matter the situation, you can always find happiness. Liesel is always looking on the bright side. She lost so much in life so she could either choose to be unhappy for the rest of her life or she could just decide to be happy. (She always choose to be happy.) Liesel got a burning book out of the fire and read it in the middle of the night when she was having nightmares. She used a book that was literally being burned because it was deemed “wrong” or “bad” by Hitler's men and she, the child of a communist, found happiness in it. …show more content…

He always wanted to be just like him. He even put mud all over his body to look like him. He wanted to be the “fastest man on Earth” just like Jesse Owens. Jesse Owens went into Germany for the Olympics and faced all of the things going on so he could go to the Olympics and win a gold medal, despite everything that Hitler was saying. He came in as an American to Germany and faced it all. He proved Hitler wrong and even beat Germans. Rudy found happiness by following Jesse Owens and using him as inspiration. Jesse Owens found happiness by going into Germany and winning his gold medal despite what others

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of The Gravediggers: Faust The Dog By Mattheus Ottleberg

    462 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Dialectical Journal For The Book Thief

    1724 Words  | 4 Pages

    Part One: The first book that Liesel “stole” was The Grave Digger's Handbook. This is ironic because it was the day that her brother died and it was the last time she saw her mother. Himmel Street is ironic because Himmel= Heaven and Himmel Street did

    Read More

  • Liesel Quotes Analysis

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rudy is having trouble understanding what exactly is going on during this time period and doesn’t understand that he needs to be the blonde haired- blue eyed German boy he is and not a black or Jewish person. Hitler is extinguishing anyone who is not like him or with him and Rudy wants to be one of the people that Hitler does not like and thinks that he should get rid of them, but Rudy doesn’t really understand that part.

    Read More

  • The Book Thief Sparknotes

    1375 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Book Thief

    357 Words  | 1 Pages

    ’’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.

    Read More

  • Irony In The Book Thief

    601 Words  | 2 Pages

    This realization, although suspected by the narrator for a long time, shows the true irony of Liesel’s thefts: that she never needs to steal them. When she steals her last book, The Last Human Stranger, she even takes a plate of cookies and leaves a note. Although none of these books are featured as heavily as her first few thefts, their titles reference parts of Liesel’s struggles such as her relationship with Max, her role in uplifting her community in the bunker, her continuing education, and her status being the only survivor of the final bombing. In conclusion, the books which Liesel steals are very influential in her development through the course of the novel, with the titles themselves references other parts of her life.

    Read More

  • Personification In The Book Thief

    213 Words  | 1 Pages

    In The Book Thief, author Markus Zusak communicates an over-arching topic. This topic is; all objects convey dark tones. The idea is transmitted into the writing subtly throughout the excerpt, as well as the story.

    Read More

  • The Fear Of Death Begins From The Book Thief, By Liesel Meminger

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    Suffered the loss of her brother werner, while attending his funeral “there was something black and rectangular lodged in the snow. Only [liesel] saw it. She bent down and picked it up and held it firmly in her fingers. The book had silver writing on it” (zusak 24). It was a book named “the grave digger 's handbook”. This proves that without even understanding the book Liesel was already looking for ways to learn and find a passion to mourn her brothers death. Next, is the relationship Liesel has with her papa, Hans. He shows Liesel how to read and write. Liesel, who doesn 't know how, grabs books that Hans then quietly shows her to translate. He does this through their night time nightmare hours “Unofficially, it was called the midnight class, even though it commenced at around two in the morning” (70). furthermore in the storm cellar, utilizing Hans ' paints to show her how to compose. He is staggeringly understanding, as this is an extremely troublesome and moderate procedure, and he never demonstrates restlessness or dissatisfaction with Liesel 's moderate advancement, thus proving that liesel stuck with her idea and followed through with her passion. Lastly, Liesel 's passion for reading and writing progressed when Ilsa gave her the a journal to write her story in, “[she] thought if [Liesel was not] going to read anymore of [her] books, [she] might like to write one instead.”

    Read More

  • The Power of Words in Markus Zusak´s The Book Thief

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    Liesel’s mom leaves her with foster parents because she wishes to protect her from the fate she is enduring. The words Paula, Liesel’s mom, uses go against Hitler because she is a communist which resulted in her being taken away and Liesel to lose her mother and experience the loss of her. This shows Liesel experiences unhappiness because of her mother’s disappearance which is caused by the words she openly uses that contradicts Hitler.

    Read More

  • The Dangers Of Survivor On Himmel Street, By Liesel Meminger

    1502 Words  | 4 Pages

    Liesel Meminger went through a great deal of survivor’s guilt but she managed to get back up after every single moment. Liesel was the only one to survive from her family in which that caused guilt to build up. When her brother Werner died she had the guilt spill out. As she lived with her foster parents every night she wouldn’t have a pleasant dream she would have a nightmare. The guilt of surviving while her brother didn’t, was one of her factors of survivor’s guilt.”As usual her nightly nightmare interrupted her sleep and she was woken by Hans Hubermann. His hand held the sweaty fabric of her pajamas “‘The train?”’ he whispered Liesel confirmed,”’The train.”’ (Zusak 86) The nightmare of the train is her seeing her brother dead on the floor in which happened to her and the survivor guilt comes to her causing her to have these nightmares. As she learned to read and write, she went on many exploits and met many people. Ilsa Hermann gave her a book to write in, leading to her being the only survivor on Himmel street. Since she was the

    Read More

  • Summary of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

    807 Words  | 2 Pages

    It was on a train with Liesel’s mother and brother where they were travelling when death made his first appearance in the book thief’s life. He took the soul of her brother and only glanced at the girl truly, not taking real note of her as he did his job. She knew that her brother was dead at that point, but the shock wouldn’t truly take her until she snatched a book from where it had fallen near her brother’s hastily made grave. After he was buried, Liesel and her mother continued on their way, arriving at the town of Molching, where she met Hans and Rosa Hubermann. In the first few months that she had arrived, nightmares plagued her mind, haunting her with images of Werner, her brother, and his cold dead eyes. Hans is the one to comfort her, and because of this she grows to trust in him and truly view him as her father. She enjoys his company as well, for he can play the accordion and is always smiling and winking at her in a joyous way. He also begins to teach her how to read the book that she picked up on the day d...

    Read More

  • The Book Thief Theme Essay

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Why Is Liesel Wrong For Stealing Books?

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin, I personally don’t believe Liesel is wrong for stealing a book from the bonfire because it was going to be destroyed anyways. It shouldn’t harm or have a huge impact on someone else. The book could have been thrown out by someone who did not want it anymore. Her family cannot really afford books and Liesel is

    Read More

  • Power Of Words In The Book Thief

    1270 Words  | 3 Pages

    The events of the Holocaust during WWII had the power to dehumanize Liesel, but instead it gave her the courage to live a meaningful life. “In my religion, we’re taught that every living thing, every leaf, every bird is only alive because it contains the secret word for life… Words are life, Liesel. All those blank pages are for you to fill.” (The Book Thief) Even though this is a quote that Max said to Liesel, it helps show how words give life meaning. This sparked the heart of Liesel’s life because she is given a blank to fill with words; she has the power to use her words as tools or weapons, to either live a meaningful life or an insignificant one. Liesel chose to use her words to gain strength and courage to live a life worth living through the books that she read and wrote. In Throne of Glass, Celaena Sardothien helps show that even though people may face struggles, it is ultimately what gives our life meaning because we learn to never give up and to endure through them. “If you learn to endure pain, you can survive anything.” (Maas 2). Parts of our strength comes from the things that we are forced to endure. If we go through life giving up on everything, it would seem like the real potential in living life is wasted. The words in these books show how life is a struggle, but if you at least try to face it with a brave face, it will make life more worthwhile.

    Read More

  • The Book Thief

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about The Book Thief Theme Essay

Open Document