In The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, the theme of guilt is used to show the hardships of war and the effect it has on all who encounter it. Guilt is apparent in Michael Holtzapfel and Liesel Meminger. This major theme changes the course of the novel, guilt touches every aspect of these character’s lives. While we can not dwell on what could have happened, we can focus on what actually happened. Death tells of those who run to him for wanting to live, for being the ones to live with that guilt for the rest of their lives. The impact of guilt is most apparent in the minor character that is Michael Holtzapfel. Michael’s brother, Robert, dies in Russia in a cold, wet hospital. Michael was heartbroken and hated himself for still wanting to be alive while his brother was dead, and his mother wanted to die. This leads Death to talk about those like Michael who also hated themselves for wanting to live. Death says “They had too many ways, they were too resourceful--and when they did it too well, whatever their chosen method, I was in no position to refuse” (Zusak, 503). Death reveals that he didn’t want take those souls, but they called for him and he could not refuse. We can take away from this that Death might …show more content…
She feels the expected guilt from yelling at Ilsa Hermann and stealing her books, even though stealing is a loosely used term. Lisel knows that Ilsa is trying to help her but she still yells and emotionally wounds Ilsa. The guilt Liesel feels from that is normal. She also feels guilt that some Germans feel, from saying their Heil Hitlers when they don't support him. She can’t do anything to help all those imprisoned Jews, all she is able to do is falsely support Hitler. While Liesel deals with guilt differently than Michael it still creates a prominent result in her life story. Liesel is the main character of the book, Michael Holtzapfel is the better example of the prominence of the theme of
Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief depicts the life of a certain young German girl named Liesel Meminger during World War II. Her story was told through the eyes of Death, who narrates both the blessings and devastation that occurred during that era. Liesel experiences living with her new foster parents and come across a boy named Rudy Steider who will later on become her best friend. As the story unfolds, Liesel gradually discovers the horrifying truth behind the Nazi regime as her foster parents take refuge of a Jewish man. Despite being in the midst of destruction and recently coping from her traumatic background, she undertakes on a journey of self-discovery and
Strong feelings towards another can lead to imprudent actions. Throughout The Book Thief Liesel, Rudy, and Hans make impetuous decisions due to their strong emotions towards another. From reading this novel one can conclude that there is a very fine line between irrationality and bravery. Most of the decisions and subsequent actions made in the story could be regarded as brave but in truth many of these decisions were impetuous and ill thought out. In fact many of the characters subsequently came to this conclusion as well. The characters could have achieved more by executing logically planed actions instead of acting on the spur of the moment and jeopardizing their lives or the lives of others. It is amazing that even polar opposites emotions like love and hate result in the same irrational consequences as exemplified by Rudy, Hans and Liesel.
In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak the narrator is Death, who shows itself as sympathetic and sensitive towards the suffering of the world and the cruel human nature, through its eyes, we can get to know the heartbreaking story of Liesel Meminger an ordinary, but very lucky nine-year old German girl; living in the midst of World War II in Germany. In this book the author provides a different insight and observation about humanity during this time period from a German view and not an Allied perspective, as we are used to.
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.
Guilt can cause people to blame themselves and make unwise decisions. They will try to repay their debt to that person by either claiming their own life or by justifying the situation in favor of the person who died. Even though the situation has hurt someone, people try to make it fair. Life balances out.
Liesel Meminger was a very bright girl that didn’t have the resources to flourish. Her mother must hide from the Nazis because she is a communist and sends Liesel ...
This employment of omitted and skewed events creates an inevitable sense of balance. Written by Markus Zusak recounting the stories of his mother and father's past, The Book Thief is a natural example of this form of biased writing. Within the narrative, Markus Zusak distances the characters present from the negative connotations of NAZI Germany and, In order to achieve this the choice of narration being Death, Markus Suzak must distance the narrator from the concept of death itself. The initial, and inevitable concept of death which holds negative connotations, especially in the context of NAZI controlled Germany is distanced from Death throughout the novel. One such way of effectively employing this is to humanise the character of Death and hence distance the character from the bludgeoning concept of death.
In Harry Mulisch’s novel The Assault, the author not only informs society of the variance in perception of good and evil, but also provides evidence on how important it is for an innocent person experiencing guilt to come to terms with their personal past. First, Mulisch uses the characters Takes, Coster, and Ploeg to express the differences in perspective on the night of the assault. Then he uses Anton to express how one cannot hide from the past because of their guilt. Both of these lessons are important to Mulisch and worth sharing with his readers.
… ‘I knew it.’ The words were thrown at the steps and Liesel could feel the slush of anger stirring hotly in her stomach. ‘I hate the Fuhrer’ she said. ‘I hate him.’” (115)
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.
Guilt is a strong emotion that affects many people around the world. It can either lead people into a deep and dark abyss that can slowly deteriorate people or it can inspire them to achieve redemption. Guilt and redemption are two interrelated subjects that can show the development of the character throughout a novel. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, are two literary works that convey the connections between guilt and redemption and show the development of the character by using theme and symbolism that are present in the novels.
With the typical mystery novel falling between the common outline of victims and an unknown criminal that is painted in a dull and consistent palette of predictability, every single character in this storyline is a criminal but also a victim of their own guilt. Rather than exploring the mere surface of leveled justice, a deeper meaning of the concept is reached as death is doled out in an order of increasing guilt; those who are less guilty die towards the beginning of the purge to evade the anxiety and panic that haunts one as they continue their trek and witness their fate. Evading the governmental justice system before, the characters are emotionally tortured as they succumb to their thoughts and mortality, but because humans are innately imperfect, the justice system is also flawed.
The Medicine Of A Tragedy The domino effect. Once one event starts, it triggers the next, then the next and then the next. It started with Liesel’s brother, Werner dying and it ended with death taking multiple innocent souls. The Book Thief by Mark Zusak is a novel written from the perspective of death during the Nazi war, where we learn what the life of a foster child, Liesel Meminger is like. In Zusak’s The Book Thief, we learn how courage is important especially in the heart of a tragedy.
Envision a world where evil has taken over, simply because decent people are willing to do nothing to oppose the evil that is taking over. The idea is not far off from reality, because many people believe evil is prevails when decent people do nothing. Among these people was Edmund Burke, who once said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” He meant that injustice will continue to take place when good people don’t choose to fight against injustices. Many people agree with Burke, because true events have occurred that support Burke’s statement. Some people disagree, because they believe that even when righteous people intervene, evil will continue to prosper. However, Burke is correct in his statement
As time evolves, so do the words that are essential for our everyday survival. The most obvious difference between humans and animals is our ability to master the art of speech. Often, people will say the “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”, a simple nursery rhyme that helps ease a bullied child from abusive words and taunts. But does that really help cure the emotional pain? Words can illuminate and motivate the minds of people but can also shadow their self-esteem through psychological trauma. In The Book Thief, we see how fundamental words were to shape the reality of millions of people caught in the fire of World War II.