Book Thief Identity

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Recommended: Understanding the factors that shape peoples identity essay

It is simply impossible to live life unaffected by others. In everyday life individuals are being influenced and shaped by their peers, families, and friends. People learn, follow, and adapt to what they have experienced or been taught. One’s identity is shaped greatly by the people involved in their lives, with that said, depending on the situation the outcome can either be negative or positive. The Book Thief, a screenplay by Michael Petroni, follows a young girl as she adapts to living with new adoptive parents, learns the true tragedies of war when her family takes in a Jew, and explores her passion for words and reading. An individual is impacted by the people around them and one’s personal experiences shape them into who they are. In …show more content…

In the film, Hans provided Liesel with a feeling of support and comfort from the first moment that they meet. Towards the beginning of the movie, Rosa’s insolent tone of voice and abrasive attitude put a strain on the development of her and Liesel’s relationship. When Rosa was yelling at Liesel to exit from the car, after her arrival to the house of her new foster parents, Hans decided to take a different approach. As a result, Liesel felt more welcome and was able to leave the car because of the feeling of security that Hans provide her. Naturally, Liesel gravitated towards Hans for affection and guidance because he was gentler and the more understanding one of the two parents. The bond of Hans and Liesel was evidently stronger than that of Rosa and Liesel, as there was a sense love and warmth within the relationship. Comparatively, during my trip to Ottawa, a close friend of mine was putting a strain on our relationship as she neglected to resolve issues with necessary communication. “It was the same old cycle, something would happen , Romana would get mad, then ignore us, then we would apologize for the unknown thing that we did.” (Nwaogu) During the trip to Ottawa, Romona started to change, she became rather distant and fragile, which concerned me , but without her willingness to open up to …show more content…

Liesel's foster family is put into a treacherous situation when they required to conceal a Jewish man and on numerous occasions risk discovery if their disloyalty to the ruling party.Hans and Rosa make the valiant decision to keep Max in their basement as he hides from the Nazis and tries to survive against the odds of presumable death. When Liesel finds out that Nazis are checking people’s basements, her first thought and instinct to help Max. Liesel is forbidden from telling a soul about her family’s dark secret and at times it is extremely difficult for her, but she is able to keep her promise to Rosa. This trait of being compassionate is ostensibly passed down from her foster father, Hans, who constantly demonstrates what it means to have concern for the well-being of others. As a result, Liesel was very kind and empathic towards Max because she began to understand that the world possesses some evil forces and in order to diminish it, one has to be a light source of good. Correspond- ingly, when I lost my father’s camera, I felt that I had to sacrifice my own pride and admit my wrong doing in order to move forward. In this situation, my dad motivated me to have integrity for my actions because from a young age honesty was instilled into my

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  • The Book Thief Sparknotes

    1379 Words  | 3 Pages

    Max uses Mein Kampf as a kind of cover so people wouldn’t suspect that he was a Jew and he escapes to the Hubermann’s house as Hans promised to help the Vandenburg’s if they ever needed it as he was friends with Max’s father in the war and Max’s father saved Hans’ life. Liesel is curious but also scared of Max at first but they bond over the fact that they both have nightmares, have lost their families and are both “fist-fighters” Since Max is always hiding in the basement, Liesel begins to describe the weather to him and brought him snow where they had a snowball fight and built a snowman with Hans and Rosa. Soon after, Max falls ill and she brings him 13 presents, hoping that he will wake up and reads to him every morning and night. Max also begins to share stories with Liesel and for her birthday makes her a book called “The Standover Man” which is about his life and journey. Max also begins to have daydreams where he fights Hitler and Hitler always uses his words to excite the crowd and uses them as a weapon. Liesel and Rudy also begin to steal food with a group of

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  • Examples Of Liesel's Dependence On Books In The Book Thief

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the novel Liesel reaches new highs and new lows, overcoming her fears and succumbing to her anger. Liesel's sudden outburst at Ilsa Hermann after Ilsa asking to stop the laundry services caused her to finally accept her brother's death and even helped Ilsa accept her son's death as well. Ilsa's guilt consumed her and caused her to become a house ridden woman overcome by her grief while Liesel overcame her guilt and grief by learning how to read and write not allowing them to overcome her. "“It’s about time,” she [Liesel] informed her, “that you do your own stinking washing anyway. It’s about time you faced the fact that your son is dead. He got killed! He got strangled and cut up more than twenty years ago! Or did he freeze to death? Either way, he’s dead! He’s dead and it’s pathetic that you sit here shivering in your own house to suffer for it. You think you’re the only one?” Immediately. Her brother was next to her. He whispered for her to stop, but he, too, was dead, and not worth listening to. He died in a train. They buried him in the snow. […] “This book,” she went on. She shoved the boy down the steps, making him fall. “I don’t want it.” The words were quieter now, but still just as hot. She threw The Whistler at the woman’s slippered feet, hearing the clack of it as it landed on the cement. “I don’t want your miserable book. ”[…] her brother holding his

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  • Eliezer's Connection with his Father in Night by Elie Wiesel

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout Night, the bond that Eliezer has with his father Chlomo passes through a rocky course, but eventually becomes stronger due to the isolation and ultimately the death of Chlomo. This rocky course has events that that go from being inseparable in Birkenau, to feeling as though he is a burden. In between, there are times where Elizer’s relationship is clearly falling apart and then being fixed. The camps greatly influence the father-son relationship that Elie and Chlomo have, sometimes for the better, and sometimes for worse. Originally in 1941 when the Wiesel family was living in Sighet, Eliezer took Chlomo for granted, as any child would. Little did he know that their relationship would permanently change forever.

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  • Abandonment In Liesel's Book Thief

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    Liesel experiences abandonment throughout her life, and the novel during a suppressed time in World War II Germany. Through her experiences Liesel’s learns to equate abandonment with love knowing that circumstance have forced her loved ones to leave her.

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  • The Book Thief Morality Quotes

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    Characters of Himmel Street which support those who have been marginalized by society encounter love for humanity as they share a form of love with the individual they are comforting. Liesel Meminger is a character on Himmel street that continually comforts others, which is noticeable in the way she treats the character Max Vandenburg who has been abused by societal ideologies. It is evident that Liesel supports Max when she obtains gifts for him, while he is ill and concealing from the Nazis, “Whenever she

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  • Irony In Liesel's Obsession With Stealing Books

    1387 Words  | 3 Pages

    One may hear the words love and abandonment and believe they are opposites, but this is not the case in The Book Thief. Markus Zusak uses abandonment to bring together two characters. One night Liesel and Max reveal to one another their reoccurring nightmares. Liesel has a dream where she feels abandoned by her mother and brother while Max has a dream where he abandons his family. Even though Liesel is abandoned and Max is the abandoner they both feel the same way toward what had occurred to each of them. Through this sharing of nightmares comes a special unspoken connection between the two. Liesel and Max go from strangers to practically brother and sister who love one another, which may seem odd for the love came directly from abandonment. Liesel’s first encounter with abandonment came from her brother dying on the train on the way to Liesel’s foster home. Liesel was very upset and hurt by her mother and did not under stand why she was doing this until later. “She saw it all so clearly. Her starving mother, her missing father. Kommunisten” (Zusak 111) Liesel connected the dots and realized that her mother was married to a communist, which was a great danger during the reign of Hitler. Liesel came to comprehend that her mother gave her up to keep her safe and away from Hitler. Her mother did all of this out of love for her. All the pain and suffering that Liesel has gone through has been caused by

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  • 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.

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  • Book Thief Belonging

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

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  • What Is The Distinctive Narrative Voice In The Book Thief

    1149 Words  | 3 Pages

    Unbeknownst to Liesel, Max secretly writes two graphic stories for her, enshrining the power of words, rewarding her developing power of words and giving her strength to write her own words. The Standover Man; the first of the two complete illustrated stories, encapsulates Max’s feelings towards Liesel and their developing friendship. Within the context of the story, Max is depicted as a bird- like creature who fears ‘men standing over’ him. His fear may be associated with the events of his life that have left him vulnerable, for example, losing his father at a young age and losing a fist fight to a friend. As the story progresses, it becomes evident that Liesel’s presence provides comfort to Max, as he begins to realise that ‘the best standover man [he’s] ever known is not a man at all’, but is Liesel; a companion who is ultimately able to redefine Max’s preconceived notion of ‘the standover man’, as being someone associated with abandonment and antagonism to a compassionate figure that he need not fear. The second story, The Word Shaker, written by Max, and created with the assistance of the Hubermanns, juxtaposes a book of oppression and detestation into a story of hope and resilience, to impart optimism within the reader. The fact that the faint text of the Mein Kampf does not leak through the painted pages, as it did in The Standover Man, is symbolic of how the only way to obliterate the legacy of Hitler is through the union of Jews and Germans. This is utterly uplifting, as they elicit the realisation that even for Max, who is secluded from the world and tormented by the Nazi morals, is powerful enough to overcome his fear of Hitler’s

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

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    All thanks to his friend Walter kugler. Walter is Max 's best friend. Walter and Max started battling each other growing up, yet soon got to be companions. In the early phases of the Holocaust, Walter helps Max avoid the Nazis and organizes Max to stay at Hans Hubermann 's place. Even though Max is going through tough times he is able to keep a strong relationship with walter. Despite the fact that Max is experiencing extreme times he can keep a solid relationship with walter. Secondly is the relationship Max has with Liesel. In spite of the fact that Liesel is apprehensive meeting Max to begin, they soon turn out to be great companions. They share bad dreams as their first talk together. Max has left his family and Liesel has lost her sibling. Sharing their mishaps the two get to be associated through sharing their souls and the printed word. Liesel instructs Max that he can express his sketchy identity through words. "i have hated the words and i have loved them, and i hope i have made them right” (528). Max and Liesel have grown to love and learn from one another. Lastly, is the relationship Max has with Hans before leaving them. Max left since Hans has shown love for a Jew in a parade, and Max realized that Hans ' home would be hunted by the NSDAP down evidence of

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  • Irony In The Book Thief

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    Max showed her a side of the world that was technically forbidden for her German roots and family. Either way, her family housed a jewish person. Which was illegal at that time and punishable by death. Not a topic to take lightly. Anyways, Max wrote Liesel a book called “The Standover Man”. A quote from the book makes his story ironic. “It makes me understand that the best standover man I’ve ever known is not a man at all…” (Zusak, page 205, line 5-8) This is ironic because Liesel could be a man with her guts, but she is different. She doesn’t put up with any crap from anyone (but her parents of course), but she can also at the same time be very caring. She is as mean as an angry bull, but as nice as a caring mother with her newborn child. It’s kind of hard to think of any female being like that but that is how Liesel is

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

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fellow classmates in Liesel’s class mock her because she didn’t read the passage he was instructed to read. This shows Liesel experiences unhappiness because of her lack of reading and the power of words.

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  • 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.

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  • The Book Thief Words Analysis

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    That night another bombing happened and Liesel was the only one on Himmel Street to survive. This is because she was writing about Max’s book, which was on the power of words. “He had saved my life,” (Zusak 528) Liesel states this after she realizes that she was the only one on Himmel Street to survive. So in my opinion the reason why Liesel doesn’t die that night, was because of the power of

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  • Emotional Adaption In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief

    1867 Words  | 4 Pages

    Liesel had found Max, a Jewish man who had stayed with the Hubermann family in hiding for a long period of time, in a crown of Jewish people being marched to the Dachau concentration camp. She stopped to hug him and talk to him, but the punishment that would ensue would leave scars for months, both physical and emotional. A soldier had

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