The novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak contains a handful of moments where the reader experiences heart-rending and joyful feelings towards the characters in the story. Each and every character is significant in the novel, and has their own way of showing how they care for one another. The relationships between these characters are what make the story memorable in its own individual way. The characters Hans, Rosa, Liesel, and Max all play remarkable parts in making the book memorable as a whole. From the start of the book Hans and Liesel develop a bond that shapes their relationship as Father and daughter to become immensely strong. As the book goes on it shows that the way they show love for one another is so simple, yet so meaningful. When Liesel arrives to Himmel street, she has recently left her mother and does not want to be a part of Huberman’s …show more content…
home; however, Hans tries his best to help Liesel feel comfortable and give her the time she needs to adjust.
On the first night Liesel has a nightmare and she yells in terror. Hans then comes in to comfort her. From that night on he comes in every night after her nightmares and stays up with her reading The Grave Digger. At this point in the book Liesel has been through a great deal of pain and for Hans to come in and do this, truly does show he cares Liesel. Rosa on the other hand has a special way to show people she cares about them. In the chapter “Fresh air, Old Nightmare and what to do With a Jewish Corpse”, her sweet and terrifying way of showing her love for Liesel comes out. When Max is sick Liesel begs Rosa to let her know in anyway possible if Max wakes up. Rosa arrives to school with her hair a mess and says to Liesel “ What the hell did you do with my hairbrush…” (331). Here
she is pretending to get Liesel in trouble for stealing her hairbrush, But once they step out of the classroom Rosa tells Liesel “You told me to yell at you, you said they’d believe me”(332). This moment shows how Rosa will go out of her way to embarrass herself, and to make someone she loves happy.This scene in the book is almost impossible to not find memorable since it gives the audience joy and laughter for Rosa’s actions. Another memorable moment Rosa adds to the book is not quite as joyful. Although Rosa acts tough and mean most of the time, she does have breaking points in the story that display her tenderness. In the novel it mentions “ It took longer than she expected for her eyes to adjust, and when they did there was no denying the fact that Rosa Hubermann was sitting on the edge of the bed with her husband’s accordion tied to her fingers hovered above the keys” (429). In this scene Liesel discovers her foster mother crying while holding her husband’s most important possession. This is one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the novel because it demonstrates how much Rosa misses Hans; even though he seems to drive her nuts most of the time. Both of these scenes in the novel , although different represent the never ending love Rosa shares for Liesel and Hans. That is what makes these two scenes memorable. Max was another essential character in aspects of the book that played a big part in showing his love towards others. At the start of the novel, Max and Liesel are a bit awkward towards one another but as the story goes on, they develop a caring friendship. Max writes Liesel two books that have a strong meaning for Liesel because in both books he creates storylines based on Liesel’s actions and characteristics. In both books there is a character represents Liesel. The books are meaningful and are a representation of Max’s love towards Liesel. He clearly takes the time to write her a book meaning that he pays close attention to what Liesel is like. However, one of the two book does happen to set a more memorable scene. Max writes Liesel the word shaker, but does not give it to her until he is long gone. The book is a way for Liesel to remember Max and symbolises the powers of their friendship when they are together. Liesel also shows she loves Max but, in a much more dangerous way. When Max is forced to leave after Hans’ actions, Liesel searches the jew that walk own Munich street in hopes to see if Max is among them. Just so she could know he is live. When she finds him, it is not only a memorable moment, but also one of the most tear jerking in the book. When Liesel sees Max there is no stopping her. Nothing holds her back from seeing Max not even the soldier's whips. The novel mention as rudy shouts “ Liesel get out of there!” “The book thief did not get out. She closed her eyes and caught the next buring streak…” (514). Sadly here the book thief is trying to reunite with Max but is harshly interrupted by a soldier. This is definitely one of the most memorable moments in the book since both Max and her risk their lives just to see each other again. Lastly, the most memorable moment of all was building the snowman on Christmas. The Hubermanns were not rich enough to have a fancy Christmas with lots of presents and a nice dinner. So instead they built a snowman down in basement with Max. Liesel, Hans and Max all mention to Rosa “ We have to make a snowman” (312). she then comes down and the novel mentions“She came down and helped them. She even brought the buttons for the eyes and the nose and some strong for the snowman to smile” (313). This is significant moment because they forget about how poor they are and about their problems. It is important because it is their first actual family bonding moment. It is a moment where they forgot about everything else that mattered and focused on themselves. The examples above all contribute to showing how the characters in the story prove they love each other one way or another. Although there are copious parts of the book that prove this, these example show the most emotion making them a lot more significant. Each character is essential towards making the book a memorable piece of literature.
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
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
Hans is forced to leave Liesel to serve in the military due to the Nazi Party accepting his application. “Don’t go, Papa. Just don’t go. Let them come for you if you stay. But don’t go, please don’t go.”(Zusak 424) Liesel understand due to the circumstances Hans, and not because of his choosing. Even Max had to leave at one point in order to maintain the safety of the Hubermanns. This still is all do to circumstance, which has thrusted Hans, Max and Liesel Mother to leave her
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...
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.
By “looking gravely at Liesel’s cheek”, he is extremely serious about the situation. However, he goes on to tell her that she “can say that in our house.” This essentially means Hans tolerates Liesel saying that, so long as Liesel never says it “on the street, at school, or at the BDM.” He does not want Liesel to get herself into trouble, so he decided to slap her to ultimately protect her, which is a thought-provoking moment. The two contrasts work together seamlessly to provide the idea that the destruction of Hans slapping Liesel is negated by the beauty in his willingness to protect her. Beauty intertwined with destruction is also present when the Himmel Street residents are in the bomb shelter, and Liesel begins to read to them. Death says, “The youngest kids were soothed by her voice, and everyone saw visions of the whistler running from the crime scene” (381). This quote shows the beauty of Liesel’s words alongside the ongoing air raid sirens. She was able to make the children
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.”
Take Liesel’s first encounter with her new foster family for example. When Liesel first arrived at the Hubermann house as a traumatized girl unwilling to talk to anyone, it was Hans who showed her kindness and love. As Rosa Hubermann demanded Liesel to take a bath, Hans said, ““Leave her alone.” Hans Hubermann entered the fray. His gentle voice made its way in, as if slipping through a crowd. “Leave her to me.” He moved closer and sat on the floor, against the wall. The tiles were cold and unkind. “You know how to roll a cigarette?” he asked her, and for the next hour or so, they sat in the rising pool of darkness, playing with the tobacco and the cigarette papers and Hans Hubermann smoking them”(33). Because Liesel had nightmares each night, it was Hans that would have to wake up in the middle of the night and comfort her for hours. After these nightmares occurred, Death describes Hans’ actions, “He came in every night and sat with her. The first couple of times, he simply stayed—a stranger to kill the aloneness. A few nights after that, he whispered, “Shhh, I’m here, it’s all right.” After three weeks, he held her. Trust was accumulated quickly, due primarily to the brute strength of the man’s gentleness, his thereness”(36). Liesel’s naiveness in a world where children have to grow up very quickly makes it even more difficult for Hans to take
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.
Rosa contains more brutality than beauty, especially with the way she treats Liesel. She constantly yells at Liesel and calls her names. Liesel describes Rosa as, “good at being furious” and she “had a face decorated with constant fury,” which means she is constantly angry or mad about something (32-33). Rosa’s brutality is also seen when she beats Liesel with a spoon for simple things, such as getting dirty while playing soccer. Despite Rosa’s cruel appearance, she does contain beauty. This is displayed once Max arrives and she immediately begins to take care of him, without getting angry, no matter the potential consequence. As a result of these examples, Rosa Hubermann also contributes to the theme of beauty and brutality of human
2. Liesel notices a change in Hans when they are at the River, but doesn’t realize what it means. Why do you believe Hans is going to the river? because he want time with Liesel and kiss her
Rosa and Hans both helped Liesel bring in snow, which showed Ma was loved equally by everyone. Even if the snow in the house made Max sick, it was presumed he would die anyways, so he might as well have been happy. “It was the beginning of the greatest Christmas ever. Little food. No presents. But there was a snowman in their basement.” (Zusak, 312). It shows how badly Max wanted to do such simple things as to see a snowman, because he couldn’t go outside and see snow for himself. Death showed us this to show the reader there are good things in bad
...t Max gave to Liesel as a gift. This book represents the power of words, and how words can make a difference in a person’s life.The readers are engaged because it is interesting know the back stories behind these books when we read about them in the novel. Finally, Hans’ accordion symbolises comfort in The Book Thief. When Hans leaves to go fight in the war, he leaves his accordion at home with Rosa and Liesel. This is the moment that Liesel know that Rosa truly does love Hans, although she might not show it. “Liesel watched. She knew that for the next few days, Mama would be walking around with the imprint of an accordion on her body” (429). Rosa, Liesel’s “Mama”, keeps the accordion close to her heart because it reminds her of her husband, Hans, whom she misses so much. In The Book Thief, symbolism attracts attention to certain thematic ideas and the novel itself.
We now live in a generation where parents excessively “bubble-wrap” their children. Bubble wrapping is the figurative term used to illustrate how parents want to keep their children safe and out of harm’s way at all times. Society often wonders, what the problem is with this, with all of the conflict, terrorism and wars happening in the world surrounding them, how could keeping a child safe have negative consequences? The truth is, that not letting children out into the world and keeping them from the current news and events no matter how devastating, decreases their capability of understanding their environment around them and, of further adapting to it in the future. In The Book Thief, after Liesel was transported by her mother to a foster home because of their
Fairy tales have been a big part of learning and childhood for many of us. They may seem childish to us, but they are full of life lessons and intelligent turnings. Components of fairy tales may even include violence, but always with the aim to provide a moral to the story. Hansel and Gretel is in itself a very interesting story to analyze. It demonstrates the way that children should not stray too far from their benchmarks and rely on appearances. In 2013, a film adaptation was produced. This film is produced for an older public and has picked up the story to turn it into a more mature and violent version. Hansel and Gretel is a German fairy tale written by the Grimm Brothers which has undergone several changes over the years and across the cultures which it touched, but for the purposes of this essay, I will stick to the original story. In the development of this essay, I will analyze the components of this tale by the Brothers Grimm based on the factors listed in the course syllabus (violence, interpersonal relationships, the function of magic and the ending), and I will then do a summary and comparison between the story and the film which was released in theaters recently.