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The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
In the book The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, I constant theme that I noticed that continued on throughout the whole book was Judgment. I choose this theme because sense the whole book was based off the time and era of the Holocaust, there was obviously a imbalance of power, but the imbalance had to do with the judgment the Nazis had on Jews, as well as the Jews judgment on the Nazis. Now I have to make my seed theme more complex; Judgment is crucial for making decisions. Your judgment isn’t always right, judgment has a lot to do with a opinion, so it is important to stay neutral.
After reading a critical scene from my book, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, I realize that it is where my first original theme
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of Family beginnings. On page 38-39, it is all about Liesel and her new family. Something that the author does throughout the book is he put things in bold on the middle of a page, almost like a newspaper headline This is sort of what it looks like; * * * THE BOOK’S MEANING * * * 1.The last time she saw her brother 2.The last time she saw her mother.
“Sometimes she would whisper the word Mamma and see her mothers face a hundred times in the afternoon.” These two quotes from my book shows how hard it was for Liesel to loose her family and to know that she wasn’t going to ever see them again. So it shows the theme of family aspect from the very beginning.
Another critical scene in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is, when Liesel and Rosa Hubermann (foster mom) got into an argument and Rosa abuses Liesel.
“Yes,Mama.”
“For a moment, it appeared that her foster mother would comfort her or pat her on the shoulder.”
“She did no such thing. Instead, Rosa Hubermann stood up, selected a wooden spoon.”
To me this passage showed how not all families are an easy, lovely, wonderful, group. Every family have their flaws. I think that a lot of the time when people hear the word family they immediately think of love, warmth, the ideal family, but they don’t think about some negative things that can go on in a home. Especially when there is a foster kid involved things can be very hard for them too. So a theme that I was considering for the middle of my book was, facing reality because this passage shows the darker side of family and shows how not everything is perfect and wonderful for
everyone. "Goodbye, Papa, you saved me. You taught me to read. No one can play like you. I'll never drink champagne. No one can play like you." -Liesel Meminger pg. 538-539 As I looked more into this specific quote said by Liesel, I realize that she says “No one can play like you” twice. This is an important thing to notice because obviously the author is trying to get us to understand something. To me, I think that the quote “No one can play “No one can play like you” Is reminding us about something the narrator told us in the very beginning. I also notice another theme in this quote that I hadn't noticed before. I noticed that another possible theme could be Circle of life. I think this because this is where Liesel is thanking her foster father for everything he has done for her and realizing that she is coming of age. To conclude, the overall theme to note after reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, is; Family is a wonderful thing, but when faced with the challenges of reality, the circle of life stands strong. This illustrates how family sticks with you in the ups and the downs of life, you just need to remember that by learning from your parents and family there will come a time when they won’t always be there with you, so just by carrying on family values the circle of life can move the next generation with love and hope for the family that comes next.
“The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak is narrated by death and begins when Liesel’s brother dies on a train with her and her mother. At her brother’s burial, she steals her first book, “The Grave Digger’s Handbook” and soon after is separated from her mother and sent to live with foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, in Molching, where the majority of the book takes place. At school, Liesel is teased because she can’t read so Hans teaches her to read when she wakes up from her frequent nightmares about her brother’s death. Hans is a painter and an accordion player and also plays the accordion for her after her nightmares. Liesel grows very close with Hans and also becomes close friends with her neighbor Rudy Steiner who constantly asks her to
In The Book Thief, author Markus Zusak tells the tragic story of Liesel Meminger and her experiences in 1939 Nazi Germany. Zuzak incorporates compelling literary devices such as toe curling foreshadowing, personification, and vivid imagery in the form of simile and metaphors to grasp the readers’ interest. Zusak’s use of various literary devices helps to deepen the text and morals of the story, and makes the dramatic historical novel nearly impossible to put down.
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.
’’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.
All through the times of the intense expectation, overwhelming sadness, and inspiring hope in this novel comes a feeling of relief in knowing that this family will make it through the wearisome times with triumph in their faces. The relationships that the mother shares with her children and parents are what save her from despair and ruin, and these relationships are the key to any and all families emerging from the depths of darkness into the fresh air of hope and happiness.
The novel The Book Thief is a book about a young girl by the name of Liesel Meminger. Observing the life of this young girl is not easy as this is the time of Hitler’s reign in Germany. In a short period of time, this girl faces many difficulties. More than any child should ever have to encounter. She has to deal with being abandoned by her mother, the death of her younger brother, and relocation to another part of Germany. Immediately when Liesel arrives to Molching, her life is forever changed. She is forced to live with two strangers, now her new mama and papa. Liesel faces much abuse both at school and at home. At school she is made fun of for her illiteracy and at home, mama speaks very rudely to her calling her a swine and other insults.
This is an example of the importance of family because it shows how they are sticking together to protect one member by sacrificing themselves. By sacrificing themselves it shows the unwillingness that being
Throughout the story, Dandelion Wine, family is a major theme. After long busy days they all come together and are able to spend time together. It is very important to not get to caught up in life and forget the true meaning and the importance of family. Because life and family are such major aspects in the book, realizing what it is like to live and to die, family traditions, family time and working together is so important in there everyday lives in Dandelion Wine.
Words hold great power and when used correctly can influence what people believe and how they act.
...nal family. The second poem uses harsh details described in similes, metaphors, and personification. The message of a horribly bad childhood is clearly defined by the speaker in this poem. Finally, the recollection of events, as described by the two speakers, is distinguished by the psychological aspect of how these two children grew up. Because the first child grew up in a passive home where everything was hush-hush, the speaker described his childhood in that manner; trying to make it sound better than what it actually was. The young girl was very forward in describing her deprivation of a real family and did not beat around the bush with her words. It is my conclusion that the elements of tone, imagery, and the recollection of events are relevant to how the reader interprets the message conveyed in a poem which greatly depends on how each element is exposed.
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.
The theme of this book is that the human capacity to adapt to and find happiness in the most difficult circumstances. Each character in the novel shows this in their way. For instance, their family is randomly taken from their home and forced to work but they still remain a close nit family. In addition, they even manage to stick together after being separated for one of their own. These show how even in the darkest time they still manage to find a glimmer of hope and they pursued on.
Throughout life many people face difficulties. Depending on the person’s strength some will get through tough times, but some will fail to overcome them. Two books where characters have to face many challenges include: Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Book Thief. These two stories deal with people overcoming the difficulties faced throughout everyday life. Some difficulties include racism, religious discrimination, and dealing with others’ cruelness or kindness. Examples from these books prove that the characters have challenges throughout the stories to overcome. In the face of adversity what causes some individuals to fail while others prevail?
If you were a German citizen during World War II, do you think you would be a Nazi? Most people would say no even though, in actuality, most people would be. It is because people need to succumb to societal expectations to survive in a society such as that of Germany during WWII and in the book, The Book Thief, this theme of individual versus society is explored with people complying and fighting social expectations. Sometimes people side with the Nazi Party out of fear of being targeted and other times fight against Nazi Party because of love for their family and fellow man with usually terrible consequences. In The Book Thief, the theme of the individual versus society is shown many times with characters conforming and defying social expectations.
The relationship and love you have with your family is one of the most important things you can have because family is always there for you no matter what situation you are in, even when you are at your worse they do the best they possibly can to help you and get you back on your feet. Sometimes they don’t show all their love towards you but that doesn’t mean they don’t love you and aren’t there to support you. This is what we have have experienced with our own families as well as with the stories To Kill a MockingBird and A Visit to Grandmother's.