Death In The Book Thief

589 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Symbolism in the book Thief

No one can run from death. Death is simply something that one comes face to face with at the end of their journey of life. During the time of the Holocaust, it was you either fight to survive, or you await upon your death. The literature, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, the main character Liesel experiences the effects of one’s death both emotionally and physically. During this time of struggle, Liesel and her foster family are trying to survive in war that seems to have no end. Throughout all the chaos that the war has brought, Liesel is able to maintain herself through the books that she receives. Markus Zusak suggests that there is life in death and death in life in order to find unification amongst the living which leads to the resurrection …show more content…

The reason for this is so that he can show how death is alive. “Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched on my shoulder. I will carry you gently away” (Zusak 4). Zusak utilizes first person right at the start of the book so that the readers are able to realize that death is speaking. When death talks, he gives off some sort of humanity that lives with in him. It is as if death represents all of humanities traits. Death in general is supposed to be scary and quick. However, Death physically says that he will carry the body gently away. Death has a heart. In addition to this, there is a shift from first person narration to third person narration. “All was white, and as they remained at the station, she could only stare at the faded lettering of the sign in front of her. For Liesel, the town was nameless, and it was there that her brother, Werner, was buried two days later” (Zusak 22). Death has switched from first to third person narration. Death goes from talking about Liesel, to talking about his thoughts. Death is the narrator. The narrator of this story is basically the personification of death. Death switches from

Show More
Related

  • Brutality In The Book Thief

    225 Words  | 1 Pages

    A example why people are brutal in The Book Thief is when the bomber planes were dropping bombs on the small town killing many people. My thoughts on this is even though the Nazi started this doesn’t mean they should kill innocent families.

    Read More

  • The Book Thief Sparknotes

    1379 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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

    Read More

  • The Book Thief Sparknotes

    1375 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Conformity And Death In The Book Thief By Christopher Mccandless

    1491 Words  | 3 Pages

    Christopher McCandless, an American traveler, once said “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality, nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit.” This quote is far more universally applicable than originally thought to be. Throughout one’s life, one will undoubtedly experience some form of conformity. The driving factor in a majority of these moments is fear; fear of not fitting in, or of not living up to society’s expectations. The only thing that lets one escape conformity is the truth known from past experiences. This

    Read More

  • Difficulties In The Book Thief

    1704 Words  | 4 Pages

    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?

    Read More

  • Haunted by Humans

    618 Words  | 2 Pages

    "I am a result," claims Markus Zusak's Death in his novel The Book Thief (Zusak 8). This state of being for the persona commonly seen as malicious and destructive provides a good view of the unique image of Death presented in the novel. Far from the scythe toting, black hooded robe wearing Death of culture's common perception, the Death here is amiable, affable, and agreeable (1). He poses to the readers wishing to find out what he truly looks like to "find [themselves] a mirror" while he continues to narrate the tale. The being here hold much more of a resemblance to a beleaguered old man with an exhaustible deep supply of dry gallows humor. He is not taking joy in the deaths of humanity, or even causing them. He is the result of our dying. Someone (not just something) to clean up the mess we leave behind. And after millenia of witnessing humans at their best and worst, Death has developed a special love for them.

    Read More

  • Exterminate All the Brutes by Sven Lindqvist

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    Is it possible to live without fear of death? If you can, does it change your life and who you are as a whole? Lindqvist believes so. Early in the book he proposes the idea that with fear of death life has a deeper meaning. That only with the fear of death do...

    Read More

  • The Book Thief Analysis

    1213 Words  | 3 Pages

    How does one write a book about the horrors of the holocaust and portray the German society as much a victim as the others? Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief published in the year 2005 does exactly that, weaving a story in its 552-paged glory and opening a window into the life of the little Liesel Meminger. However, that’s not it. It’s just the tip of the iceberg that The Book Thief really is. What makes The Book Thief truly a different book to come by is not its concept but its narrator. He says he can be agreeable, affable and amiable and that that’s just the A’s. What he says he definitely isn’t- is nice because quiet correctly Death never is nice. Yes, The Book Thief is narrated by the wry, often sardonic and darkly humorous but secretly compassionate, Death.

    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

  • The Psychological Impact of War on Youth

    1532 Words  | 4 Pages

    War is an inevitable struggle that humanity constantly faces. It is best described by the words of Bertrand Russell, an English philosopher; “War does not determine who is right - only who is left.” There are many consequences of war, such as economic, developmental and security: however an important one is humanitarian, more specifically, the psychological effect that war and violence impacts on the population. In most literature, the protagonist in a war event is often depicted as an older individual, one who is in their adult years, and their journey through the event. Nevertheless in Bernard Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom and Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief both of the protagonists are both considerably younger than

    Read More

  • Death Is Human Too: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, Markus Zusak uses Death as his narrator to prove that Death is similar and almost completely identical to humans. He uses the narration to establish the spectrum as a key description of the Book Thief. He uses his job as “soul gatherer” in the war to describe himself and explain how the events affected him as a “person”. Death uses human emotions to convey that he is just like regular, normal humans. Death is known to be cruel, disturbing and all things horrific However, in accordance to new evidence, his persona begs to differ. Death is inevitable but he is human too.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Suffering In The Book Thief

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    Suffering can be found on three different levels, mental, physical and emotional. In an everyday life the three levels can be found at school, at work or even on the streets, for example people who are living on the street generally suffer mentally. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak the topic that suffering exists on three different levels is shown throughout the book. In The Book Thief the author shows that the three levels of suffering exist and impacts multiple characters throughout the book . The three levels of suffering impacts many characters such as, the Jews, Liesel and Max.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of The Book Thief

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    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

  • Narration Analysis Of the Cask Of Amontillado

    1162 Words  | 3 Pages

    First person narration "can evoke a stronger emotional attachment with readers; from the first instance, the reader connects with the main protagonist. It is his/her voice, thoughts and feelings being portrayed, therefore, this is the person the reader is most likely to bond with" (Wright). This first-person style of narration establishes a more personal connection between the reader and the narrator, who in this case is also the main character. In "The Cask of Amontillado" the narrator often talks to the audience in a very familiar tone, as if he knows the reader: "You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat" (Poe, 617-618). This is one of the first lines of the story, but it is spoken as if the narrator were good friends with the reader. This proverbially allows the narrator to open up right away and tell his story fully and in detail.

    Read More

More about Death In The Book Thief

Open Document