Destruction In The Book Thief

In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, one of the main themes is beauty in destruction.
Rudy best represents the theme beauty in destruction. When Rudy is covered head to toe in mud, and in a bad position Death describes how Rudy reacts to the situation. “Spoke with great conviction, great joy. ‘Alles ist scheisse.’ He announced. All is shit.” (267) Even though he’s in a bad, dreary state, he still bounces back and comments on the lousiness of the situation, but with joy, with immense happiness. He isn’t brought down by the weight of the situation, no matter how heavy it is. Rudy seems to be resilient; always climbing up back up and having another go at what bested him before instead of staying on the ground when he falls. When Rudy jumps

into the Amper River to retrieve Liesel’s book, Death explains the situation. “He stood waist deep in the icy Decemberish water. ‘How about a kiss Saumensch? He said.” Even though Rudy is standing in frigid, freezing water, he still finds the strength and happiness in himself to ask a humorous question. Rudy is the happiness, the beauty in the destruction of whatever situation the world throws at him; he sticks out of the rest of the world like a last hope. Rudy represents beauty in destruction because he is optimistic no matter the situation. Even when he’s covered in mud or in frigid water, he still is somehow enthusiastic.
The snowman symbolizes the joy and happiness midst destruction.

When Liesel is carrying snow into her basement for Max, he says “’Often I wish this would all be over, Liesel, but then you somehow do something like walk down the basement steps with a snowman in your hands.’” (313) In the middle of Nazi Germany, when people are being executed and oppressed, somehow, there are a few little things that can wash away that dread for a moment, to soothe the scars of war. When it’s dark and gloomy, and there seems to be no hope, no light at the end of the tunnel, there are always a handful of people who hold out and persevere to continue salvaging the beauty from the destroyed world they live in. After the Hubermann’s and Max finish making the snowman, Death describes the effect the melting of the snowman has on the makers. “Melt it did, though, but somewhere in each of them, that snowman was still upright.” (313) The heat that melts the snowman is Nazi Germany, the snowman is the beauty in the world, Nazi Germany wrecks it, but in some people’s heart, it’s still standing, they still own the privilege to be happy, and to see the beauty in the world. When the beauty disappears, it really isn’t gone until all the people who still believe in it no longer remember it. The snowman is a symbol of beauty in destruction because it represents holding out, to bring joy, like seeing someone walking down the stairs with a snowman in their hands, and also the few people who still hold hope in

their hearts.
The Hubermann’s basement adds experiences that convey happiness and beauty amidst a world of chaos. Liesel gives Max a weather report of what the outside world looks like, in turn Max paints it on the basement wall. Death portrays what Max is drawing on the wall. “On the ropy cloud, he drew two figures – a thin girl and a withering Jew – and they were walking, arms balanced, toward that dripping sun.” (249) Liesel and Max are immersed in a dark world, but they hold onto their hope, each other. The basement is their bubble, their own little world where they can find joy and believe and share what they want. Liesel sees the world and weather through the eyes of someone who still believes that there can be beauty in the world, then she relays it to the basement, and the basement is a small place of beauty in a world of death and destruction. After Himmel Street gets utterly annihilated by the bombs, people are digging through the ruins. They find Liesel still alive. Death explains “She survived because she was sitting in a basement”. (499) As Liesel was sitting in her basement, her little bubble of joy, her town was crushed, and pulverized. Only she survived. She lived while all the others died. The basement is the beauty, her savior, the last standing moral in a pile of rubble and crushed dreams. The Hubermann’s basement conveys beauty in destruction because it is where Liesel and Max can be happy without the interference of the rest of Nazi Germany.