“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life,” Mark Twain. In the historical fiction novel, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel because she has a few good friends and she loves books/write books. One of her good friends is named Max Vandenburg, a Jewish man who the Hubermann’s were hiding in their basement. Liesel Meminger was sent to a new town, new family, and new scenery. She learns to read and write, and makes new friends. Once a new housemate moved in, Liesel made a new bond that would never break even when the tragedy hit Munich, Germany. In The Book Thief, Liesel gets to know, creates memories, and creating a beautiful friendship with Max Vandenburg in the middle of a town that’s slowly being destroyed. …show more content…
Meeting new people can be a little unnerving for some people; especially when you have to hide them from the Nazis.
When Max Vandenburg first moved in the Hubermann's household, Liesel was curious, however, she was nervous.
“Often, when she stood over him, there was a mortifying thought that he had
just woken up, his eyes splitting open to view her - to watch her watching. The idea of
being caught out plagued and enthused her at the same time. She dreaded it. She
invited it.” (Zusak, 205)
In the first pages when Max first came in, she watched him sleep and made sure he was still living; she anxiously waiting for him to wake up, but she didn’t want him to catch her looking.
Many parents would most likely be mad if their daughter brought snow down to the basement, but Liesel’s parents somewhat welcomed it. Liesel wanted to surprise Max with snow from outside on Christmas Eve.
“On Christmas Eve, Liesel brought down a double handful of snow as a present from
Max. ‘Close your eyes,’ she’d said. ‘Hold out your hands.’ As soon as the snow was
transferred, Max shivered and laughed, but he still didn’t open his eyes.” (Zusak, 312)
Max was really excited to see that snow in Liesel’s hands since he hadn’t been outside in a very long
time. “It was the beginning of the greatest Christmas ever. Little food. No presents. But there was a snowman in their basement.” (Zusak, 312) Here is an example of how she created memories because she said it was the best Christmas because of the snowman in the basement with Max. Friends and memories were made in the basement in town of ruins. Friendship, trust, and no judgement are lessons learned in this novel. This book reminds me of last year when I was a little afraid to be friends with someone I didn’t like and I didn’t trust her, but I made an effort to talk to her and now we’re best friends.
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
Liesel yearns to discover the power of words through reading books. Throughout the story, she repeatedly steals books to grasp more information. It all starts with The Gravediggers Manuel; Liesel attains this book the day that her brother dies, while he is being buried by the gravediggers. Liesel pilfers this book from the gravediggers because the book will symbolize her remembrance of her brother, Werner. This also will start the beginning of her acrimony for the Fuhrer, because Liesel discovers that he is answerable for his death.
As Jonas reached the top of the hill, the chill seemed to grow from his bones. Jonas and Gabe climbed onto the red sled from the memory. He clutched Gabe closer as the sled gained speed and the trees flew by. A few feet from the base of the snowy hill, the sled broke on impact with a rock. Jonas staggered out of the snow, trying to rub warmth into the newchild, who had begun to shiver violently.
And this is where we start with our image. Then Oliver adds, “began here this morning and all day” (2-3) which immediately changes your image to this beginning of the day where the snow is only just starting to fall. Also, Oliver seems to personify the snow by saying “it’s white rhetoric everywhere”(4-5) by giving the sense of knowledge to the snow. Oliver is showing this knowledge that the snow has by playing with this word “rhetoric” meaning having the art of persuasive speaking, so it shows how this snow is grabbing our attention. And then it continues with “calling us back to why, how, whence such beauty and what the meaning;” (6-8) this changes your image of snow greatly to making you think of snow as a greater power leading you to seek questions. This is an automatic change from snow to self. Then it transitions back to the focus back on snow, “flowing past windows,” (9-10) and you are then again transferred back to this image of snow fluttering through the wind, but you also have your thoughts of the unknown and you are relating it to the snow all of this unknown is just floating
Rosa is the one to jump to this conclusion, "I bet it started with the snowman -fooling around with ice and snow in the cold down there" (Zusak 315). Rosa primes Liesel's guilt by identifying that the ice could possibly be the source of Max's' illness. This identification causes Liesel to feel guilt as she questions herself, "Why did I have to bring all that snow down" (Zusak 316). Liesel seems to feel guilt stronger in this situation considering she turkey cares about Max. Liesel directly displays her guilt when she clenches her hands, "She clenched her hands, as if to pray" (Zusak 316). This shows that she feels guilty for her actions and results in her praying for Max’s
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.
Words, so simple, yet are the most powerful ways of communication. The weight of words is one of most impactful themes in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, and is felt throughout the entire novel. The Book Thief is a story that takes place during World War II, and follows the Hubermann family and friendships as the Narrator: Death follows them through their journey of Germany in 1939. Hans Hubermann is one of the greatest supporters of words right next to the Book Thief herself, Liesel Meminger. Words are emphasized through stolen books, spoken conversations, and thoughts of the characters. Hans Hubermann backs Liesel’s desire to read through many long nights, protects Max Vandenburg while in hiding, and consistently stands up against the dehumanization
It is the start of World War Two and a young girl has just witnessed Death for the first time, and Death has glimpsed her. Set against the bleakness of Nazi Germany, The Book Thief details the beautiful, gut wrenching story of ten year old Liesel Meminger as she tries to survive and make sense of the confusing and often cruel world that surrounds her. Through her story, and the relationships she builds, this terrible time in history takes on new depth and a true understanding of the struggles that came with living in war-torn Germany. Markus Zusak is an award winning Australian author, having won Sydney Morning Herald's Young Australian Novelist of the Year, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award. His works are critically acclaimed on an international level, and for good reason.
Liesel is still at an age where she doesn’t know the full effect that her actions have on herself and her family. She becomes fascinated with books, and maybe even more so with the thrill that comes with stealing them. Liesel is told many times that it is dangerous and if she were caught there could be awful consequences, but Liesel does not care because all she wants is one more new book. The mayor’s wife, Ilsa, becomes someone whom Liesel can share books with even though the mayor’s wife is distant most of the time, allowing Liesel to read the books in quiet.... ... middle of paper ...
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.
The book takes place in WWII, and centers around what Death sees in this time. Death’s job is to collect the souls of many found dead, but he takes an interest in Liesel, who isn’t someone he really needed to pay attention to. However, he followed her because he pitied her, and The Book Thief is the story of her life, narrated by him. Everyone always tells you to find the silver lining in the bad things that happen, but this book doesn’t just tell someone to do that but shows someone how to do that. He makes Liesel’s best friend, Rudy, smile by showing him Liesel kissing his corpse. He follows Liesel because he sees something interesting in her, showing even Death has a heart. He chose to retell signs of good that he saw in the book, specifically
The main character Liesel, known as “the book thief” is who Death is looking over. Liesel, her mother, and brother are on a train to Munich. On the train ride her brother dies. She and her mother get off the train to bury him. The first book Liesel steals is from the gravediggers. They continue the journey to a town called Molching, where Liesel will be raised by foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Liesel adjusts to her new home life. Hans teaches Liesel how to read. The war is escalating in Germany. The town holds a book-burning to celebrate Hitler’s birthday. That’s when Liesel steals another book from the flames. Liesel’s job is to deliver laundry to the Hermann family. The Hermanns’ have a library full of books. Liesel is allowed to read them in the study. Meanwhile, a German-Jew named Max needs help, so he seeks out the Hubermanns. Max hides in the basement, so he is safe from the Nazis. Liesel begins stealing books from the Hermanns. The Nazis parade the Jews through the town of Molching on their way to the concentration camp for everyone to see. Liesel is given a blank notebook to write her own story. One night the neighborhood is bombed. Hans, Rosa, and the rest of the neighborhood is killed. Rescue workers find Liesel under the rubble. She leaves behind her finished book, called The Book Thief. Death, who has been watching, rescues the book. Liesel ends up living with the mayor
The year was 1992; a cold December arctic wind had brought a chance of snow to the area. It was the weekend and time to relax after a long hard week at work. The weather service had predicted several inches of snow to blanket the region by the next day. Not to worry: it was the weekend and traveling was not a necessity.
...dreams – not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion.”
captive by a sheath of frost, as were the glacial branches that scraped at my windows, begging to get in. It is indeed the coldest year I can remember, with winds like barbs that caught and pulled at my skin. People ceaselessly searched for warmth, but my family found that this year, the warmth was searching for us.