Markus Zusak was told first hand experiences from World War II, which gave him the inspiration for The Book Thief. In an interview Zusak talks about a story from his mother whom witnessed a teenage boy giving bread too an old Jewish man which resulted in both men being whipped. This idea of destruction and beauty inspired him to show how the world can be good one minute and then the good can be torn away. When these two mix, it shows the lives of humans, and the struggle and love that most everyone has during their life. War isn’t black and white, there aren’t just two sides to war, as shown in the interaction between the soldier, old man and teenager. There was a Jewish man and a German soldier, who were on opposite sides of the war. The teenager …show more content…
He is playful but is there for Liesel when she needs him. Rudy seemed to be especially playful and happy but turns serious as soon as he needs to. Liesel goes through so much before she actually moves in with the Hubermanns, but then adding the stress of not knowing how to read, and the fights that she had at school was too much. With all the stress on her mind Liesel has a breakdown. The eight year old couldn’t cope with the sadness and humiliation in her life, and becomes vulnerable when she starts crying on the side of the road. Rudy, being the great friend that he was just waited for her and showed that he was there for her. “”Why did he have to die?” she asked, but still, Rudy did nothing; he said nothing. When finally she finished and stood up, he put his arms around her, best-buddy style, and they walked on” (80). Rudy knew that Liesel was in a hard place, so he gave her exactly what she needed, a person to be with her as she cried. The vulnerability shown in this scene by Liesel was heart breaking, and the way that Rudy accepted it and became the sweetheart that he is showed just how much he cared for Liesel. After showing the emotion of sadness and stress Liesel and Rudy’s relationship would become stronger and they would trust each
Rudy and Liesel continue with their friendship through becoming partners in crime (Zusak 149). They meet up with Arthur and Andy, and then the four of
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.
Not that it was a living hell. It wasn't. But it sure wasn't heaven, either”. (5.87) Death tells us. She became really fond of Hans Hubermann; a painter and accordion player, but with Rosa things were more complicated; she was a rough woman who did the washing and ironing of Molching’s wealthy inhabitants. Liesel starts to have dreams of her brother dying and wets in bed which leads us to her first reading session; Papa finds the book hidden under Liesel’s mattress and after a while he notices that Liesel does not know how to read and doing his best with a fourth grade education he teaches her how to read and write. She also makes a friend that she would never forget Rudy Steiner or we can call it Jesse Owens too; they met on the street during a soccer game and since then they became
Liesel thinks of them as best friends until the day he dies and then she realizes how much she really loves him. Rudy has always loved Liesel from the day they met. Rudy saves Liesel’s book from the river and comes up asking for a kiss. He walks her to school for her first day and then they race home one day and tie. Their relationship evolves from strangers to friends to best friends. In the beginning of the story they do not realizes what good of friends they will
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a young German girl of about ten years of age, who is fostered by the Hubermanns’, in a small town in Germany between 1939 and 1943. In the prologue, the reader is informed that ‘It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery’. It is however, much more. Despite the immense sadness and heartache of the overarching context, Zusak employs powerful techniques including; Death’s distinctive narrative voice, the symbolism of words and the inclusion of graphic stories to encourage the reader to feel enlivened throughout the story.
The Holocaust is marked as one of the most horrifying events of the 20th century.The person who was responsible for the Holocaust was Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi Party. The question is, how, and why was Hitler able to do this? The actual truth behind all this is that, Hitler could make the world his, just by using words. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, it tells a story about a young girl growing up when Nazi Germany was invincible. The author explores some very meaningful, yet, controversial themes for the most part of the novel. Out of all themes, he believes that words hold a remarkable power. He explores how words manipulate, divide, and connect people.
In the novel The Book Thief, setting and point of view affect the theme and book a lot. The point of view of this novel is third person omniscient and a little bit of second and first person when the narrator talks about himself or to the reader. The setting of the story is Nazi Germany and it is based on a young girl named Liesel Meminger and what her life was like during this time. Her story is told by the narrator, death. Mark Zusak, the author, uses setting and point of view to express the theme of the novel because there was so much death happening, Liesel encountered him so many times, causing him to be able to tell her story; without this setting and the narrator, the theme story would have been different.
“I am haunted by humans” (Zusak 550). The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is about the horrors of World War II. Liesel and her family help out an old friend by hiding a Jew. Liesel also steals her first book when she at her brother’s funeral. Liesel Meminger’s remarkable actions like feeling good when she steals a book and her family hiding a Jew help demonstrate why Death is “haunted by humans”.
The author of The Book Thief, Markus Zusak, grew up in Australia with a German mother and an Australian father. Both of his parents experienced the effects during and after World War II and told him stories of the events during that time. Zusak’s mother grew up in Munich, Germany and told him of her experiences in Nazi Germany. Because his mother is a primary source of events that went on, he has insight on the social aspects of the war such as people’s reactions to the Nazis and the people’s thoughts of everything going on around them during World War II.
We watch death explore the beauty and ugliness of the human race in Markus Zusak’s book The Book Thief. We watch as Liesel, Hans, and Rosa do everything they can to help out a group of people who were treated with such disrespect during this time period. This group, the Jews, were beaten for taking food that was given to them, and when they died no one would even care. But, these few people gave them food, a place to hide, a sense of belonging, and and a reason to live. They have to work day and night, and do everything they can. Even though people aren’t so beautiful at all times, there is still hope. As we have learned in this book that even when 99 percent of humans aren’t so marvelous there is still that one percent that is to delightful that it would touch anyones heart.
Everyone is obviously different, but the personal qualities of a person and external situations that are occurring in the world around them can create similarities between people who have vast differences. In The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, this idea is very clearly shown through the lives of Liesel and Max. Although they come from vastly different backgrounds, the situations around them and their personal qualities reveal similarities between their lives. In The Book Thief, Max and Liesel’s lives have much in common, such as their love of literature and the impact on their lives as a result of Nazi persecution. However, they also differ in many aspects of their lives such as the degree of freedom that they were able to exercise and their attitudes toward life.
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.
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?
Harper Lee’s novel, Go Set a Watchman, presents a southern society during the beginning of the civil rights era. Markus Zusak writes about a small town in Germany during WWII his novel The Book Thief. In each of their novels, Zusak and Lee present a society almost devoid of resistance due to the deep integration of prejudice and bigotry within their societies. While Lee’s novel focuses on an individual’s reconciliation with the society, Zusak focuses on an individual trying to overcome and grow out of that society. Despite their differing commentary on individuality, both Lee and Zusak show how complacency can lead societies and individuals into seemingly unaccountable atrocities.
Markus Zusak is the author of The Book Thief and it’s theme that Markus Zusak tries to convey to the reader is “ the power of words”. He shows how words can affect people’s lives in a positive and negative way. He used the characters to interpret and develop the theme of this book. By analyzing what the text conveys about the power of words, The reader can tell that Markus Zusak develops the theme of this novel by, how does power manifest itself in the novel, and who possesses power and how they acquire power through words and language not only positively but also negatively.