Marcus Zusack's The Book Thief

679 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: American literature after world war II

The Book Thief In Marcus Zusack’s THE BOOK THIEF Liesel learns how powerful words are and how they can be used for good and evil. Throughout the story Liesel gains a hunger for books like never before. Liesel is constantly being surprised on the way the power of words affect not only her, but the of everyone around her. One way that Liesel learns how powerful words are is through Hitler in her dreams.”The book thief was dreaming about the Fuhrer(...) she was attending a rally at which he spoke, she was listening contentedly to the torrent of words spilling from his mouth. Jis sentences glowed in the light.” This sentence from the text proves that Hitler captivated all of the Germans through words. His words were the only thing he had to become …show more content…

It happened suddenly there were no alarms or warnings. Everyone Liesel cared about died except herself, because she was reading in the basement. Words literally saved her life. These three examples of how words were used for good and evil really show you the impact you can have on someone's life by what you say or what you write. Max and Liesel both used their words for good and in the end words saved both of their lives. While Hitler used his words for evil and manipulation and with those words he ended up taking many people's lives, and eventually his own. Words are more powerful than any of us could ever imagine that is why we have to be careful on how we use them. You have to decide if you are going to use your words like Liesel or if you are going to use them like Hitler. I hope you choose Liesel because the way she used words was more impactful than anyone could ever imagine. Bibliography 1. Zusak, Markus, and Trudy White. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2016.

Show More
Related

  • Night And The Book Thief: Movie Analysis

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    Elie and Liesel live and survive during the time of World War II. Both characters face the harsh reality of the terrible period of time they are living in. The memoir, Night and the movie, “The Book Thief” share similarities and dissimilarities that make Elie and Liesel both stand out. Due to the loss of family, determination to live, and fear helps both of them survive the war, but depends on the different reactions, mistreated for different reasons, and hope.

    Read More

  • Book Thief And The Devil's Arithmetic Comparison

    278 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Book Thief and The Devil’s Arithmetic both focus on the prejudice Hitler had on different types of people during World War II. Liesel and Hannah both lost someone they had dearly loved. Liesel lost Rudy and Hannah lost many members of her family. In a time of fearfulness, both had told stories to the people surrounding them. Although both were not seen as equal in the eyes of many during their time, I see them as courageous and brave heroes after what they underwent.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Liesel's Dependence On Books In The Book Thief

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Liesel Quotes Analysis

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this passage, Liesel just stopped beating up Ludwig Schmeikl and Tommy Muller. Liesel is mad because she is learning how to read with Hans but can’t prove it to her classmates that she can read so they think she is stupid. Liesel tries to defend herself not by proving that she’s not stupid but with violence instead, much like how Hitler handled the Jews with killing them and destroying their homes.

    Read More

  • Dehumanization in Night

    2056 Words  | 5 Pages

    Through segregation, loss of identity, and abuse, Wiesel and the prisoners around him devolve from civilized human beings into savage animals. The yellow stars begin separation from society, followed by ghettos and transports. Nakedness and haircuts, then new names, remove each prisoner’s identity, and physical abuse in the form of malnourishment, night marches, and physical beatings wear down prisoners. By the end of Night, the prisoners are ferocious from the experiences under German rule and, as Avni puts it, “a living dead, unfit for life” (Avni 129). The prisoners not only revert to animal instincts, but experience such mental trauma that normal life with other people may be years away. Night dramatically illustrates the severe dehumanization that occurred under Hitler’s rule.

    Read More

  • Book Thief Destruction

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    By “looking gravely at Liesel’s cheek”, he is extremely serious about the situation. However, he goes on to tell her that she “can say that in our house.” This essentially means Hans tolerates Liesel saying that, so long as Liesel never says it “on the street, at school, or at the BDM.” He does not want Liesel to get herself into trouble, so he decided to slap her to ultimately protect her, which is a thought-provoking moment. The two contrasts work together seamlessly to provide the idea that the destruction of Hans slapping Liesel is negated by the beauty in his willingness to protect her. Beauty intertwined with destruction is also present when the Himmel Street residents are in the bomb shelter, and Liesel begins to read to them. Death says, “The youngest kids were soothed by her voice, and everyone saw visions of the whistler running from the crime scene” (381). This quote shows the beauty of Liesel’s words alongside the ongoing air raid sirens. She was able to make the children

    Read More

  • The Power of Words in Markus Zusak´s The Book Thief

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    … ‘I knew it.’ The words were thrown at the steps and Liesel could feel the slush of anger stirring hotly in her stomach. ‘I hate the Fuhrer’ she said. ‘I hate him.’” (115)

    Read More

  • The Themes of Good and Evil in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    How are the themes of good and evil explored in Chapters 16 and 17 of

    Read More

  • The Duel

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    Once actually forced to fight, Hitler still dominated and he could have very possibly won the war if not for that one fatal mistake he made by hesitating in his plans against the English. I think it is important that Lukacs makes sure to get this message across because some people choose to ignore this truth due to the devastating outcomes that would have resulted if Hitler succeeded. The major point presented by Lukacs concerning the difference between Hitler and Churchill has to do with nationalim versus patriotism. Lukacs describes Hitler as a nationalist and Churchill as a patriot. He describes Hitler as a man of ideas and Churchill as a of man principles, because Churchill's ideas changed throughout the war while Hitler tended to think that his ideas were principles.

    Read More

  • Evil in William Shakespeare's Macbeth

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    Evil. It is a word that has been used for hundreds of years, yet the

    Read More

  • A Powerful Weapon: Words that Persuade in Shakespeare´s The Tragedy of Julius Ceasar

    577 Words  | 2 Pages

    The power words are limitless. It does not matter in what language one speaks; persuasion is the key to manipulated people for good or bad. “Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.” Words are a weapon, and when one uses words carefully to persuade people, it can lead to chaos. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare portrays a universal theme in which friends and enemies turn to against each other, and a war stimulates out of lies and ambition for power. The usage of old and wise words to manipulated people lead to great revelry.

    Read More

  • The Book Thief And The Diary Of Anne Frank

    99 Words  | 1 Pages

    Chance and choice are completely different paths that can be taken to make decisions. The former is based on loss of control and refractory fate. The latter, however, allows there to be a perfect balance between hope, fate, and effective action-taking. While chance and choice are opposites, chance can open opportunities to make choices, and choices can create chances that allow things to happen that would not otherwise occur. “Night”, “The Book Thief” and “The Diary of Anne Frank” are all examples of novels where characters during the Holocaust took life changing decisions, defined by their chances and

    Read More

  • Michael Crichton's The Great Train Robbery

    292 Words  | 1 Pages

    The most differentiating factor between humans and other creatures on earth is humanity's insatiable desires and emotions that defy all evolutionary logic. Michael Crichton’s The Great Train Robbery tells a story of a man driven by these desires and emotions to put his life at risk with one of the most daring crimes of his time. The man, known as Edward Pierce, has little insight to his mysterious character as he is often lacking of emotion and never straightforward with anyone else in the novel. However, there is enough evidence to deduce his primary motives behind the robbery. The Great Train Robbery, conveys its Pierce as an unfeeling sociopath, who is driven not by greed or a desire for fame, but by his extreme sense of self-pride.

    Read More

  • Obstacles In Liesel's Mountain

    537 Words  | 2 Pages

    Liesel has many difficulties through the novel that only add to her mountain that she needs to climb. She has great obstacles and yet she seems to conquer all of them with the help of her friends and her family.

    Read More

  • The Characteristics Of Adolf Hitler

    1529 Words  | 4 Pages

    This is what had made Hitler one of the greatest public speakers that the world had ever seen from his time and in history. "The German people and it 's soldiers work and fight today not for themselves and their own age, but also for many generations to come. A historical task of unique dimensions has been entrusted to us by the Creator that we are now obliged to carry out." Hitler, the Fuhrer of Germany, was a very talented spokesman in ways that leaders today could not even begin to compare with. He was charismatic and bold, making it easier for him to win over the minds of many Germans with these two traits. He believed that during his rise to power, he and the people of Germany had been given a duty by God to purify the nation of its imperfect races and weaker people so as to make the mother country strong again for future generations. "Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not deserve to live." In many ways, Hitler felt he was justified in what he was doing, and in some

    Read More

More about Marcus Zusack's The Book Thief

Open Document