Markus Zusak intended to show us that words are capable of causing harm. He describes the events in a way that shows that words are almost as bad as physical pain. They can harm people mentally, like Liesel did to Ilsa Hermann. “She sprayed her words directly into the woman’s eyes.” This sentence shows that Liesel intends to harm Ilsa with the insults she was using. Liesel thought that words were the only way she could harm Ilsa after she and her husband cut off the laundry service that Rosa provided, which was one of their few sources of income. Liesel was very angry and cruelly took it out on Frau Hermann. On the next page, it is shown that Liesel had an effect on Ilsa. “She was battered and beaten up, and not from smiling this time.” This
shows that Liesel felt like she could see the wounds she had inflicted. It was especially painful for the mayor’s wife because Liesel spoke about things she was insecure about, like the cancelled service, the death of her son, and the way Ilsa deals with the previously mentioned fact. However, it is also shown that the power of words is a two way street, as it is written, “She worked herself up even further, to the point where she needed to wipe the tears from her eyes.”.
She finally tells Rudy about Max after the incident. Liesel returns to Ilsa Hermann’s library and destroys a book because she becomes angry with how words can bring so much hate and then she writes and apology to Mrs. Hermann. Mrs. Hermann comes to Liesel’s house a few days later and gives her a journal so she can write her own story. One day while she was writing in her journal in the basement, an air raid happens and Liesel is the only survivor because she was safe in the basement. She is saved by the LSE and kisses Rudy’s dead lips and says goodbye to her Mama and Papa. She is taken by the mayor and his wife and when Alex Steiner comes back from the war, him and Liesel spend a lot of time together. Eventually, Max shows up and they have a bittersweet
Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief depicts the life of a certain young German girl named Liesel Meminger during World War II. Her story was told through the eyes of Death, who narrates both the blessings and devastation that occurred during that era. Liesel experiences living with her new foster parents and come across a boy named Rudy Steider who will later on become her best friend. As the story unfolds, Liesel gradually discovers the horrifying truth behind the Nazi regime as her foster parents take refuge of a Jewish man. Despite being in the midst of destruction and recently coping from her traumatic background, she undertakes on a journey of self-discovery and
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
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.
The blunt diction in “Parable in Praise of Violence” elucidates the condemnation of the speaker towards those who lash out due to their emotions through
The characters throughout the novel get impacted tremendously by negative comments. Most of the main characters in the book get torn down one way or another by a hurtful comment. However, words aren’t always used negatively. They have the power to teach new things which can increase one’s intellect. Liesel, throughout the book, was impacted the most by words because she started out knowing nothing and eventually she became very smart. The last positive thing words can do is make a person's dreams become reality. Max’s stories were beneficial to both him and his friend Liesel. They were an inspiration to them and allowed them to follow their aspirations. Words, and how we speak to one another can be very impactful. The Book Thief provides numerous examples as to how important it is to have a positive command of language, and we see how rhetoric has shaped the lives of many key characters throughout this
Liesl, an extremely graceful and intelligent woman imprisoned inside a deformed and gargantuan body. Liesl plays a vital role in Dunstan’s development and psychological rebirth, as she helps him rediscover his body, his emotions, and himself. Liesl is a character who is very prominent in Dunstan's life. She plays one of, if not the most significant role in Ramsay's life among the other women. She also portrays the devil, and brings out Dunstan's "shadow self"; the unconscious instincts that he has repressed from past experiences. Without Liesl, Dunstan would never had experienced happiness and ultimately a life well lived. Liesl’s surname is “Vitzliputzli”, which means ‘devil’. In Jungian terms, one’s ‘devil’ refers to the “suppressed part of the personality, the dark or more primitive side of the consciousness.” Thus, Liesl represent...
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
She loves how words can fill her up, but then she also realizes that words can be ugly things, especially in the way Hitler can use words to encourage the German people to carry out horrific violence and cause so much suffering. She
"Violent Language That Kills The Human Spirit By Mary Hamer." Violent Language That Kills The Human Spirit By Mary Hamer. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. .
The power of words can influence many people which results in many characters to be negatively impacted like Liesel. The negative effects of that the theme of the power of words causes Liesel to experience misery throughout her lifetime. Liesel is abandoned by her mother at a young age.
“Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness” (84). In the beginning, we are introduced to the narrator by the name of Death. He informs the readers that he has many stories, but only remembers the ones that interest him. The tale of Liesel Meminger is one such tale, as he was always fascinated by her will to live through the most horrible instances. It should be duly noted however, that this story does not have a happy ending. Death makes this clear before we even have a chance to get our hopes up. He tells us that everyone dies; the amount of time that they last is truly the only difference. After this sordid fact is in place, he mentions just Liesel first attracted his attention.
Through ‘The Book Thief’, Markus Zusak has demonstrated his writing to be poignant, poetic, and profound. He is a writer of brilliance, a poet, the Picasso of words, a literary marvel.
These people provide the weakness of Ilsa as evidence that she is getting terrible to choose her best lover. However, it is clear that the situation is going from bad to worst day by day, so that we do not know what will happen next till the end of the movie. We clearly know that she loves both of them, and she does not want to put them in difficulties. As we have seen in this character, she looks in the emotional struggle over choosing her best, but she knows very well who her best is. In my opinion, Ilsa is loyal to her husband, whom she has been thinking is dead. Even though there is strong love relationship between Rick and Ilsa, she has left Rick in Paris when she notices her husband is alive. We cannot imagine whom Ilsa loves more. Some people may believe that she loves Rick more than her husband, Laszlo, but we have seen that she sticks with her husband, which is the right thing she did as a loyal
Liesel threw her linen sheet over her shoulders and found her way out of the shelter, in search for something to satisfy her hunger. The acute hunger over the years, had slowly engulfed her body like an animal; manipulating and controlling her body as if she was puppet. Pulling her. Torturing her.