Power Of Words In The Book Thief By Mark Zusak

In life, we use words for everything. We use them every single day, however we never fully realize how big of an impact words can make in someone’s life. In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, he uses words to create goodness, comfort and sometimes the complete opposite. When confronted by the correct person, a strong vocabulary also has the chance to manipulate any person into changing their mind completely as well; simple conversations can even give someone the decision between life and death. The author shows this through the character’s choice of words, as well as through metaphors and similes, and the irony in the novel.

Mark Zusak has portrayed the theme of the power of words in the novel, which has been revealed by the character’s

manipulating words to change a person’s mindset or opinion. To begin with, we see that Hitler’s choice of words have made a big impact in the world, especially during World War 2 and his rise to power.

They describe him as “a strange small man” (Zusak, page 445). This furthers the idea that Adolf Hitler is physically weak and therefore uses his words to deceive and outsmart others in order to remain in power and survive the war. To prove the point that Hitler’s words made everyone adore him and believe he was the good person in this situation the narrator explained Liesel as “she was listening to the torrent of words spilling from his mouth. His sentences glowed in the light.” (Zusak page 20) in this sentence, they are proving that everyone saw Hitler’s words glowing in the light. Even though he is weak and unable to physically prove his power, he can use his words wisely to make many people believe that what he is doing is the right thing. Up to the scenario where Ilsa Hermann has to tell Liesel that they can no longer keep her mother employed. “Blood leaked from her nose and licked at her lips. Her eyes had blackened. Cuts had opened up and a series of wounds were rising to the surface of her skin. All from the words. From Liesel’s words” (Zusak, 263). Until this point, Liesel always saw words and books as a positive thing. The

author uses this point to understand the turning point in someone’s life where we can finally understand the power that can come with words. After this Liesel questions whether the power of words is ever good. Liesel words have dramatically affected her life as she has said. “I have hated the words and I have loved the, and I hope I have made them right” This quote coveys Liesel’s realization of the manipulative power of words and indicates her attempt to succeed in the art of writing, to make words “right”. Words saved Liesel’s life on the night of the bombing on Himmel Street; she was in the basement reading when the attack happened.

In the novel of the book thief there are metaphors and similes that prove how powerful words are.

Liesel has compared a few characters to a simile, such as “hair like fluff” when describing Ilsa Hermann. Liesel compares Rudy’s hair to be “like a lemon” which provides us with a picture to remember Rudy by. When Liesel went to find Max in the group of Jewish people, she quoted “Feathery hair, she thought. No, hair like twigs. That is what he looks like when he has not been washed. Look out for hair like twigs and swampy eyes and a kindling beard.” These similes all have a very powerful meaning for Liesel. It describes a boy who she sees her brother. These words are how she found, and remembered Max. "Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like rain." (pg.80). Liesel is learning to read as a coping mechanism. She reads for many different reasons such as comfort, to stop her nightmares, to fit in and to remember. As she continues to steal books from the mayor’s wife, she realizes that the words hold power. It does not matter if the book is a story, an instruction booklet, or a dictionary. She connects with words in a way nobody else would understand. Liesel refuses to let the stolen books go because of the memories she has connected them

with.
Throughout this book, we find many signs of personification, which was used to further the strength of words and helps prove a point. “She envisioned the sight of her thieving hand reaching up, making the window rise until the book was felled. It seemed to surrender slowly, like a falling tree.” By using personification and describing the book as falling like a tree, it gives us a better picture. Instead of just saying the book fell, we can see it holding onto the resistance, falling slowly, and succumbing to it all at once. When mama asked Liesel to take the laundry and deliver it she was very nervous, to prove this Zusak described the buildings as to be glued together, mostly small houses and apartment blocks that look nervous. (Zusak 27). By giving the houses human like emotions, the author tries to connect it with Liesel’s emotions at this time. Instead of just saying, she was nervous we could picture the whole setting at this time. The powerful words in the book Mein Kampf was written over by Max. He was creating his own story for Liesel, as he was painting over the pages of this book it was described as “There were erased pages of Mein Kampf, gagging, suffocation under the paint as they turned” (Zusak 237). The compelling words in this section gives us a vibrant image of the words being painted over and rewritten. Also shows that Max cares more about Liesel than he does about the book and his safety. The author uses all these examples of giving inanimate objects human like traits to help us keep the powerful image in our mind.