What is suffering? If one were to look this word up it is defined as the state of undergoing pain, distress or hardship. How can such few words truly capture the meaning of a word with such simple terms? Here’s your answer it cannot. Suffering is unique to each and every person and their own personal experiences. In the case of “The Book Thief” two characters, Max and Liesel both endure a great amount of suffering. Even though Liesel wasn't Jewish, she endured the greatest amount of suffering in The Book Thief because she had to deal with the oppression from the German government and their laws, she experienced so much loss at such a young age and she had to keep a life endangering secret from the world
Liesel endured the greatest amount of
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First off Liesel lost her brother who was basically her best friend. Not only did her brother Werner die which is suffering enough for a young girl, she was the one to find him dead. That image will always be there in the back of her mind, and she will never be able to get passed that. Throughout the novel Liesel is still reminded of this event on a regular basis especially in her dreams, “Every night, Liesel would nightmare. Her brother’s face. Staring at the floor”(Zusak 36). The dreams moved her suffering from the outside world into her sleep which is usually a person’s escape from the world and their problems. One could imagine and hope Liesel would not have to experience anything else like losing her brother but their imagination will deceive them. During a Parade of Jews going through Molching Hans, Liesel’s foster father throws a piece of bread to a straggling Jew. This action is obviously a huge no in the Nazi book. As a result Hans is whipped for being a ‘Jew Lover’. Han’s knew this action had compromised his current situation of hiding Max; a Jew in their basement. (QUOTE). Max knew as well, Hans is now a target in the party’s eyes and he must leave, this is the moment when Liesel experiences more loss, “He could not see the figure in the kitchen window, but she could see him” (Zusak 397). Losing once again another person in her life that was important to her, caused Liesel to once …show more content…
Hiding a secret about yourself is hard enough but hiding a secret about someone else is the ultimate challenge. “…Rosa would speak quietly. ‘And remember, Liesel…’ she would point to her mouth and that was all” (Zusak 212). This reminder so some may not have really meant anything but that symbol of the finger to the mouth meant for Liesel to remember about the secret in their basement. By having a Jew in her basement, besides the fact that it was illegal at the time Liesel had sort of an imaginary friend. A person she could play with and talk to but no one could ever know about it; that was Max. Hiding Max is not the point where the suffering is, it is the actual knowing that her family was hiding Max is where the suffering takes place. Imagine every time someone knocked at the door, a mini-heart attack would occur or walking down the street and wondering if the people walking past knew your dirty secret. The hardest time she experienced when hiding her secret was when she would be sitting in the mayor’s library with his wife, reading books. She was so tempted to just spill it all each and every time she was with the mayor’s wife, “She imagined herself walking over, gently tearing some fluffy hair to the side, and whispering in the women’s ear: ‘There’s a Jew in my basement’ … the secret sat in her mouth” (Zusak 246). Even though Liesel wasn’t a Jew in hiding she still
Max uses Mein Kampf as a kind of cover so people wouldn’t suspect that he was a Jew and he escapes to the Hubermann’s house as Hans promised to help the Vandenburg’s if they ever needed it as he was friends with Max’s father in the war and Max’s father saved Hans’ life. Liesel is curious but also scared of Max at first but they bond over the fact that they both have nightmares, have lost their families and are both “fist-fighters” Since Max is always hiding in the basement, Liesel begins to describe the weather to him and brought him snow where they had a snowball fight and built a snowman with Hans and Rosa. Soon after, Max falls ill and she brings him 13 presents, hoping that he will wake up and reads to him every morning and night. Max also begins to share stories with Liesel and for her birthday makes her a book called “The Standover Man” which is about his life and journey. Max also begins to have daydreams where he fights Hitler and Hitler always uses his words to excite the crowd and uses them as a weapon. Liesel and Rudy also begin to steal food with a group of
Hans can’t help to offer a piece of bread to one of the prisoners and is beaten along with the prisoner for this act of nobility. He is frightened that the Nazi will search his house and discover Max. That same night Max leaves Himmel Street. Hans is sent to war as his punishment and Alex Steiner is also conscripted for not permitting Rudy be part of a special training school. With Hans and Max gone, Liesel does her best to go on. She reads to the inhabitants of Himmel Street in the bomb shelter during air raids, robs food with Rudy, and helps Rosa who is devastated by Hans’s departure. The last book she steals is called “The Last Human Stranger” at this point she is frustrated and
Through Liesel’s and Ilsa’s friendship comes an understanding of what Ilsa Hermann has experienced in her son dying. “I used to read here with my son.” (Zusak 451) Before Ilsa makes a connecting to Liesel it seems as if Ilsa was floating through life like a zombie awaiting death to cause the pain of living with out her son to stop. It was not until she comes to care for Liesel, almost as if she thinks she is her own does she have a revival of the spirit. After revealing to Liesel that she knows that Liesel is taking books from her library Ilsa gives Liesel a blank book and tells her to write her own story in it. Every night Liesel would go down into her basement because it was her favorite place to be and write down there for hours. One night there was a bombing on Molching with no warning while Liesel was down writing. She ended up surviving because of the long chain of events starting all the way back to her stealing The Grave Digger’s Handbook in the graveyard her brother lays in. (Word Count
... Liesel’s family would have also been affected. It is times like this where Liesel should have learned to control her actions towards those more powerful than her as she and those around her could have been punished.
This realization, although suspected by the narrator for a long time, shows the true irony of Liesel’s thefts: that she never needs to steal them. When she steals her last book, The Last Human Stranger, she even takes a plate of cookies and leaves a note. Although none of these books are featured as heavily as her first few thefts, their titles reference parts of Liesel’s struggles such as her relationship with Max, her role in uplifting her community in the bunker, her continuing education, and her status being the only survivor of the final bombing. In conclusion, the books which Liesel steals are very influential in her development through the course of the novel, with the titles themselves references other parts of her life.
Liesel Meminger was a very bright girl that didn’t have the resources to flourish. Her mother must hide from the Nazis because she is a communist and sends Liesel ...
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?
Liesel’s mom leaves her with foster parents because she wishes to protect her from the fate she is enduring. The words Paula, Liesel’s mom, uses go against Hitler because she is a communist which resulted in her being taken away and Liesel to lose her mother and experience the loss of her. This shows Liesel experiences unhappiness because of her mother’s disappearance which is caused by the words she openly uses that contradicts Hitler.
In the Book Thief, both Liesel and Hans have very altruistic personalities. When the Jew’s march through Himmel Street to get to Dachau, everyone knows where they are going. They watch them march by, walking around them and staring. 75 percent of Hungary’s 600,000 Jews were killed by the Nazis, and only a few brave people tried to save just one Jew. (We Are All Bystanders page 4) These people risked their lives to shelter Jews, much like Rosa and Hans Hubermann. As the Jews march to Dachau, and the residents of Himmel Street stand and watch the Jews marching towards their death at the concentration camps, Death writes, “The book thief could do nothing but watch them back in a long, incurable moment before they were gone again. She could only hope they could read the depth of sorrow in her face, to recognize that it was true, and not fleeting.” ( ) Liesel feels helpless, like she can’t do anything. She longs to call out to them and help but knows that it would be worthless. A few minutes later, however, Papa takes action. Papa quickly grabs something from his paint cart and helps an old man who was struggling to walk and gives him some bread. Papa took action when no one else would. Papa pays the consequence, but in that moment, Papa displayed moral courage. Papa’s selfless personality let him reach out to help the man, even
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.
Hans is forced to leave Liesel to serve in the military due to the Nazi Party accepting his application. “Don’t go, Papa. Just don’t go. Let them come for you if you stay. But don’t go, please don’t go.”(Zusak 424) Liesel understand due to the circumstances Hans, and not because of his choosing. Even Max had to leave at one point in order to maintain the safety of the Hubermanns. This still is all do to circumstance, which has thrusted Hans, Max and Liesel Mother to leave her
Suffering can be found on three different levels, mental, physical and emotional. In an everyday life the three levels can be found at school, at work or even on the streets, for example people who are living on the street generally suffer mentally. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak the topic that suffering exists on three different levels is shown throughout the book. In The Book Thief the author shows that the three levels of suffering exist and impacts multiple characters throughout the book . The three levels of suffering impacts many characters such as, the Jews, Liesel and Max.
Even though Liesel is just a kid and is going through some tough times, it still doesn’t give her the right to steal. Besides, Death claims that you could argue that others have it harder during this time and I agree. If you were a Jew during this time, that was bad news. They were persecuted, hunted, and killed by the Nazis. Liesel, on the other hand, although have lost her brother and may never see her mother again, is not living in constant fear for her life. The novel even states, “anything is better than being a Jew.” (Zusak
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it."
As time evolves, so do the words that are essential for our everyday survival. The most obvious difference between humans and animals is our ability to master the art of speech. Often, people will say the “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”, a simple nursery rhyme that helps ease a bullied child from abusive words and taunts. But does that really help cure the emotional pain? Words can illuminate and motivate the minds of people but can also shadow their self-esteem through psychological trauma. In The Book Thief, we see how fundamental words were to shape the reality of millions of people caught in the fire of World War II.