Power of Words The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak tells a story of a girl who goes through many struggles to find happiness in reading. On this journey, Liesel meets many characters that will play a huge part in her life. Without these characters Liesel finds that she would not be who she is now, a strong educated young woman. Liesel gives a lot of praise to her new found father as he has given her the gift of reading books. As WWII starts to take a toll on Germany, Liesel and her many friends seek shelter during the bombings on Molching street. The The Book Thief took place in the years of 1939 through 1942 during WWII in Molching, Germany. Germany is not just a normal country during this time period, but ran by the Nazi party under the Fuhrer. …show more content…
On the train ride Liesel’s little brother becomes sick and dies during the travel to their new home. The Meminger woman have a funeral for the boy and that is when the stealing of books starts., gaining the name “The Book Thief.” Liesel found the book called The Gravedigger’s Handbook, and kept it for herself. After arriving at her new home Liesel has multiple nightmares night after night. Liesel may steal books, but that does her no good if she cannot read, that changes after a little help from her new papa Hans. With her new found love of reading Liesel reads nonstop, over and over. Then Max the jew shows up and bunkers down in the Hubermanns basement to hide from the Nazi party. Liesel and Max become very close friends doing many things together inside the basement. After a few close calls of almost being found, Max is gone after they get back from the bomb …show more content…
The first symbol is the books that she steals, gave her a sense of empowerment. Liesel likes to be in charge of things, so when she steals a book she feels as if she is in control. Her books are a great way of knowledge and another way of learning, which Liesel loves to learn new things. Every book that Liesel steal she learns a new life lesson out of it, may it be useful in her life or not she reads ever word to gain knowledge. Along with the knowledge Liesel is gaining from her reading, she gets comfort out of her books. The most important thing about her books is that it is what savs her life. Without Hans telling her to go read her new book in the basement, Liesel may have not made it through the
Liesel yearns to discover the power of words through reading books. Throughout the story, she repeatedly steals books to grasp more information. It all starts with The Gravediggers Manuel; Liesel attains this book the day that her brother dies, while he is being buried by the gravediggers. Liesel pilfers this book from the gravediggers because the book will symbolize her remembrance of her brother, Werner. This also will start the beginning of her acrimony for the Fuhrer, because Liesel discovers that he is answerable for his death.
The book had so much power to it. One day, on Himmel street, the town had to get out and go to the shelter. All of the people who lived on Himmel Street were scared because there was a chance their street could get blown up by a bomb. Courageous Liesel pulled out the book, The Whistler. Liesel was sitting in the shelter and started to read the book out loud. “By page three, everyone was silent but Liesel” (Zusask 381) Liesel trapped all of the people's nervous and scared selfs to herself calm voice. The book was a power of silence. The common theme that connects the book Liesel has stolen is that the each book tell a chunk of her
The Book Thief: A novel taken place in Germany during War World 11. Throughout this novel we meet a girl named Liesel meminger,
The heavily proclaimed novel “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak is a great story that can help you understand what living in Nazi Germany was like. Throughout the story, the main character, Liesel goes through many hardships to cope with a new life in a new town and to come to the recognition of what the Nazi party is. Liesel was given up for adoption after her mother gave her away to a new family, who seemed harsh at first, but ended up being the people who taught her all the things she needed to know. Life with the new family didn’t start off good, but the came to love them and her new friend, Rudy. As the book carried along, it was revealed that the Hubermanns were not Nazi supporters, and even took in a Jew and hid him in their basement later on in the book. Liesel became great friends with the Jew living in her basement, Max, who shared many similarities which helped form their relationship. Both of
Book Thief is in a ‘twisted world’, it’s about a young girl, Liesel is orphan who is given new
Words, so simple, yet are the most powerful ways of communication. The weight of words is one of most impactful themes in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, and is felt throughout the entire novel. The Book Thief is a story that takes place during World War II, and follows the Hubermann family and friendships as the Narrator: Death follows them through their journey of Germany in 1939. Hans Hubermann is one of the greatest supporters of words right next to the Book Thief herself, Liesel Meminger. Words are emphasized through stolen books, spoken conversations, and thoughts of the characters. Hans Hubermann backs Liesel’s desire to read through many long nights, protects Max Vandenburg while in hiding, and consistently stands up against the dehumanization
The novel The Book Thief is a book about a young girl by the name of Liesel Meminger. Observing the life of this young girl is not easy as this is the time of Hitler’s reign in Germany. In a short period of time, this girl faces many difficulties. More than any child should ever have to encounter. She has to deal with being abandoned by her mother, the death of her younger brother, and relocation to another part of Germany. Immediately when Liesel arrives to Molching, her life is forever changed. She is forced to live with two strangers, now her new mama and papa. Liesel faces much abuse both at school and at home. At school she is made fun of for her illiteracy and at home, mama speaks very rudely to her calling her a swine and other insults.
“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 general setting and time of The Book Thief is roughly from 1939 to 1943. The rough summary of the bulk of the book is about a young girl named Liesel, who she and her mother are on a train, when suddenly her brother Werner dies. They get off immediately at the next stop to bury him. One of the gravediggers had a book in his hand, but he drops it, and Liesel picks it up. Liesel and her mother keep going to Munich, then to a place called Molching. When her parents are sick, Liesel needs to be put with foster parents. She is put with a couple named Hans and Roma. Liesel has nightmares about her brother who died on the train, when she first arrives at the Hubermann’s house and she would wake up screaming. Liesel goes to a school, where she is made study with the younger children because she is behind in her education. Liesel turns ten in February, and is given a doll by the her foster parents. She also gets a uniform, and is enrolled in the Hitler. Her foster mother starts taking Liesel with her when she gets washing from the neighbors in Molching, and when Liesel is old enough she is going to start doing the same thing also.
THE BOOK OF THE THING. In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, the protagonist, Liesel Meminger, is trying to outlive the harsh reality that’s produced by the war. Liesel Meminger and several other characters attempt to cope with the stress around them, and aid each other along the way. In this novel, the power of words is an important element.
In 2005, Markus Zusak composed one of the most influential novels of modern day literature. His story is known as The Book Thief, a novel told from the perspective of Death. His role is to narrate the life of Liesel Meminger as a young girl growing up in Nazi Germany. Death begins the story at the burial of her brother in 1939, just one of many tragic events that will occur in her life, she is then given away by her mother, and has to grow up in the care of another family. For Liesel, this change catalyzes a quest to understand the power of words.
It was on a train with Liesel’s mother and brother where they were travelling when death made his first appearance in the book thief’s life. He took the soul of her brother and only glanced at the girl truly, not taking real note of her as he did his job. She knew that her brother was dead at that point, but the shock wouldn’t truly take her until she snatched a book from where it had fallen near her brother’s hastily made grave. After he was buried, Liesel and her mother continued on their way, arriving at the town of Molching, where she met Hans and Rosa Hubermann. In the first few months that she had arrived, nightmares plagued her mind, haunting her with images of Werner, her brother, and his cold dead eyes. Hans is the one to comfort her, and because of this she grows to trust in him and truly view him as her father. She enjoys his company as well, for he can play the accordion and is always smiling and winking at her in a joyous way. He also begins to teach her how to read the book that she picked up on the day d...
Liesel is still at an age where she doesn’t know the full effect that her actions have on herself and her family. She becomes fascinated with books, and maybe even more so with the thrill that comes with stealing them. Liesel is told many times that it is dangerous and if she were caught there could be awful consequences, but Liesel does not care because all she wants is one more new book. The mayor’s wife, Ilsa, becomes someone whom Liesel can share books with even though the mayor’s wife is distant most of the time, allowing Liesel to read the books in quiet.... ... middle of paper ...
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.
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.