The Book Thief Essay

Markus Zusak wrote a book called The Book Thief. The narrator is death. Liesel, the main character, steals books. Her fist stolen book is at the grave of her little brother who died on the way to Molching Germany where their foster parents were waiting. She learns to read and begins to steal books, because its world war two and they have no money. That, and sometimes it feels good to steal from the people who stole from you. Liesel’s story is powerful, even in the darkness of such a power as Nazi Germany. Even though Liesel is a fictional character in a fictional book, there is value in reading literature such as this. And here’s why:

Learning is what humans are made to do. And there are three main types of learning that we fall into: visual, aural, and kinesthetic. The Book Thief employs all three. In the visual aspect, the book is vivid in its colors. Colors are what death distracts himself with after all. Death really doesn’t like his job, but with skies of red, white, and black, of milk and of Jews, death is a bit eased. Rudy Steiner is the lover boy in the

story; “Bony legs, sharp teeth, gangly blue eyes, and hair the color of lemons” are how he is introduced at ten years old.
The images in the book attach words to things you never would have thought of, such as gangly blue eyes and a sky the color of milk. Those words can sculpt what you hear as you read too, like when Liesel is in the neighbor basement hearing the faint wail of air raid sirens. She calms the sounds of babies crying for sleep, children bickering for room, parents begging for quiet, breath taking murmurs of fear. She quiets them all by handing them words, words from a stolen book. Words that form a story everyone escapes to in the darkest time of the night.
Those images expand our view of places and sound. Even though we may have never been in that situation, we can feel the tension, and hear the chaos, and know the deafening silence. Those sounds have action to them. With the basement scene, only a slight shuffle occurs while Liesel reads. But men above ground run for cover as planes fly nearby and anti-aircraft canons try to take out the threat to their people. These actions make us feel like we are sitting there with them. Again, I’ve never been there, but I know what it’s like to sit with those people.
We can feel that reading has an effect on us while reading, but does anything actually change? Science says there is. A group in Italy was studying how a monkey’s brain works while doing an action. And during a break, one scientist grabbed a banana for himself. When he did, the parts of the monkeys brain that where active earlier fired up again. They found, by accident, that when we see someone doing something, whether it dancing, climbing, or playing an instrument, our brains act as if we were doing it ourselves. A group at Cambridge has found that the same thing happens when we read as well. This effect is empathy. Something that Simon Baron-Cohen at Cambridge University knows well. He is an expert on autism which he says is the inability to have empathy. So when Rudy runs and falls in the mud, we automatically feel like we just ran and fell in the mud with him. That empathy carries into other things as well. Like a love for someone, or a hatred for someone. From studying psychology, I know that by giving something a meaning, we remember it much better. Also by repeating an action, a muscle memory is made. So when I read The Book Thief, my empathy forces me to practice those same feeling that Liesel has for people, such as the love for her foster parents, the hatred for the shopkeeper, the soukerl/soumench relationship with Rudy, and the fear of the Nazis. Having practiced those feelings I carry them through my own life with real people and real experiences. That means I can have a better understanding for the real people around me, and live a better life.
Reading The Book Thief is a huge maturity benefit, but only if you have reached a certain point already. On one hand, The Book Thief relies on you knowing a little about world war two and Nazi Germany. It also expects you to know a little about children and pre-teen years, as well as some small details about gambling and numbers. But on the other hand, it is easy to read. Its wording flows well, and there aren’t a ton of fancy words you have to look up.
One of the things the book addresses though, is words and what they are and what they mean and what power they have.

One of the books Liesel steals (or is given to her, depending on how you look at it) is a dictionary. From that point on there are little words and they’re definitions interjected into the story. A major word Liesel deals with is communism. It’s a word she hears from officials and Nazi die-hards. It’s a word connected to her mother. Sometimes a word’s power is messed with, such as the curse words or Rosa Hubermann. In the beginning of the book these words are powerful, an abomination almost. But by the end of the book, they have nearly no meaning at all. Even the children are throwing them around without a care. This demonstration of word power can make us look at what our own words can mean and precipitate. The book thief is very good at presenting words, and that is why it is a good

read.
I have found that a lot of adults focus on teaching children or making life easier after school. But I think that there needs to be a continued learning even as old men and women. The book thief is definitely a book that anyone of any age can enjoy and learn from. Because of my personal experience in reading the book, and looking at the power of words, I know that The Book Thief is a book that everyone should read at some point in their life. Markus Zusak has a great finesse with words, and it is shown through this book. So let’s take some of his words, shall we?