The Book Thief Family Essay

Family’s Influence
When it comes to family members, people do all sorts of things to keep them safe. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, characters willingly conform to certain norms for the safety of their family. The three characters that stood out the most were Hans Hubermann, Liesel, and Max. These characters have made sacrifices to keep their family safe and protected.
Hans Hubermann is an average German citizen who is a commercial painter. He had not joined the NSDAP because “A Jew had once saved his life and he couldn’t forget that” (180). But the NSDAP indirectly punished him because he was he could count. As time passed he could no longer take it and “He made some inquiries and applied to join the party” (181). In order to

stay true to his ideals, Hans had played his accordion at bars for some extra cash, but with Liesel to feed he had to get more money. All these factors influenced his decision to apply for NSDAP. If it weren’t for Rosa and Liesel, Hans would have never even thought about applying to the NSPAP. For Liesel family influenced her a bit differently.
Liesel Meminger is a foster daughter to the Hubermanns.

She was an average girl who had lost her brother at the age of 9. When she turned 10 she was placed into Hitler Youth School, but in a lower class due to her inability to read. Hans Hubermann helped Liesel her illiteracy by reading to her and making her write the alphabet. One night as she was going back to sleep, “the unmistakable voice of Rosa Hubermann entered the kitchen. It shocked her awake”(197). As she went to see why she was speaking in the kitchen, Liesel saw Max Vandenburg. The next morning, Liesel had a conversation with Hans about the man she saw last night. Hans explained how she was not to tell anyone about Max and that if she does tell anyone he will burn all of her books. Furthermore, the Gestapo will take Liesel away for her new family. As time progressed she began to read at the mayor’s wife library. One day as she was reading a book, “She imagined herself walking over, gently tearing some fluffy hair to the side, and whispering in the woman’s ear: ‘There’s a Jew in my basement’”(246). This imagination was soon shot down by the reality of her situation. She had remembered what Hans had told her and that if she had told anyone she would be taken away from her family. This thought influenced her decision to not tell the mayor’s wife. Liesel had understood that in order to keep her family together and safe, she would have to resist these urges to tell people about the truth about the Jew in her

basement. For Max, his story differs from the others greatly.
Max Vandenburg grew up in Stuttgart.

As a kid, he loved a good fistfight. He fought Walter Kugler until 1933 when he was seventeen and the Grudging respect turned to genuine friendship. In 1935, “the Nuremberg Laws came in, forbidding Jews to have German citizenship and for Germans and Jews to intermarry”(192). As time progress for a bit, more and more of the Jewish business and homes were being vandalized or destroyed by the German people. When it came time for Max to leave, “He clung to his mother’s hand and that of Sarah, the nearest of his cousins. ‘I won’t leave. If we al can’t go, I don’t go either’”(193). His first response of Walter taking him away was to resist and make a deal so his whole family could go, but the family made a decision that Max would be the sole person to go with Walter. He eventually conformed to what his family and friend had decided and was ready to go with Walter to wherever he was going to take Max. As was leaving, his mother slipped him a piece of paper with a name and an

address.
For these characters, conforming was the only way to keep their families safe, but looking at it from a broader perspective shows that the family had a big role in the characters decision to conform. They would influence just ever so slightly that it would make the difference in conforming or to rebel. They pushed the characters to the edge to make the decision in a certain direction. As for conforming goes, the families played the biggest role in influencing the character to make the choice that will protect and provide safety for their family.