The Book Thief Fate Essay

Fate’s crucial role on human nature is to predetermine an individual's destiny. Depending on the individual, fate can have both positive and negative outcomes. Humans have no choice over the outcome of their future. Fate has ultimate power which is why there is a reason everything happens in life. In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, each character's fate is predetermined. Hans’s neat handwriting helped him live through a war where no other man could survive. Liesel was given a black book which forced her to spend time in the Hubermann's basement to prevent her death. Rudy was home on Himmel Street because he was not sent to the Hitler Youth Camp. Instead, he died along with the rest of the Steiners on the night of the bombing. Destiny choosing

their fate means they will have no control over what happens to them. Individuals are handed a variety of challenges and lifelines to determine whether they will live or die. An important aspect of fate is that it is almost never fair. Human beings have no free will over their destiny, which is why it can benefit and protect some people while also leading the pathway to danger for others.
It was not a coincidence that Hans lived through the battle that no one else could survive. He was chosen to not go into battle on the one day everyone else in the war would die. Letters for the captain needed to be written, and he was chosen to fulfill this task. This meant he did not have to face the cruelty of death before his life even started. The sergeant had entered the soldier's room early one morning. He then asked all the men who had the best handwriting. It was unknown to them that they were being handed an opportunity to live. Fearful of what their opposite assignment would be, nobody volunteered themselves. Eric, who is later discovered to be Max’s father, knew he needed this job passed on to somebody else. He then suggested that Hans had a nice neat penmanship. Although the task was perceived as a punishment at the time, it was in fact what saved Hans’s life. These letters that needed to be written meant Hans didn't have to enter the war that would quickly take his life. Death recounted, “He survived like this, He didn't go into battle that day.” (Zusak 175). Hans’s soul could not be collected by death yet, as he had more to do on earth. He needed to live because both Max and Liesel relied on him for the safety of their own lives. Destiny determined early on that Hans could not die in this battle. Fate found an excuse for Hans’s life to be spared. A chain reaction of events occurred when fate changed life's path. Liesel needed a loving father to take care of her. Max needed the safety of Hans’s basement. He would not have been as safe living in constant fear on the streets. He would have been in much more danger if it had not been for the generosity of Hans. Max needed to survive World War II. He needed to live because he was the only one there for Liesel after everyone else she knew and loved died in the bombing. If Hans had not lived, Max would not have been safe. If Max was not safe, Liesel would have nobody she loved left in her life after the tragedy on Himmel street. Like Hans and Eric, other lives were protected by someone very important to the person they saved.
Ilsa had not only given Liesel the gift of her own book, but also the gift of survival. Liesel entered the Mayor's wife's library furious with the damage words can have. She ripped up a book in an effort to destroy all words. She then left a note saying she will never read there again. Ilsa knew books needed to remain a part of her life. She informed Liesel that if she would not read books, she should instead write her own story. Death narrated “As it turned out, Ilsa Hermann not only gave Liesel Meminger a book that day. She also gave her a reason to spend time in the basement”(Zusak 524). The book Liesel wrote on the night of the bombing was what saved her life. If Ilsa had not given her that book, then she would have been sound asleep in bed rather than protected by her secure basement. She would have died along with all the other souls on Himmel Street and would never have seen a life free of violence and war. Ilsa gave Liesel that book for a more meaningful purpose than for her story to be written. She received the book because it was not her time to go and fate needed a reason for her to live. Liesel's own story was what saved her life. While fate kept her alive, others were not as fortunate.
Rudy Steiner was a victim of fate.

Rudys destiny directed the poor decisions made by his parents which would regard his future. These controlled choices were what eventually costed Rudy his life. His family failed to send him to the Hitler Youth Camp; therefore, he passed away during the Himmel Street bombing. The reality of the situation was that if he was sent, then he most likely would have lived. The Gestapo noticed Rudy’s intelligence and athletic ability and requested for him to join their school. Worried for his safety, Rudy's parents made the ultimate decision that he would remain at home. Death then revealed if Rudy would have attended this camp, then he may not have died. Death proved this to be true later on when Rudy’s father, Alex, returned to Himmel after the bombing. Alex exclaimed, “If only I’d let Rudy go to that school”(Zusak 547). Rudy’s parents thought he would be safer in their own home than at the dangerous camp. However, their surmise was incorrect and it costed them their own son's life. An important role of fate is to make the decision of how each person will eventually die. Rudy was not meant to die in the cruelty and hardship the school would have put him through. He could have just as well died in his attendance there than in the bombing. Instead, when it was his time to go he went peacefully in his bed. His gift was that he would not have to be so miserable leading right up to the time of his

death.
A character's future is based not on his or her choices, but on the plan fate had decided for them. There was a predetermined outcome for each character in The Book Thief. Hans had his life saved by a Jewish man. In return for this gesture, Hans and his family spared the life of Max, who was the son of the man who saved him. Max was there for Liesel after Himmel Street was bombed because he did not die in World War II. Liesel was provided with a black book where she wrote the story that saved her life. Unfortunately, each and every soul was not saved. Rudy was not sent to the camp that could have provided him the opportunity to live, and instead died on the night of the bombing. Fate’s strength has the potential to change the course of many lives. It withholds a power that is much beyond a person's control. It will never be understood by human nature just how strong of a force fate truly has on life.