In Markus Zusak's novel, The Book Thief, a young girl named Liesel ventures through life in Nazi Germany. She is fascinated with reading, and she steals books throughout the novel before eventually writing her own. Liesel's passion for reading saves her life at the conclusion of the novel when the rest of her family and friends are killed during an air raid. Her story is narrated by Death, who is quite contrary to what one may imagine. The Book Thief illustrates that the full presentation of the character, not just their actions, has a tremendous impact on the way the character is percieved by readers.
The novel begins with a prologue where Death describes himself. He does not wear a robe or carry a sicle, and he does not enjoy his job. This
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These notes serve as a type of dialogue for Death and reveal more of his character. Furthermore, these notes allow the reader to feel more empathy for him because he often speaks of the growing casualties throughout the war and his increasing workload. Death compares himself to Hitler's best ally. He is disgusted by this title; however, it is his job. These notes from Death cause the reader to feel much more sympathy for him.
At the end of the novel Death reveals how he took Liesel's family and friends during the air raid that killed them all. He cradled her best friend, Rudy, and kissed someone's mother. As he reflects on the actions, Death is overwhelmingly sad and confused by the brutality of humans. Death's comforting actions encourage readers to sympathize with him.
Death closes the novel by saying he is haunted by humans. The irony of the statement is profound as typically humans are haunted by death. The thoughts of Death throughout the novel reveal his innermost feelings toward the human race and create a large amount of sympathy for him. The cruelness of the human race was evident in Nazi Germany with the severe loss of life of all people. Death does not understand this cruelness. Sympathy is created by Death's questioning of a higher being and why the brutality has not been
Due to his brother’s death while fighting alongside him in the war, Michael becomes emotionally devastated, and as a result, experiences survivor’s guilt, leading to his suicide. Although this letter is not from Death’s perspective, it still highlights an example of how physical destruction caused by humans can lead to emotional devastation for other humans. Death himself becomes emotionally devastated when Rudy Steiner, Liesel’s best friend, dies from the bomb on Himmel Street. He confesses, “Oh crucified Christ, Rudy … He lay in bed with one of his sisters. She must have kicked him or muscled her way into the majority of the bed space because he was on the very edge with his arm around her … Where was Rudy’s comfort? Where was someone to alleviate this robbery of his life? … He does something to me, that boy. Every time. It’s his only detriment. He steps on my heart. He makes me cry.” (531) This quote shows that Death is emotionally affected by the aftermath of the bomb, because he loses someone that he admires. As a result, Death feels like crying, and leads readers to believe that humanity is destructive. As a result, numerous examples from the book, including Death’s own experience, demonstrate that humanity has the capability to harm the physical world, as well as other
In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak the narrator is Death, who shows itself as sympathetic and sensitive towards the suffering of the world and the cruel human nature, through its eyes, we can get to know the heartbreaking story of Liesel Meminger an ordinary, but very lucky nine-year old German girl; living in the midst of World War II in Germany. In this book the author provides a different insight and observation about humanity during this time period from a German view and not an Allied perspective, as we are used to.
’’Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver. Like soft silver…..upon seeing those eyes,she understood Hans Hubermann was worth a lot.’’ (Zusak,34) Liesel saw kindness in Hans Hubermanns eyes which made her feels more comfortable with him rather than Rosa Hubermann.
He understands Liesel’s experience more than any other human and later they become soul mates. Rudy Steiner is Liesel’s best friend. Rudy has a sensitive and compassionate side. He loves Liesel very much and will always be there for her. Liesel slowly adjusts to her new life, she is still plagued by the nightmares of her dead brother Werner. This book has many themes such as love, the books focus is on the characters who are learning to love in war times. The Book Thief is set in war times between the years 1939 and 1943 in Nazi Germany. The Holocaust and World War II are going on at the same time. The war shapes the characters’ lives and makes a huge impact on their life choices. Death lets us know early in the book that this is a very tragic and emotional book. We witness many deaths of innocent people. Death informs to us that many people we grow to love in this book will die. As the characters grow and change, their courage becomes a bigger factor in their lives. It becomes a life-sustaining attribute and a testament to their humanity. She later meets and becomes friends with a neighbor named Rudy, who is quite fond of the American athlete Jesse Owens and constantly bugs Liesel to kiss him. Hans had discovered that
Death has feelings as much as any human, imagining, getting bored, distracted, and especially wondering (350, 243, 1, 375 respectively). Odd, one could say for an eternal metaphysical being. But then again, not that queer once having considered how Death spends his time. He is there at the dying of every light, that moment that the soul departs its physical shell, and sees the beauty or horror of that moment. Where to a human witnessing a death first hand (even on a much more detached level than our narrator) can easily be a life changing event, Death is forced to witness these passings for nearly every moment of his eternal life. Emotional overload or philosophical catalyst? Death gains his unique perspective on life through his many experiences with the slowly closing eyelids and muttered last words. Yet in this...
In the first instance, death is portrayed as a “bear” (2) that reaches out seasonally. This is then followed by a man whom “ comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse / / to buy me…” This ever-changing persona that encapsulates death brings forth a curiosity about death and its presence in the living world. In the second stanza, “measles-pox” (6) is an illness used to portray death’s existence in a distinctive embodiment. This uncertainty creates the illusion of warmth and welcomenesss and is further demonstrated through the reproduction of death as an eminent figure. Further inspection allows the reader to understand death as a swift encounter. The quick imagery brought forth by words such as “snaps” and “shut” provoke a sense of startle in which the audience may dispel any idea of expectedness in death’s coming. This essential idea of apparent arrival transitions to a slower, foreseeable fate where one can imagine the enduring pain experienced “an iceberg between shoulder blades” (line 8). This shift characterizes the constant adaptation in appearance that death acquires. Moreover, the idea of warmth radiating from death’s presence reemerges with the introduction to a “cottage of darkness” (line 10), which to some may bring about a feeling of pleasantry and comfort. It is important to note that line 10 was the sole occurrence of a rhetorical question that the speaker
Throughout the novel the idea of death seems to show up when the characters are either doing something that is not really who they are or it seems to be used as a way to describe the narrator’s subconscious knowledge or self. Also,
In conclusion, Markus Zusak uses Death as his narrator to prove that Death is similar and almost completely identical to humans. He uses the narration to establish the spectrum as a key description of the Book Thief. He uses his job as “soul gatherer” in the war to describe himself and explain how the events affected him as a “person”. Death uses human emotions to convey that he is just like regular, normal humans. Death is known to be cruel, disturbing and all things horrific However, in accordance to new evidence, his persona begs to differ. Death is inevitable but he is human too.
Mark Zusak uses a range of techniques in the Book Thief to recreate Nazi Germany and tell a story from a different point of view. Death’s point of view. He incorporates a wide range of literary techniques to recreate experiences and portray emotions that were present during World War 2. One of the key themes in the Book Thief is that of humanity and what effect it had during the period of Nazi Germany. Zusak tells the story from an omnipresent third person narrator who is known as Death.
The novel has much to do with death as it does with life as many of
The Book Thief Short Essay: The Use of Foreshadowing, Irony, and Symbolism in The Book Thief
The act of dying is quite simplistic, whereas the concept of death is overly complex. For this reason, it is a common theme for novels and articles to include. Death is not only inevitable, but it is also relatable. Almost everyone will experience the death of another person, pet or plant. So, incorporating some variation of that within a text will instantly give a connection to its readers. Of course, the perused death may be sorrowful, but it is often the emotions and reactions from spectator that intrigue readers. This is because it is typically the characters who have witnessed a death that advance a story’s plot. However, the prime exception to this is when there is a death from within a character—when a piece of someone’s identity dies. Incidentally, George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eight-Four exhibits both of these
Death is depicted as an individual’s affair, in which, neither one’s closest friends or closest blood relatives can give a hand in. Upon receiving the tragic news Everyman first approaches his friend Fellowship. At first he is hesitant to reveal his sorrow to Fellowship for he considers it too tragic a plight. After cajoling and assurances by Fellowship to stand by him in whatever situation, Everyman finally pours out his sorrow to Fellowship. Upon realizing that Everyman has been summoned by death, fellowship turns his back on Everyman ...
Everyone is fated to die; the real question is, how and why this phenomenon occurs. Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief, articulates what is already known from the begging, the fact that we will all die. In this book, Zusak makes it clear which characters will perish from the very beginning, but leaves out real mystery for the end, how and why we will die. Foreshadowing is used on many different occasions throughout this novel. During The Book Thief, serving as the narrator, Death performs the literary device of foreshadowing on various distinctive incidents to permit the reader to have just a peak into what the future of the book contains. Also, it ensures that the journey of how a character dies rather then the actual event is far more significant. Death states the end before the begging to exemplify how there is no overcoming fate while the plethora of this foreshadowing adds to the meaning of the work. The message Zusak is portraying through Death’s narrative appears to be the concept that there is no evading Death himself.
...se around them, even in death. This gives the impression that the author feels that death is what you make of it, so though many view it as depressing and empty, you can be fulfilled in death if you wish.