In The Book Thief Friendship Equals Survival “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art … It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival,” (C.S. Lewis). Oddly enough, The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak is about a young girl Liesel who is placed with her foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann (SS3). During her time with them she learns how to read, and together they try to survive over the time of the Nazis and World War II (SS2). Affable and brave, is the best way to describe Liesel. Due to that Liesel is able to form many friendships in the book (SS1). The main friendship within the novel is between Liesel and Rudy, another friendship is between Liesel and Max. Through the characters, Zusak depicts the theme that no matter how bad things are around someone, they will always have the love of friendships to help them. The theme is first seen through the protagonist Liesel and her friendship with Rudy. Rudy has a huge crush on …show more content…
Liesel, however doesn’t care for him in that way as if she has an I’m-to-good-for-him attitude.☺ Their friendship starts when the two meet on Himmel street in Molching, the two bond playing soccer almost everyday:“One of them, the infamous Rudy, would soon become Liesel's best friend, and later, her partner and sometimes catalyst in crime,”(Zusak 47). This justifies that no matter the consequence Rudy and Liesel were there to support each other. When Liesel was in trouble or in the need of help Rudy was there, when they played soccer and even when the two joined a gang stealing food. Liesel and Rudy have one of the strongest relationships within the novel viewing the idea that your friends will always be there to help when things get rough. Considering the friendship of Liesel and Rudy illustrated by Zusak, Liesel continues to have friendships with other characters such as Max, which to demonstrates the theme.
Books, a way to be safe or to be a threat in Molching, are just one of the many things Liesel and Max have bonded over becoming closer (SS4). At the end of the book Zusak emphasizes Max and Liesel's friendship, showing that they were strong and could get through anything like reuniting at the end of World War II: “They hugged and cried and fell to the floor” (Zusak 548). This represents how close the two are, they both have been through so much and relate uncontrollably on another level. By the two crying and hugging it’s very visible how much Zusak puts into their friendship. In other words, Max and Liesel rely on each other to make each other happy. Max Vandenburg is ill so he can’t experience a lot, which is why Liesel was able to bring down snow from out side to make him feel better and experience the snow
too: “***CHRISTMAS GREETINGS FROM*** MAX VANDENBURG “Often I wish this would all be over, Liesel, but then somehow you Do something like walk down the basement steps with a snowman in your hands”” (Zusak 313). Living without a family, hiding in the Hubermanns basement to keep safe, and pretending to be a Hitler supporter as a jewish man are just a few of the many things that make Max’s life so hard (SS5). Since Max's life is complicated and he is struggling, Liesel is being a benign friend by supporting him everyday and making him happy through the traumatizing time he is experiencing (SS6). There is no doubt that Zusak portrays the theme of having a friends support in malignant times through Max and Liesel's strong relationship. To culminate, everyone goes through rough patches in their life and will always have their friends there to help, which is why Zusak chooses to interpret that theme through many characters of the novel. The friendships in the novel are like the waves of the ocean that will never become calm or die down, the friendships will last a lifetime.☺ Liesel is shown to be the character having the most friendships with others. Liesel is first seen being friends with Rudy, who is always there to support Liesel. Another one of her strong friendships is with Max, and they are always both there to help one another. Just think, has one in a crisis actually ever really been alone, with no friends even family not showing any vehement?
Max uses Mein Kampf as a kind of cover so people wouldn’t suspect that he was a Jew and he escapes to the Hubermann’s house as Hans promised to help the Vandenburg’s if they ever needed it as he was friends with Max’s father in the war and Max’s father saved Hans’ life. Liesel is curious but also scared of Max at first but they bond over the fact that they both have nightmares, have lost their families and are both “fist-fighters” Since Max is always hiding in the basement, Liesel begins to describe the weather to him and brought him snow where they had a snowball fight and built a snowman with Hans and Rosa. Soon after, Max falls ill and she brings him 13 presents, hoping that he will wake up and reads to him every morning and night. Max also begins to share stories with Liesel and for her birthday makes her a book called “The Standover Man” which is about his life and journey. Max also begins to have daydreams where he fights Hitler and Hitler always uses his words to excite the crowd and uses them as a weapon. Liesel and Rudy also begin to steal food with a group of
Liesel and Rudy help get each other through tough times in life. One example was when they shared a piece of candy because they were both emaciated. Rudy found a penny on the concrete and they took it to Frau Diller’s shop
In The Book Thief, author Markus Zusak tells the tragic story of Liesel Meminger and her experiences in 1939 Nazi Germany. Zuzak incorporates compelling literary devices such as toe curling foreshadowing, personification, and vivid imagery in the form of simile and metaphors to grasp the readers’ interest. Zusak’s use of various literary devices helps to deepen the text and morals of the story, and makes the dramatic historical novel nearly impossible to put down.
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.
Impatience kills In “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, two very young people fall in love but cannot be with each other because of the feud between their families. The feud ends when Romeo and Juliet both kill themselves because of heartbreak over the other. The minor characters Mercutio, Tybalt, and Friar Lawrence serve as foils to Romeo, to help support the theme of patience. While Romeo is impatient and makes rash and hasty decisions, Friar Lawrence is careful and takes time to consider his actions. First Romeo thinks that he is in love with a nun named Rosaline, but a couple hours later he is asking the Friar to marry him to another girl she had just met.
’’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.
Liesel thinks of them as best friends until the day he dies and then she realizes how much she really loves him. Rudy has always loved Liesel from the day they met. Rudy saves Liesel’s book from the river and comes up asking for a kiss. He walks her to school for her first day and then they race home one day and tie. Their relationship evolves from strangers to friends to best friends. In the beginning of the story they do not realizes what good of friends they will
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.
Death narrates the novel we’ll be reading which is The Book Thief (yeah, you heard me it’s narrated by death) which proclaims to us the story of Liesel Memingers rough life. The date was January 1939, Liesel Meminger (who was ten at the time) was traveling via train, accompanied by her mother and little brother Werner. They were being taken to a small town called Molching, right outside of Munich, Germany, to be with her foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Liesel’s brother Werner dies while riding the train from hunger, cold, poverty, and lack of medical treatment. Before Liesel had arrived in Molching, Liesel was present for her brother Werner’s funeral in a snowy graveyard. Liesel
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it."
During Markus Zusak’s book we observe the beauty of humans at many times. One of the most beautiful things a human does is when Max, the jew the Hubermanns are hiding from the nazis, gives Liesel a book that he made himself. But he says that “Now I think we are friends, this girl and me. On her birthday it was she who gave a gift to me”(Zusak 235). Max made this book for leisel by taking paint from the basement and painting over pages in Mein Kampf. He lets the pages dry and then he writes a story on them. He makes this book for Liesel because he can’t afford to buy one, and even if he could he can’t leave the house. But when he gives Liesel the book we also examine humans doing something so unbelievably nice. Liesel accepts max as a friend. Which in the long run will help Max out a lot, because he is locked in the basement and he can’t even go up stairs during the day. So someone who is there to talk to him, and someone for him to talk to will help him out. Throughout this book we watch their friendship grow. Liesel feels bad for Max because he is stuck in the basement so on a regular basis she will tell Max what the weather is like...
Zusak uses his characters and their experiences to demonstrate the theme of the beauty and brutality of human nature in the novel. First, Zusak uses his character, Rudy, to support his theme of the brutality and beauty of human nature. Rudy’s brutality is revealed in a certain moment when he devises a plan to steal food from the priest by causing the delivery boy to wreck on the way to the priest’s house. Rudy’s beauty is also displayed in many things he does for Liesel, such as jumping in the ice-cold river for her book.
The book takes place in WWII, and centers around what Death sees in this time. Death’s job is to collect the souls of many found dead, but he takes an interest in Liesel, who isn’t someone he really needed to pay attention to. However, he followed her because he pitied her, and The Book Thief is the story of her life, narrated by him. Everyone always tells you to find the silver lining in the bad things that happen, but this book doesn’t just tell someone to do that but shows someone how to do that. He makes Liesel’s best friend, Rudy, smile by showing him Liesel kissing his corpse. He follows Liesel because he sees something interesting in her, showing even Death has a heart. He chose to retell signs of good that he saw in the book, specifically
If you were a German citizen during World War II, do you think you would be a Nazi? Most people would say no even though, in actuality, most people would be. It is because people need to succumb to societal expectations to survive in a society such as that of Germany during WWII and in the book, The Book Thief, this theme of individual versus society is explored with people complying and fighting social expectations. Sometimes people side with the Nazi Party out of fear of being targeted and other times fight against Nazi Party because of love for their family and fellow man with usually terrible consequences. In The Book Thief, the theme of the individual versus society is shown many times with characters conforming and defying social expectations.
With examples of family, love and friendship, expresses the hope that through the healing power of words, the corruption and hate in the world can come to an end. Even though the style of writing is simple and direct, it does a good job conveying the different themes of the story, including the different conflicts between politics and religion, separation of families, death, etc. The power of words is shown as soon as Liesel learns how to read. Her will for prosperity and curiosity becomes more powerful with every word she learns.