The Book Thief Loss Of Innocence Essay

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The story of a childhood and the end of innocence is primarily seen in “Markus Zusak’s” book, The Book Thief. The book takes place in Nazi Germany during World War II and follows a young girl named Liesel Meminger as she witnesses death and destruction. Over the course of the novel, Liesel must face the harsh realities of the violent world in which she epitomizes childhood. Another major element of growing up, presented in The Book Thief, is Liesel’s loss of innocence. Normally, a child is innocent and knows nothing about pain and evil in the world, and so is Liesel at the beginning of the novel. But then, Liesel begins to learn that the world can be cruel indeed. Liesel sees how people are persecuted by the regime and how the place where her friend lived before turned into a post-atomic wasteland. Also, Liesel witnesses, how the Nazis burn books which were important to her like nothing else, and learns that words have power and that it is important not to surrender to the oppressor. …show more content…

Liesel has to choose between submitting to the orders of the Nazi government or rejecting humanity. This leads her towards the concepts of compassion, empathy, and the reason why human life is strong. Liesel befriends Max Vandenburg, a Jewish man who the Hubermanns are hiding in their basements. Max teaches her the importance of love, friendship, and the joyful nature of the

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