The Book Thief Point Of View

Maybe we shouldn’t fear the idea of death. Maybe the black hooded Grim Reaper who carries a scythe is just a figment of our imagination that we cling to because it is oblivion, not death, that we truly fear. And maybe, just maybe, Death has more in common with us than we think. Mark Zusak explores this ideology by introducing Death as the narrator, who tells about the vivid but tragic stories of human brutality and kindness. By choosing such an anomalous entity, Zusak created an omniscient narrator who is able to tell about the story and the fates of the characters from an unbiased point of view. Because of this, Death is able to foreshadow and slightly spoil important events of the story in order to keep the readers focused on the conflict

and theme of the story rather than the plot. With the use of Death as the narrator, the author is also able to help the readers understand the main conflict and provide his thoughts on humanity as a whole. Through his storytelling, Death is also shown in a different light as we see his true identity. By doing this, Death becomes more familiar and understandable. This choice of narrator creates an odd feeling of eeriness at first, but Death quickly becomes one of the most significant figures of the story.
Strangely, The Book Thief is told from a first person point of view that is also omniscient.

Death identifies himself as being fair, in the sense that he comes for everyone, no matter how old, kind, or venerable they are, even though he wishes he didn’t have to come for those he cares for. He notices the colors of the sky with each person he takes away and urges the readers to consider what color the sky will be when he comes for them specifically. At first he tries to describe himself as someone who is detached from humans and tries to distract himself from his distressing job by noticing the colors of the sky. However, his true personality is revealed through his close bonds with some of the characters. The omniscient point of view also allows Death to describe each character’s thoughts and feelings in depth and interweave each character’s personal story into the big picture. Death chooses not to introduce the readers to Max, Hans, or Rosa until they are introduced to Liesel’s first. Through this technique, the readers learn to understand the background of where each character came from and why they did the things they did. For example, when Hans gave bread to a walking by Jew, the readers could associate this action with his previously mentioned anti-Nazi beliefs and arguments with his son over joining the party. Death is also able to show the characters’ growth and emotional change over the course of the story. When Liesel arrived on Himmel Street, she was scared and

opposed to the idea of staying with a family that wasn’t her own. After just a few months, the girl came to love and appreciate her new parents like she never though she would. The use of Death as the narrator also allows him to foreshadow some of the upcoming tragedies in the story. By flat out telling the readers that Rudy will die and Liesel will end up kissing his dusty lips, Death destroys the feeling of obscurity. He claims that in life nothing is a mystery as everything ends in tragedy. The readers learn to appreciate the events that lead up to the already foreshadowed tragedies and focus on how the story progresses. Death uses his own experiences to provide details about Liesel’s life that are imperative to the story itself.
Through his peculiar point of view, Death is able to explain his thoughts on humanity and his conflicts within. He is utterly amazed at the fact that humans can be so bitter but so caring at the same time. This humanly unimaginable point of view leaves an impact on the readers, forcing them to reevaluate not only their own choices but the choices of the population as a whole. By his impersonal connection to humans, Death is able to portray the contrast between himself and human beings. Through this, Death isn’t “living” to tell the story as most narrators are, instead he wants to show the readers that humans have a beginning and an end, everyone who has lived in the past died and everyone who is living right now will die and this pattern will continue for as long as humanity exists, there is nothing we can do to stop it because, as previously mentioned, Death does not decide who he takes away. Death in contrast, never dies. He has seen all the bad and all the ugly in the world. This is seen when many of Liesel’s loved ones are taken away by Death one after another, including her brother, Hans, and Rudy. Death’s attitude, or tone, towards humans differs immensely as he finds people who he believes are worth living and some who are not. For example, Death explains that, “War is like the new boss who expects the impossible. He stands over your shoulder repeating one thing, incessantly: 'Get it done, get it done.' So you work harder. You get the job done. The boss, however, does not thank you. He asks for more.” Since Hitler was the one who started the War, he is indirectly responsible for all the murder and the work that Death has to do. Comparatively, Liesel is kind to everyone, and even risks her life to give bread to the Jews. In a way, Death can’t believe that both types of people exist in this world, but he learns that humans are strange and everything is possible. Through this conflict, Death is also completely terrified of the survivors of such tragedies like Liesel’s. He finds it impossible for someone to go through that much emotional pain and still have a smile on their face. This shows how emotionally strong of a character Liesel was and how Death admired her so dearly. The never-ending conflict between brutality and selflessness makes the readers understand the main conflict of the story from a new perspective and highlight the characters’ strengths and weaknesses.
Having Death as the narrator creates an awareness of what death is really like in the readers minds.

He is portrayed as a human-like being who cares and has compassion for the souls he takes away. Ironically, death is the only thing that we all have in common and that makes us human. Death mentions that he is not what causes people to die. He is a result. He is not a Grim Reaper and he doesn’t want to take us away to heaven or hell. He conflicts the readers by asking, “You want to know what I truly look like? I'll help you out. Find yourself a mirror while I continue.” This means that the only thing that kills people is humanity; all the disease, all the murder, and all the conflict is caused by humans. Death only exists to help carry the souls of the dead away. In the book, Death feels a certain connection to Liesel and her family. He claims that when he came for Hans and Rudy, they sat up to meet him. They were ready. As Death picked up Rudy’s innocent soul, he began to cry. This shows that Death is not the big scary thing we all fear of, he is somebody who struggles to do his job. This view of Death gives the readers a comforting impression that death is always there with them, watching their every move and growing closer to each person as their life goes on. This creates a lasting impact on the readers’ feeling of safety and understanding the close connection Death had with Liesel. Death is fragile and vulnerable, and quite frankly afraid of humans. As people are born,

they have the capability to become someone cruel or someone who is compassionate. Some are evil, some are good, and some are both and this thought completely mesmerizes Death. In the end of the novel, the only thing Death manages to tell Liesel is that he is haunted by humans. Unlike many people think, Death is nothing to be afraid of. It is, however ourselves that we should fear, as death is just a student of humanity. Humans inculcate Death through their victories and their mistakes. Zusak achieves the portrayal of the deeper meaning of war and survival by using Death as the narrator. The audience learns what it truly means to be a human being and what it takes to survive the unimaginable horrors of life that everyone experiences.
This story is one of misery, tragedy, but also jubilation that is told through a strange but powerful point of view of Death. As the narrator, Death is able to provide the readers with details that are unknown to the characters, insights on his thoughts on the worth of humanity, and most importantly a new image of himself that many people have not considered before. No other entity could tell the story from such an objective point of view and get readers so emotionally attached to the characters, like Death did. Death makes the readers understand that they will face him sooner or later, because humans die but Death “lives” forever.