The Book Thief Rudy Character Analysis

In the novel, The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, there are countless times when the characters show that they can be heroic, but the ones that stand out the most are: Rudy, Hans, and Liesel. Rudy is a hero from the start with his reckless and gallant personality. Hans is a wise man who often does the what he thinks is noble. By the end of the book, Liesel grows to be a human being who knows how to care and influence others. Having humanity and consideration goes hand in hand with heroism, too. Throughout the novel, the three characters experience moments when they stay strong for everyone else or help others around them even when they are not obliged to do anything. Yet, sometimes when they try to act like heroes, it does not always work

out. Not everything will have a positive outcome and that is just how life works. Even heroes do not get special treatment from failures. This shows that people who choose to be brave are ordinary human beings. Real heroes are the ones that help others and go against the crowd, facing their enemies even when they’re scared to death.

Hans seems to be quite humble at first, but he proves himself to be a kind, empathetic person. He acts according to his conscience which most people fail to do and goes out of his way to help anybody. After Hans sees a Jewish store with vandalism on it, he volunteers to paint over the words despite knowing that people will think he is a Jewish lover. Hans is the only person who stands up for the Jew since it is his own way of a silent defiance for the people he knows have been persecuted for the wrong reasons. He cannot forget the time when a Jew saved him, so he knows that they are not the monsters Hitler portrays them as. This makes him not so popular with the Germans because they think he is a traitor. Hans stands out to them since he follows his beliefs, which happens to be against the ideals of the society they live in. Be that as it may, Hans is still a hero to Liesel and the first person she is able to open up to when she first arrives at Himmel Street. When Liesel has nightmares in the middle of the night and wets her bed, Hans comes to comfort her. The author introduces him as the first hero in the book since he However, there are still moments when he fails to be a hero. For example, Hans offers a piece of bread to one of the Jews during a Jew parade and gets whipped for it. Although that is a heroic feat in itself, there is a consequence that comes with it and Hans takes the easy way out since he is afraid. It shows that even when heroes do what is appropriate, it can still turn out for the worse. Overall, Hans is not a villain for choosing to be a coward in that situation. In turn, he influenced Rudy to hand out the bread instead

Rudy is already a natural hero since he has the personality that tells him to stand up for the things and people he cares about.

He hands out pieces of bread to the Jews after seeing Hans do the exact same thing. Like Rudy says to Liesel, “quote about how rudy was talking about seeing hans hand out the bread,” (author page). Rudy hands out the bread despite seeing Hans get punished, so it shows he has a sense of moralism and humanity. He also says that he is handing out bread for the Jews to eat as if it were casual, In his mind, Rudy knows that it is wrong for Germans to treat Jews as if they are lower than the dirt below their feet. Even though he does not witness the Holocaust, Rudy Also, he does not know about Max at the time, so it means he tried to help the Jews albeit not knowing any of them or any of their personal situations. Even if he makes a small difference in the huge population of Jews, Rudy is still a hero by doing something to help them, especially while being aware of the punishment he might receive. Another time Rudy is a hero is when he stands up for his friend Tommy after a sadistic Hitler Youth leader, Franz Deutscher, picks on him. Rudy suffers many punishments for standing to Franz, but he has the mindset that if he does not do anything, who will? Tommy is his friend and he has to help him. Rudy is the only person who helps

Tommy.

Liesel, unlike Rudy, does not start off as a hero; she is a young, naive girl in the beginning.

The most notable time when Liesel acts like a hero is when she reads in the bomb shelter to calm down the adults and children. Liesel is shaking from fright during the whole ordeal, but everyone is listening to her read because she is like the leader who takes over in this moment. Liesel is courageous when no one else will take up the position to calm down everybody else. Even Hans (a hero) is in the shelter during that time, but he does not do anything to give the victims solace; it is all Liesel. Liesel made an impact on Max and is a hero to him because she is the only person who is truly a friend to him after he starts living in the basement.When you are alone, a friend can be a knight in shining armor. She is extremely In the end, Liesel sees Max in a crowd of Jews marching for the Jew parade and she immediately calls him out and runs to him, hugging him. She is his hero in this moment because she runs to him and acknowledges him, knowing he is in a parade of captured Jews. She is a true friend to

him.