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. It all started on a train; Liesel and her brother were being separated from their parents; and all because their communist political view represented a threat to the Nazi Party. In this same trip, which meant the …show more content…
Not that it was a living hell. It wasn't. But it sure wasn't heaven, either”. (5.87) Death tells us. She became really fond of Hans Hubermann; a painter and accordion player, but with Rosa things were more complicated; she was a rough woman who did the washing and ironing of Molching’s wealthy inhabitants. Liesel starts to have dreams of her brother dying and wets in bed which leads us to her first reading session; Papa finds the book hidden under Liesel’s mattress and after a while he notices that Liesel does not know how to read and doing his best with a fourth grade education he teaches her how to read and write. She also makes a friend that she would never forget Rudy Steiner or we can call it Jesse Owens too; they met on the street during a soccer game and since then they became …show more content…
Hans can’t help to offer a piece of bread to one of the prisoners and is beaten along with the prisoner for this act of nobility. He is frightened that the Nazi will search his house and discover Max. That same night Max leaves Himmel Street. Hans is sent to war as his punishment and Alex Steiner is also conscripted for not permitting Rudy be part of a special training school. With Hans and Max gone, Liesel does her best to go on. She reads to the inhabitants of Himmel Street in the bomb shelter during air raids, robs food with Rudy, and helps Rosa who is devastated by Hans’s departure. The last book she steals is called “The Last Human Stranger” at this point she is frustrated and
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
His father gets fired from the few jobs he was able to get, and their home gets ransacked by a group of people that the narrator sees a few chapters earlier on. The Schneider’s have nothing at this point and their mother becomes sick and ends up dying. The narrator and his family try to help out without being caught, but there isn’t much they can do. As the book comes to an end, there is an air raid. German civilians all ran to the public bunker where they would be safe, while Friedrich is forced to stay in his house.
In Markus Zusak’s novel, the book thief, Liesel Meminger is surrounded by death and fear as that is the norm in the 1930’s. Liesel is a strong young girl who has been deeply affected by her brother’s death and her mother leaving her and finds comfort in ‘The Grave Digger’s Handbook’, the book she stole at the site of her brother’s burial. Throughout the novel Liesel finds comfort in other books and reads them to escape the terrible reality that is Nazi Germany. Together with books she overcomes obstacles she wouldn't have been able to do without them
Mark of the Thief is a book written by Jennifer A. Nielsen. This book is the first in the “Mark of the Thief” trilogy and is set in ancient Rome around the year 400 CE. The story itself takes place primarily in the city of Rome and the mines south of Rome where the story begins.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is intriguing in the sense that it conveys the story of a young girl in Nazi Germany from the perspective of Death himself. Throughout this book, Death points out the destruction humanity causes, and this destruction comes in two forms: both physical, as well as emotional. Since this book is set in World War II, and physical destruction is a common occurrence during this time, Death frequently discusses its different forms, which include Jewish internment camps, bullets, bombs, as well as fires. These physical forms of destruction lead to deaths, as well as injuries that can take a toll on the emotional states of humans. Therefore, through Death’s descriptions of the many forms of physical destruction, as well
This realization, although suspected by the narrator for a long time, shows the true irony of Liesel’s thefts: that she never needs to steal them. When she steals her last book, The Last Human Stranger, she even takes a plate of cookies and leaves a note. Although none of these books are featured as heavily as her first few thefts, their titles reference parts of Liesel’s struggles such as her relationship with Max, her role in uplifting her community in the bunker, her continuing education, and her status being the only survivor of the final bombing. In conclusion, the books which Liesel steals are very influential in her development through the course of the novel, with the titles themselves references other parts of her life.
Between 1939 and 1945, World War Two took place and greatly affected Germany. Every person who lived during this time, including Liesel, has a story, was affected in a very different way, and experienced horrifying tragedies and overwhelming joy throughout these years. The Book Thief discusses “horrible events in gorgeous and moving prose” (“The Book Thief”), which is a very good description of Liesel’s life throughout the novel. Death, the narrator, is completely curious about this intelligent, lonely girl (Zusak, Corduner, and Cresswell) even though Death knows that all of these people whom she loves will eventually die. Even the beginning of the story lets the reader know, “You are going to die” (Zusak 3). World War Two had a tumultuous effect on Liesel Meminger’s life. Her
In chapter (?) The Gates of Thievery. In this chapter Hans Hubermann ( Liesel Foster farther) meets Liesel on the church steps after a book burning. Liesel she asks Hans if her mother is a comm...
The heavily proclaimed novel “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak is a great story that can help you understand what living in Nazi Germany was like. Throughout the story, the main character, Liesel goes through many hardships to cope with a new life in a new town and to come to the recognition of what the Nazi party is. Liesel was given up for adoption after her mother gave her away to a new family, who seemed harsh at first, but ended up being the people who taught her all the things she needed to know. Life with the new family didn’t start off good, but the came to love them and her new friend, Rudy. As the book carried along, it was revealed that the Hubermanns were not Nazi supporters, and even took in a Jew and hid him in their basement later on in the book. Liesel became great friends with the Jew living in her basement, Max, who shared many similarities which helped form their relationship. Both of
We watch death explore the beauty and ugliness of the human race in Markus Zusak’s book The Book Thief. We watch as Liesel, Hans, and Rosa do everything they can to help out a group of people who were treated with such disrespect during this time period. This group, the Jews, were beaten for taking food that was given to them, and when they died no one would even care. But, these few people gave them food, a place to hide, a sense of belonging, and and a reason to live. They have to work day and night, and do everything they can. Even though people aren’t so beautiful at all times, there is still hope. As we have learned in this book that even when 99 percent of humans aren’t so marvelous there is still that one percent that is to delightful that it would touch anyones heart.
In The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, beauty and brutality is seen in many of the characters. Rudy, Liesel, and Rosa display examples of beauty and brutality often without realizing what exactly they are doing, because it is a part of their human nature. Zusak not only uses his characters, but also the setting of the novel in Nazi Germany to allude to his theme of the beauty and brutality of human nature. The time in which the novel is set, during World War II, displays great examples of beauty and brutality, such as the mistreatment of the Jews. As a result of this time period, the characters have to go through troubling times, which reveals their beautiful and brutal nature in certain circumstances. Zusak uses his characters and their experiences to demonstrate the theme of the beauty and brutality of human nature in the novel.
“Mark of the Thief ” is an exciting, action-packed fantasy book written by Jennifer A. Nielsen. It was published on February 24, 2015 and is 339 pages long. The book is about the treasonous General Radulf, who gives an order to send Nic, a slave in the mines of Rome to enter a sealed cave containing the treasures of Julius Caesar. Alone in the total darkness, he discovers more than gold and precious stones. He finds an ancient bulla that once belonged to the famous leader of Rome, Caesar. The amulet is filled with powerful magic that was restrained for the Roman Gods. In addition, he gets a mysterious mark on his back from a violent griffin, guarding the treasures. Now, with the power of the bulla, Nic is persistent to let
Liesel has “no trouble calling him Papa” as he brings comfort to her and helps her learn to read, starting with a book she took from the cemetery where her brother was buried. So begins a love affair between Liesel and her books and she is soon stealing books from Nazi-burnings as well as the mayors’ library. Keeping a promise he made to the man who saved his life, Hans Hubermann allows the Jew, Max Vandenberg, to hide in his basement. Liesel and Max become good friends, and Max narrates stories about their friendship, which are illustrated in the novel. However, these are dangerous times and Liesel soon learns about the risks that come with her new
After Liesel learnt how to write, she wrote a letter to her biological mother, informing her of her current situation here in Himmel Street. Liesel requested Hans to send the letter out on her behalf and he later confessed, “You know, Liesel? I nearly wrote you a reply and signed your mother’s name. […] But I couldn’t. I couldn’t bring myself.” (16.1) With the word “couldn’t” denoting a sense of inability and the repetition of it twice, Hans find it literally impossible to reply to Liesel as her mother, just as to mask the reality of her mother’s death. Hans did not want to keep her mother’s death a secret any longer as he firmly believes that although the truth hurts, it is always much more helpful. It conjures an image of someone unable to bear to complete a specific task, similar to that of Hans. The Book Thief mainly revolves around the theme, “The Power of Words”. Liesel and Hans deep bond was created from the moments they shared when Hans taught Liesel the alphabet and how to create words. And due to their close relationship was Liesel able to use words to create a refuge for herself in the midst of Nazism and use words to soothe the petrified neighbors during the air raid in the bomb
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak redefines death and his perspective of the human world by following Liesel Meminger, a young German girl who loses her father, brother, and mother and has to rebuild herself in Molching of Nazi, Germany. The Book Thief exposes the measures taken to spark early approval of Hitler in the young children of Germany and mirrors methods some use today to mold a child into what is desired or expected. Though these stories were written with contrasting purposes in mind, “The Lottery” and The Book Thief both showcase the human habit to blindly follow traditions or leaders and the early corruption of young minds that sparks lifelong