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Literary analysis essay the book thief
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The Power of Words in The Book Thief
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German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said “We lay aside letters never to read them again, and at last we destroy them out of discretion, and so disappears the most beautiful, the most immediate breath of life, irrecoverable for ourselves and for others.” Words have strength most individuals are unable to comprehend in their day to day lives, thus the true power words can be ineffectivly used, and is often lost admits the books, letters, and newspapers. However when words do inflict _______on someone, that person is changed forever. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, words and literature on a variety of characters weather it is for better or for worse. For some its to
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control an entire nation, others it is making heartfelt connections, however only few learn to value this power. Throughout Liesel Memingers life in the novel, she experiences literature with positivity, allowing her to become stronger, more loving, and a more mature. Leisle goes through negative experiences as well, in which words allowe her to learn and improver herself _____. In The Book Thief Liesel's experiences with literature throughout her developmental and influential stages of her life allow her to grow and mature in a beneficial way. While Liesel discovers books and literature, her positive experiences allow her to open up and learn about the world around her, which shapes her into a mature person. As Liesel's brain developes, she fuels it with books and education, allowing her to make sense of what is going on around her. When Liesel attended the bonfire with her Hitler Youth Divisions, “she saw it all so clearly. Her starving mother, her missing father. Kommunisten. Her dead brother” (Zusak 111). After learning to read with her father, Leisle was finally able to grasp what the word “communism” meant. As liesel read, she began to understand that her mother left herself and her brother out of love and protection because of their Jewish characteristics. Lielel learned that if she had stayed with her mother, she woul dhave been taken by the Nazis too. Granted that if Leisel had remained illeterate, she woulnd not have understood the power of words, nor understood the power Hitler had over Germany. she would have never beeen able to forgive her mother. Another trait Leisle advanced was heroism. Leisel was a hero in all definitions due to her willingness to defy hitler. In the middle of the Holocaust, Liesel and her best friend Rudy Steiner left bread on the road so Jewish prisoners who were being marched through the town could stop to pick it up. When the Jews came, “[t]he first soldier did not see it - he was not hungry - but the first jew saw it. His ragged hand reached down and picked a piece up and shoved it deliriously into his mouth” (440). This reveals Liesel's heroic qualities because she defied the power of Hitler, while helping the lives of starving Jewish people. Furthermore, in Liesel's own home, she does not have a plethora of food, and bread was a favored staple, so giving up her own food for someone who was so highly disregarded and hated by the rest of her country was a noble move. Hersoicm she dained engouraged the importance of fighting for a cause she believes in, even if it is by quietly hiding bread. Herosim and strenght were two of Liesel’s biggest qualities that strengthened over her adolecent years. In the beginning of the novel, when as Leisle was being brought into the house of her new parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann, “There was the gate...which she clung to. A gang of tears trudged from her eyes as she held on and refused to go inside” (28). However years later when the residents on Hmmel Street were scared and hiding in Mrs. Fielders basement during a bombing, Leisel was able to ease the minds by reading a passage from her book The Whisperer. As Liesel becomes more confident in herself, and sure of her thoughts and words, she is able to help those around her deal with their issues and save their mentalities. Confidence is critical especially to a girl like Leisle who is forced to ripen and deal with a mature life at a young age. Throughout Liesel’s life, she had many marvelous expreiences with literature, helping her grow into a well rounded individual. The negative effects of words and literature that leisle experiences, may have caused her to lose her innocence at a young age, but they allowed her to step up and learn about the world around her.
Thievery demonstrates Liesel's passion for literature, for she is willing to risk the entire life she has created, simply to find joy in reading. The second book the Liesel steals was in a fire during the birthday celebation of Hitler. During the moment of theft, “when she reached her hand in, she was bitten, but on the second attempt, she made sure she was fast enough. She latched ontop the closest of books” (120). Leisel sle is aware of the consequences when stealing, but actively chooses to continue to kidnap the words because she needed to read; it was her fuel to keep going in her sad life. However, as Liesel's relationships began to strengthen with her adoptive parents, and friends, she was aware of what she was putting at risk each and every time she snuck through the window to the library to embessel another book. This taught her the valuable lesson of sacrifice, meaning taking risks and putting all that you have on the line to achieve one's desires. Additionally, more often than not, events that appear to be awful during the time of occurrence, can be a blessing in disguise, and can teach one more than a positive outcome would have. For Example, when Liesel read to the class, “[h]er blood loudened. The sentences blurred. The white page was suddenly written in another …show more content…
tongue and it didn't help that tears were now forming in her eyes. She couldn’t see the words anymore” (77). Embarrassment can be heartbreaking especially to Leisle when her entire class watching her fail at reading. Yet, Leisle used this as an opportunity for improvement. She proved that just because she was not the strongest literarily, her internal strength was unbeatable. Her passion was unbeatable from the beginning, but this specific disappointing moment in the classroom was the spark to her power. Even though Liesel was living a harsh life, and had depleating experiences, she was still able to go to a place that filled her with joy. This place was library of Frau Hermann, the Mayor’s wife. In fact the library was: One of the most beautiful things Liesel Meminger had ever seen. With wonder, she smiled. That such a room existed! Even when she tried to wipe the smile away with her forearm, she realized instantly That it was a pointless exercise (134) Throughout Liesel's life, she was forced to experience life’s harshness at its worst, but she was able to escape this in her happy place.
The library was important to Liesel because it forged a bond between herself, and Frau. Furthermore, it brought Leisel so much joy, that she couldn’t keep from smiling. Happiness is the most important part of life, therefore when Leisle found it in her reading at the library, it made up for all the rest of her troubles.
In The Book Thief, Liesel developed and matured in a beneficial way, allowing her to grow through experiences with literature. Just like everyone else, Leisle experiened both positive and negative occurances in her life, but Liesel was able to grow and improve from them in a unique way to her. Literature allowed Leisle to understand the world around her. She was able to truly understand the power of the word, as well as what effects they had on herself; something not everyone is able to understand, and especially not consider in their day to day lives. However a single word can change a life. Each word one uses can those surronding every
day.
Part One: The first book that Liesel “stole” was The Grave Digger's Handbook. This is ironic because it was the day that her brother died and it was the last time she saw her mother. Himmel Street is ironic because Himmel= Heaven and Himmel Street did
Throughout the novel Liesel reaches new highs and new lows, overcoming her fears and succumbing to her anger. Liesel's sudden outburst at Ilsa Hermann after Ilsa asking to stop the laundry services caused her to finally accept her brother's death and even helped Ilsa accept her son's death as well. Ilsa's guilt consumed her and caused her to become a house ridden woman overcome by her grief while Liesel overcame her guilt and grief by learning how to read and write not allowing them to overcome her. "“It’s about time,” she [Liesel] informed her, “that you do your own stinking washing anyway. It’s about time you faced the fact that your son is dead. He got killed! He got strangled and cut up more than twenty years ago! Or did he freeze to death? Either way, he’s dead! He’s dead and it’s pathetic that you sit here shivering in your own house to suffer for it. You think you’re the only one?” Immediately. Her brother was next to her. He whispered for her to stop, but he, too, was dead, and not worth listening to. He died in a train. They buried him in the snow. […] “This book,” she went on. She shoved the boy down the steps, making him fall. “I don’t want it.” The words were quieter now, but still just as hot. She threw The Whistler at the woman’s slippered feet, hearing the clack of it as it landed on the cement. “I don’t want your miserable book. ”[…] her brother holding his
In this passage, Liesel just stopped beating up Ludwig Schmeikl and Tommy Muller. Liesel is mad because she is learning how to read with Hans but can’t prove it to her classmates that she can read so they think she is stupid. Liesel tries to defend herself not by proving that she’s not stupid but with violence instead, much like how Hitler handled the Jews with killing them and destroying their homes.
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.
“I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.” (Zusak 528) Words and the power they possess is a common theme that is heavily mentioned throughout the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Throughout this book, rhetoric affects multiple characters in both positive and negative ways. There are instances in this book in which one can see how words have the ability to tear people down, educate and inform, and to inspire individuals to follow their dreams.
One may wonder since in The Book Thief many characters are negatively impacted by the power of words if many characters are positively impacted by the power of words. The power of words can influence what people believe and the actions people make. Liesel, Hans and Rudy are characters that are negatively impacted by the power of words.
In the article “The Library Card,” Richard Wright, a black writer in America, who was born in a plantation in Natchez Mississippi, but loves reading and desires knowledge. Once Richard was reading a newspaper “The American Mercury”, the article is written by H.L.Mencken. In this article, Mencken was being abuse by white man. Richard was shock because he thinks that only black people were hated. The article was a furious denunciation of Mencken. Therefore, Richard becomes more interested about Mencken. He reads books that write by Mencken. However, in that society, blacks was not allowed to read books. Fortunately, an Irish Catholic, Falk, who was also hated by white Southerners, he knows that Richard desires to read, so Falk borrows the library
Finding beauty in ugly situations was a theme that was very key in the development of the Book Thief. This can be seen many times in the text and really brings the whole story together. Keeping a positive attitude in a bad situation and finding the good things is what keeps Liesel’s happiness. She may not have the best life yet she has a very positive outlook on life. It doesn’t matter the situation, you can always find happiness.
Book and eloquent language were one of the many things that tied Max and Liesel together. For example, when Max was very sick and not waking up, Liesel would go into the room where he was unconscious and read The Whistler to
She then goes on to tell us that the people in the novel “sought comfort and revenge by destroying all texts and all individuals connected with learning, escaping into a simple agrarian lifestyle very different from Bradbury’s high-tech nightmare” (336). She is describing the phenomena seen in the novel called the Age of Simplification. She claims that the people in this particular society blamed the fact that people became too literate and technologically advanced that they led to their own destruction, so they ended up destroying the very source of their own destruction. Then came the fact that Leibowitz saved some texts from destruction, but he was in turn killed. The texts on the other hand managed to be passed down because of the fact that he hid them in the fallout shelter than Francis later discovered.
“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life,” Mark Twain. In the historical fiction novel, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel because she has a few good friends and she loves books/write books. One of her good friends is named Max Vandenburg, a Jewish man who the Hubermann’s were hiding in their basement. Liesel Meminger was sent to a new town, new family, and new scenery. She learns to read and write, and makes new friends. Once a new housemate moved in, Liesel made a new bond that would never break even when the tragedy hit Munich, Germany. In The Book Thief, Liesel gets to know, creates memories, and creating a beautiful friendship with Max Vandenburg in the middle of a town that’s slowly being destroyed.
Words are used in order to communicate with others. They might leave the other person influenced or even staggered as words can be that powerful. In the novel, The Book Thief, the author, Markus Zusak, uses words that are used to create comfort and sometimes irony. Using strong vocabulary has the chance to exploit anybody’s mind completely.
Literature has had a major impact on society, and, also our history. Literature has reformed and shaped civilizations, changed political systems, and has exposed injustices (3). Our literature has changed and developed as we have, keeping up with our society. “...literature is crucial for the advancement of society (3).” With literary works, we can convince others to view things a certain way, share our opinions, and more. Literature is greatly intertwined with our society and everyday lives, and they would not be the same without it. Literature plays an irreplaceable role in our
In life, we use words for everything. We use them every single day, however we never fully realize how big of an impact words can make in someone’s life. In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, he uses words to create goodness, comfort and sometimes the complete opposite. When confronted by the correct person, a strong vocabulary also has the chance to manipulate any person into changing their mind completely as well; simple conversations can even give someone the decision between life and death. The author shows this through the character’s choice of words, as well as through metaphors and similes, and the irony in the novel.
Let’s see if a handful of words can interest you in this paper. If you’ve gotten this far, then the words have done their work and made their power known. Words are powerful and can do many things; they can persuade people, make them happy, make them sad, words can even kill someone. In the case of the Holocaust, it was about 6 million Jews. The Book Thief cites many instances where the power of words is present in Nazi Germany, through Hitler, through books, through many characters of varying personalities and through our main character herself, Liesel Meminger.