The attitude towards something or someone or more commonly known as tone. Tone is used in almost all literature , tone can be varied in a work of literature. Tone can be illustrated through the author's attitude or the attitude of a narrator. Tone is central to the meaning of the work , the author’s tone towards something allows the readers to understand the point of view of the author. Therefore , tone in turn allows the readers to engage in the novel and understand the intended meaning that the author is trying to portray. In The Book Thief , Mark Zusak simultaneously incorporates both his tone and the tone of the narrator , Death. The author’s tone throughout most of the novel is that of disgust toward Hitler and Nazi party. Zusak tone
of disgust is depicted through his use of specific diction and imagery when providing descriptions of Hitler or the Nazi party. In the passages above , the author illustrates the tone of the narrator , Death , toward Hitler. In the first quote , Death’s tone towed Hitler is very apathetic , as it was throughout most of the novel. However , in the subsequent passage Death’s tone towards Hitler is clear hateful. Death says “ I stepped on him on my way out” , this clearly implies Death’s hateful tone towards Hitler. Also in the first quote , when the Death mentions “Führer ’s pimply little knees were starting to shake” , Zusak’s tone of derisiveness implying that Hitler is a coward. Tone is very significant to the meaning of the novel , the tone of the author and the narrator or narrators allow the author the exploit the theme of the novel.
“The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak is narrated by death and begins when Liesel’s brother dies on a train with her and her mother. At her brother’s burial, she steals her first book, “The Grave Digger’s Handbook” and soon after is separated from her mother and sent to live with foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, in Molching, where the majority of the book takes place. At school, Liesel is teased because she can’t read so Hans teaches her to read when she wakes up from her frequent nightmares about her brother’s death. Hans is a painter and an accordion player and also plays the accordion for her after her nightmares. Liesel grows very close with Hans and also becomes close friends with her neighbor Rudy Steiner who constantly asks her to
Tone can be academic, informal, affectionate, dignified, bleak, cheerful, deliberate, paradoxical, patronizing, or many other imaginable approaches. The tone being a literary synthesis of the composition, that presents the mindset toward the character and the audience in a literary creation. A perfect illustration of tone in Twisted would be in chapter fifteen "Hannah was about to burst with excitement, which would have been disgusting because she would have sprayed blood, guts and glitter in every direction.” (pg.44). The one of this example is metaphorical; Anderson uses the
Tone can show how harsh people were to each other there. On page 101, a sons were killing his father because he was hungry. “Meir, my
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.
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.
The quote that stuck with me trough the book was one not so much about the emotions that can with the Holocaust, but more of the actions that people had to take during this time.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a young German girl of about ten years of age, who is fostered by the Hubermanns’, in a small town in Germany between 1939 and 1943. In the prologue, the reader is informed that ‘It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery’. It is however, much more. Despite the immense sadness and heartache of the overarching context, Zusak employs powerful techniques including; Death’s distinctive narrative voice, the symbolism of words and the inclusion of graphic stories to encourage the reader to feel enlivened throughout the story.
Furthermore, the writer also develops a suspenseful mood by creating a calm and peaceful attitude of the main character in a strange and cryptic setting. The purpose of the diction that the author uses is to develop an understanding of the main character’s attitude. Moreover, it gives the readers the opportunity to feel the same emotions and feelings of the characters, as if they were in there shoes. As a final point, the writer includes a specific tone in order to make the readers develop a feeling towards the main character such as feeling sincere towards a character, or rather despising them.
In the novel The Book Thief, setting and point of view affect the theme and book a lot. The point of view of this novel is third person omniscient and a little bit of second and first person when the narrator talks about himself or to the reader. The setting of the story is Nazi Germany and it is based on a young girl named Liesel Meminger and what her life was like during this time. Her story is told by the narrator, death. Mark Zusak, the author, uses setting and point of view to express the theme of the novel because there was so much death happening, Liesel encountered him so many times, causing him to be able to tell her story; without this setting and the narrator, the theme story would have been different.
There is no doubt that the presence of dreams and dreaming are prominent in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. The analysis of these dreams reveal that they are extremely important in the role of connecting characters, revealing characters’ traits, and helping emphasize the symbolic power of words.
Mood is the feeling the reader gets from reading a piece of literature. If it is properly made it can be felt through the main character or the text. Many literary devices can aid the development of mood in a passage. In “Denn Die Todten Reiten Schnell,” Stroker uses techniques of diction, types of imagery, and elements of narrative stance to create a dominant impression of fear.
Owens and Sawhill use pathos to evoke the feelings of their readers. This method establishes
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.
Throughout life many people face difficulties. Depending on the person’s strength some will get through tough times, but some will fail to overcome them. Two books where characters have to face many challenges include: Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Book Thief. These two stories deal with people overcoming the difficulties faced throughout everyday life. Some difficulties include racism, religious discrimination, and dealing with others’ cruelness or kindness. Examples from these books prove that the characters have challenges throughout the stories to overcome. In the face of adversity what causes some individuals to fail while others prevail?
Foreshadowing in The Book Thief is one literary device used that some readers love and some readers hate. There are more than a few instances when the narrator, death, uses foreshadowing to keep the reader interested in the story and to further on certain thematic ideas in the novel. For example, death says that “Hans Hubermann was not granted membership in the Nazi Party. Not yet, anyway” (183). Here, it is being foreshadowed that Hans Hubermann will be forced to join the Nazi Party at some point in his life. By giving us this piece of information, the narrator is causing the readers to be curious and wanting to know more. This foreshadowing blends in with the thematic idea of war because by joining the Nazi Party, Hans will have to go fi...