This novel narrated by death. The Book thief, her brother, and her mother are on a train to Munich. Her brother starts to cough aggressively. Soon the constant coughing stops. Liesel’s brother is dead. Liesel, her mother, and the limp boy have to get off at the next stop. They are no longer aloud to ride the train. Two days later Werner taken to the cemetery for his burial. Out of disbelief, Liesel started to dig at the frozen ground where the gravediggers just dug. There she finds a book. The Grave Digger’s Hand Book. She took it to Himmel Street, her and her mother’s destination. There her mother left her, with the Hubermann’s. She met Rosa Hubermann, a strong and merciless woman and Hans Hubermann a kind and gentle soul. She calls them now her Mama and Papa because her mother was never to return and her father was a communist. …show more content…
They became fast friends. At school, Liesel is in the younger classes because she is yet to learn how to read. With the help of her Papa and her constant nightmares, they sit in the basement in the middle of the night and practices. The first book she reads is The Grave Digger’s Handbook. When Liesel became skilled in the arts of writing she began to compose letters to her mother, they never would reach her. On Hitler’s birthday, April 20, 1940, in celebration they burned books that the Nazi party deemed as inappropriate. The sight tore Liesel apart. If she was to have one of those books she would be grateful, to watch them burn was a disgrace. During this day, Liesel realizes its Hitler’s fault for her father’s disappearance, her brother’s death and her mother’s abandonment. Here, Liesel steals her second book: The Shoulder
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
In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel Meminger, an orphaned little girl living in Nazi Germany, evolves partly through her numerous literary thefts. At her younger brother’s gravesite, she steals her first book, The Grave Digger’s Handbook, which teaches her not only the method to physically bury her brother, but also lets her emotionally bury him and move on. The theft of her next book, The Shoulder Shrug, from a book burning marks the start of Liesel’s awareness and resistance to the Nazi regime. As a story with a Jewish protagonist “who [is] tired of letting life pass him by – what he refer[s] to as the shrugging of the shoulders to the problems and pleasures of a person’s time on earth,” this novel prepares her both for resisting the
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
...er, and Liesel becomes a complete book thief. She rescues Jewish books from Nazi book- burnings and steals from the mayor’s library. Liesel is illiterate when she steals her first book, but Hans Hubermann uses her prized books to teach her to read. In the end, Liesel marries Max and moves to Australia. She has several children and grandchildren. Liesel eventually dies in Sydney.
The novel The Book Thief is a book about a young girl by the name of Liesel Meminger. Observing the life of this young girl is not easy as this is the time of Hitler’s reign in Germany. In a short period of time, this girl faces many difficulties. More than any child should ever have to encounter. She has to deal with being abandoned by her mother, the death of her younger brother, and relocation to another part of Germany. Immediately when Liesel arrives to Molching, her life is forever changed. She is forced to live with two strangers, now her new mama and papa. Liesel faces much abuse both at school and at home. At school she is made fun of for her illiteracy and at home, mama speaks very rudely to her calling her a swine and other insults.
Suffered the loss of her brother werner, while attending his funeral “there was something black and rectangular lodged in the snow. Only [liesel] saw it. She bent down and picked it up and held it firmly in her fingers. The book had silver writing on it” (zusak 24). It was a book named “the grave digger 's handbook”. This proves that without even understanding the book Liesel was already looking for ways to learn and find a passion to mourn her brothers death. Next, is the relationship Liesel has with her papa, Hans. He shows Liesel how to read and write. Liesel, who doesn 't know how, grabs books that Hans then quietly shows her to translate. He does this through their night time nightmare hours “Unofficially, it was called the midnight class, even though it commenced at around two in the morning” (70). furthermore in the storm cellar, utilizing Hans ' paints to show her how to compose. He is staggeringly understanding, as this is an extremely troublesome and moderate procedure, and he never demonstrates restlessness or dissatisfaction with Liesel 's moderate advancement, thus proving that liesel stuck with her idea and followed through with her passion. Lastly, Liesel 's passion for reading and writing progressed when Ilsa gave her the a journal to write her story in, “[she] thought if [Liesel was not] going to read anymore of [her] books, [she] might like to write one instead.”
“Here is a small fact: You are going to die”(Zusak 3). The Book Thief, a historical fiction book by Markus Zusak, is narrated by Death. The novel takes place during the 1930’s and 40’s in Nazi Germany and follows 9 year old Liesel Meminger, who death refers to as “The Book Thief.” After her father, mother, and then brother are killed, Liesel becomes an orphan and is taken in by Hans and Rosa Hubermann in Molching. Throughout the book, she meets many people including the Mayor’s wife, Isla Hermann, and Max Vandenburg, a Jew who is hiding from the Nazi’s in the Hubermann’s basement. Although Liesel’s life is filled with death and loss, she ends up surviving an air raid on her street and after the war, she is reunited with Max who survived the Nazi death camp.
Words, so simple, yet are the most powerful ways of communication. The weight of words is one of most impactful themes in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, and is felt throughout the entire novel. The Book Thief is a story that takes place during World War II, and follows the Hubermann family and friendships as the Narrator: Death follows them through their journey of Germany in 1939. Hans Hubermann is one of the greatest supporters of words right next to the Book Thief herself, Liesel Meminger. Words are emphasized through stolen books, spoken conversations, and thoughts of the characters. Hans Hubermann backs Liesel’s desire to read through many long nights, protects Max Vandenburg while in hiding, and consistently stands up against the dehumanization
The central theme represented in The Book Thief is abandonment. Liesel believes that everyone that she loves will abandon her and in one way or another, they eventually do.
Liesel’ classmates make of her because of her lack of reading skills. Fellow classmates in Liesel’s class mock her because she didn’t read the passage he was instructed to read. This shows Liesel experiences unhappiness because of her lack of reading and the power of words. “’Hey Liesel,' he ... ... middle of paper ... ...
One major scene occurs moments before the bonfire of books. A series of events trigger recollections of Liesel’s past family which causes her to construe the reason why her family is separated. Liesel finally asks Hans, “Is my mother a communist?” (115). This question acts as Liesel’s confirmation of her thought that the Nazis has indeed taken her mother away just like how they took her father for being a communist. Liesel is perplexed because she knows her mother is not a bad person at all, yet, her personal experiences with her mother contradicts with the ideals she has been taught; her mother is a criminal for believing in a utopia different than Hitler’s. In the following scene, Liesel is slapped by Hans Hubermann right before he said, “You can say that in our house… But you never say it on the street, at school, at the BDM, never!” (115). It pained him to punish Liesel and he longs to embrace and comfort her, but he was forced to take drastic actions to protect Liesel from being taken away by the Gestapo. Hans understands that he is Liesel’s sole protector and he shall act as a shield along Liesel’s journey to find her truth. Hans’ actions acts as an example for Liesel to follow. He tells Liesel to never admit her thoughts in public but he tells her that she can in private when she is safe from prying eyes and ears. Hans himself is hiding his insurgent activities behind closed doors. He hides a Jew in his basement, fully knowing it could very well kill him and his
In 2005, Markus Zusak composed one of the most influential novels of modern day literature. His story is known as The Book Thief, a novel told from the perspective of Death. His role is to narrate the life of Liesel Meminger as a young girl growing up in Nazi Germany. Death begins the story at the burial of her brother in 1939, just one of many tragic events that will occur in her life, she is then given away by her mother, and has to grow up in the care of another family. For Liesel, this change catalyzes a quest to understand the power of words.
It was on a train with Liesel’s mother and brother where they were travelling when death made his first appearance in the book thief’s life. He took the soul of her brother and only glanced at the girl truly, not taking real note of her as he did his job. She knew that her brother was dead at that point, but the shock wouldn’t truly take her until she snatched a book from where it had fallen near her brother’s hastily made grave. After he was buried, Liesel and her mother continued on their way, arriving at the town of Molching, where she met Hans and Rosa Hubermann. In the first few months that she had arrived, nightmares plagued her mind, haunting her with images of Werner, her brother, and his cold dead eyes. Hans is the one to comfort her, and because of this she grows to trust in him and truly view him as her father. She enjoys his company as well, for he can play the accordion and is always smiling and winking at her in a joyous way. He also begins to teach her how to read the book that she picked up on the day d...
...t Max gave to Liesel as a gift. This book represents the power of words, and how words can make a difference in a person’s life.The readers are engaged because it is interesting know the back stories behind these books when we read about them in the novel. Finally, Hans’ accordion symbolises comfort in The Book Thief. When Hans leaves to go fight in the war, he leaves his accordion at home with Rosa and Liesel. This is the moment that Liesel know that Rosa truly does love Hans, although she might not show it. “Liesel watched. She knew that for the next few days, Mama would be walking around with the imprint of an accordion on her body” (429). Rosa, Liesel’s “Mama”, keeps the accordion close to her heart because it reminds her of her husband, Hans, whom she misses so much. In The Book Thief, symbolism attracts attention to certain thematic ideas and the novel itself.
As individual thinks the world to be diverse, often we take for granted unknown cultures. At times, most minority cultures is view as one thing whereas the ethnicity is multifaceted. Historically we used assumptions, not evidence, to equate cultures with social identities (Handwreker, 2002, p107. Society usually dismissed individuality of cultural and tend to put everyone with similar background in the same category. Recognition cos ethnic group has to rely on each other to voice out opinion on the matter and educated the history of personal culture.