The Power Of Words In The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

The power of words is a prominent theme throughout the story, “The Book Thief”, by Markus Zusak. Zusak develops this theme in many different way throughout the story, however this theme is mainly developed through the books characters. The three main characters in the book that relay this theme are Liesel Meminger, Adolf Hitler, and Max Vandenburg. One very interesting thing about this theme of the power of words is that all three characters use this power in extremely different ways, as shown when Liesel says; “I have hated words and I have loved them, I hope I have made them right”(Zusak,528). This is a good example of how the power of words is many different ways because Liesel, a character who now understands the power of words and has

seem them used for both good and bad, to swooth and to destroy, hopes that her words are good and that they help others, while she acknowledges how bad words can be. One thing all of the characters that represent the power of words have in common is that they lack physical strength, but are determined and they eventually discover that words can do things that physical strength never could, for good or for bad.

Liesel Meminger is a great example of someone discovering the power of words. Liesel originally discovered the words as what seemed to be a way to survive. She first began when she started to read, which was originally just a way to cope with what had happened to your family. The words in “The Gravedigger's Handbook” soothed Liesel, and made her want to read more. Every night Liesel would wake up after a terrible nightmare and begin to read with Hans, calming her down while also furthering her ability to read, this is shown in the text; “Over the next few weeks and into summer, the midnight class began at the end of each nightmare”(Zusak,69). This quote is referring to how she would have terrible nightmares, but she would always be soothed by getting to read and learn right after them, when her papa would come into the room and read with her. After discovering this power that words had, she began to use them in many different ways. In the middle of the story she had a tantrum and she discovered for the first time

herself how powerfully negative her words can be. She snapped at Ilsa Hermann, “Its about time that you do your own stinking washing anyway! It’s about time you faced the fact that your son is dead. He was killed!”(Zusak, 262). In this quote Liesel really hurt Ilsa, and what Liesel said was true, however that may have just made it hurt more. Soon after this quote Liesel understood how harmful her words can be, and apologized. After this Liesel never used words to harm others again. Later on in the book, Liesel began to use her words to heal. The people of Himmel Street were under a bomb threat and were all forced to be crammed into a basement, this situation had the people of Himmel Street very uneasy. Liesel used the power of words to soothe everyone and make the time in the basement pass by quicker for all them; “...soon a quietness started bleeding through the crowded basement. By page 3 everyone was silent but Liesel.””...even the youngest kids were soothed by her voice.”(Zusak, 381). These two quotes refer to how effective Liesel’s reading was, and how powerful her words were to calm down and soothe everyone, including the fear stricken children.
Someone who used words for a very different purpose throughout the story was Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler was a small man who was most certainly not in any way physically intimidating, and actual possessed very little physical strength in general.”He was a small, strange man.” (Zusak, 445) Hitler may have been lacking in the ability to intimidate people with this physique, however he discovered the power of words, and intimidated nearly all of Germany through his words. Hitler was very smart about how he used words, and in the beginning he didn’t worry about using them to incite fear. When Hitler was first trying to get into power he used his words simply to give others ideas that they wanted to hear to get people on his side. He would often tell people how he could restore Germany to its once great state and how he could bring on a new prosperous age for all of Germany, if people would support him. After achieving power, Hitler began to use his words for deceit and intimidation. He spread propaganda throughout all of Germany about why the Jews were bad and why people should do something about them. Not everyone in Germany at the time believed or agreed with Hitler, however the people that did not fully support his ideas, often supported him because he used words to intimidate these people into thinking if they weren’t on his side, they would face the same fate as the Jews. Hitler even used words to convince other countries to leave Germany alone for a while, telling the United Nations that he would not continue spreading his power, and that he would leave Jews and other minorities alone. Eventually Hitler’s words were stopped by the power of other countries, however the damage his words dealt were severe and were a great example of how truly destructive words can be.
Max was a character that used words very differently than the other two. Max first began using words when he received the book “Mein Kampf” from Hans Hubermann. Max used the power of words much more literally here, discovering how important it was to his survival that he knew what was in this book, and how crucial the knowledge in it would be for his safety; “…it was the only two words my mind ever tasted. Mein Kampf. My struggle… ” (Zusak, 160). Max also later used words in a very unique way. After arriving at the Hubermann household, Max began to use words as a way to pass time, and to cope with being stuck in the basement. Max did this by painting stories over old books. Max’s stories were also very symbolic and moving, most notably, “The Word Shaker”. Max used this book to talk about how powerful words can truly be, and the effect that they can have on people.
In conclusion words are an extremely powerful phenomenon that can be used in many different ways. Words can build or destroy effortlessly in seconds. Zusak really showed us how polarizing words can be throughout the story, by having many characters basically rely on words for survival. Zusak showed us that words can save or end a life in an instant, and that no matter how you are affected, words are prominent in nearly everybody’s life.