Theme Of The Individual Vs. Society In The Book Thief

If you were a German citizen during World War II, do you think you would be a Nazi? Most people would say no even though, in actuality, most people would be. It is because people need to succumb to societal expectations to survive in a society such as that of Germany during WWII and in the book, The Book Thief, this theme of individual versus society is explored with people complying and fighting social expectations. Sometimes people side with the Nazi Party out of fear of being targeted and other times fight against Nazi Party because of love for their family and fellow man with usually terrible consequences. In The Book Thief, the theme of the individual versus society is shown many times with characters conforming and defying social expectations.

Many people, such as Liesel, conform to societal expectations in public while keeping their rebellion in private most of the time. They do this to survive in a culture that persecutes anybody that they disagree with or disagrees with them. For example, “‘I hate the Führer,’ she said. ‘I hate him.’… ‘Don’t ever say that!’… ‘You can say that in our house,’ he said, looking gravely at Liesel’s cheek. ‘But you never say it on the street, at school, at the BDM, never!’’ (p. 115-116) This was when Liesel found out that the Nazis took away her mother for being a communist and was naturally upset. Her foster father, Hans Hubermann, slapped her for saying that, at

first. He then told her never to say anything like that in public, but he said it was fine in the privacy of the home. This instilled the common sense in Liesel to never openly defy the Führer or the Nazi party in public again, and she even practiced her “Heil Hitler” right after this, showing her conforming to societal expectations to survive in and blend-in with society. Hans Hubermann also conformed in public. For example, he applied and never withdrew his application into the Nazi Party. He did it even though not believing in the ideals of the Nazi Party to help himself and his family from being targeted. They would have been targeted because he had painted a Jewish person’s shop after it had been vandalized. He also put the Nazi flag up for the Führer’s birthday. He did all these things although he did not believe in the Nazi ideals, but had to conform to societal expectations to keep his family safe. Another example is Alex Steiner, who is a tailor and member of the Nazi Party. As said in the book, “Point One: [Alex Steiner] was a member of the Nazi Party, but he did not hate the Jews, or anyone else for that matter. Point Two: Secretly, though, he couldn’t help feeling a percentage of relief…when Jewish shop owners were put out of business… Point Three: But did that mean they should be driven out completely? Point Four: His family. Surely, he had to do whatever he could to support them. If that meant being in the party, it meant being in the party. Point Five: Somewhere, far down, there was an itch in his heart, but he made it a point not to scratch it. He was afraid of what might come leaking out.”(p. 49-50) This quote shows that even though Mr. Steiner did not believe in the Nazi ideals, he had to become one to save himself and his family from becoming a target in such a hostile society. He knew that conforming to societal expectations were a lot easier and safer than rebelling against them, so that is what he did. This all illustrates the allure of accepting and conforming to societal expectations because by doing so, people were left alone and were allowed to prosper in society. This is the reason people usually conform to societal expectations, so they are not shunned by society itself even if they do not believe in the things they are doing to fit-in.
Most of the rebellion against societal expectations were done in private, but some were done in public showing the extent humans can turn against their fellow man for their own well-being before they shun societal expectations to follow their heart. These rejections of societal expectations in public usually led to disastrous consequences for the person. For example, Hans thought it was right to help the Jew repaint his building, but because he turned away from societal expectations of either doing nothing or vandalizing the shop more, he was punished. His punishment was not being allowed in the party for sometime, even though his application was never denied just never accepted, and his painting business drastically lost business. Hans also rejected societal expectations when he gave a Jewish person bread, who had fallen down while marching with many other persecuted people to a concentration camp. He immediately regretted his decision because he was whipped, forced to let Max go, and was sent to war. Another example is Liesel during the third Jew parade through town. In this parade, she sees Max and goes over to him. They talk for a while until she is noticed and is pushed out of line by the officer. She does not let that deter her and she goes to Max again, and this time she and Max are whipped for her actions. This illustrates Liesel acknowledging the broken system and fighting it in her own way with dire consequences. She knows she should not have gone to Max, but did anyway. Furthermore, the Steiners' themselves also rebel against the societal exceptions. They do this when military men came to the Steiners' house and ask to send Rudy, their son, to a school to train the superior Aryan race. The Steiners, not wanting to lose their son, fight this passionately. This eventually leads to Mr. Alex Steiner being sent to war for not cooperating. These are just some of the many examples of times people turned against society to follow their heart, often with dire consequences that illustrate how much easier it is to conform than to defy.
As shown above, The Book Thief really illustrates the theme of individual versus society.

It shows the need for people to conform to societal expectations to survive and thrive in society. It also shows the consequences of going against those expectations to purse matters of the heart, whether that is helping a condemned man or trying to keep your family from being taken away. Fighting these societal expectations puts a target on these people’s backs, which is why so many people decide to just succumb to these expectations, which is much easier on these

people.