...The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, is a remarkable novel that shines a new light on how death is perceived. The book tells the story of Liesl, a young girl in Germany, who loves to read. As her family keeps a Jew in their basement during World War II, she finds herself stealing books and reading them during the bombings on her home street. Death’s narration of the book is the best way to tell Liesel’s story because he is unbiased, knows everything, and connects with Liesel. Death’s narration shows the true story of a little girl on Himmel Street, without any exaggeration. Death is an unbiased narrator for The Book Thief. For starters Death is not narrating about himself, so he can be blunt and honest. Death is not human, he can’t completely relate to humans and...
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...The novel The Book Thief is based on the life of Liesel Meminger, a nine year old girl, who lives in Nazi Germany during World War II. In the story, Death narrates the experiences of Liesel’s life. These experiences brought both magnificence and devastation that effected many lives that were in this era. After Liesel’s brother's death, she arrives in an upset state at the home of her new foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. While Liesel was there she saw many terrible things that the Nazi ruling has brought to Germany. As she sees these horrific things going on in Germany she struggles to find a way to defend her guilt in the disturbing surroundings. While the political situation in Germany gets worse Liesel’s foster parents decide to hide a man named max who is a Jew. While Max remains in the house it makes it dangerous for Liesel and her parents to stay in the home. Liesel’s foster dad, Hans, who has a close bond with Liesel, teaches her to read in...
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...sometimes the truth arrives on you and you can't get it off. That's when you realize that sometimes it isn't even an answer--it's a question. Even now, I wonder how much of my life is convinced.” Death is convinced to be many things, in The Book Thief, he is the narrator of the story. In the poem Its Death Again, he is a ghoul in a hood standing and stalking. “It’s Death again - He’s always there - Watching, waiting - e’er the stare! Every time I look behind or reach to pull the window blind, I catch a glimpse of grubby hood…” The death in The Book Thief however. Describes himself differently. He describes himself almost human like, a person with a heart....
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...The author of ‘The book thief’, Markus Zusak and the novel ‘Night’ by Elie Wiesel explore the theme of death. They explore the theme of death in different ways but explore it at the same time in history with Nazi Germany. The novel ‘Night’ is looking from a Jews perspective of a survivor of the holocaust. In ‘The book thief’ the narrator is Death and he follows Liesel and her German family. Both explore the theme of death, with the death of he bother being used as a turning point in ‘the book thief’ for Liesel. Death in ‘Night’ is explored where it became normal to see dead bodies but all it shows the limit people go to avoid death. Death becomes a reality and a normal occurrence in Night with thousands of dying daily in Auschwitz. The theme of death is first introduced in the beginning of ‘The book thief’ as Death narrates the story. The first turning point for Liesel, the German girl that Death follows, starts with her brother dying where she steals a book. This first book will be the start of many that she steals. “With one eye open, one still in a dream, the book thief-also known as Liesel Meminger-could see without question that her younger brother, Werner, was...
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...In the two books “night” by elie wiesel and “the book thief” by Markus Zusak there is lot of similarities and difference.One difference would be the overall theme, the book night’s theme would be man’s inhumanity toward other people,while the book thief’s theme is there are some people who are inhumane but the rest are not and does whats right.One similarity would be death in both book the protagaonist loses someone who they love the most.Another similarity would be that both book takes place during world war ll. The inhumanity in the night is stated on page 115,the last page “but still no trace of revenge.”This is referring to the prisoners not taking revenge because they don't want another human being to hurt like they way they were hurt.As for the book,the book thief ,the example for inhumanity is shown on page 512 ”The next time she spoke, the questions stumbled from her mouth. Hot tears fought for room in her eyes as she would not let them out. Better to stand resolute and proud. Let the words do all of it. 'Is it really you? the young man asked,' she said. 'Is it from your cheek that I took the seed?'’.This quote shows that do not...
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...The Book Thief and All Quiet on the Western Front By: Erik Makitalo In two very different wars, there are many similar aspects and emotions. Between the two books All Quiet on the Western Front and The Book Thief each one has taken place during a different war, but the characters have similar emotions and aspects between the two books. Death, fear, and caring about others are just a few of them. Just because two books are taken place in two different time periods, does not mean the characters will not have similar aspects and emotions. With death comes sorrow and grief between family and friends of that one special person they lost. Paul Bäumer, from All Quiet on the Western Front, and Liesel Meminger, from The Book Thief, both experienced death of a family member or a friend. In the beginning of All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul lost one of his classmates, Franz Kemmerich, due to an infection on Kemmerich's leg, which had to be amputated. As Franz lay there dying, Paul was trying to do his best to console him. When asked by Kemmerich to send his watch back home, Paul knew he had given up. Paul thinks "It is no use any more. No one can console him. I am wretched with helplessness" (Remarque 30). Liesel experience a death of a person closer to her, her brother. Liesel was traveling with her mother and her brother to Munich where Liesel and her brother were supposed to be going to their foster parents. The death was caused do to a coughing spell...
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...The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, is about Percy and his friends, Annabeth and Grover, goi What is your definition of a champion (a.k.a. a hero and not the food hero ok.)? Who do you think is the real hero of The Lightning Thief? According to https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hero, “a hero is a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability; a person of extreme admiration and devotion”. ng on a quest to return Zeus’s lightning bolt which will stop the Olympians from going to major war. Throughout the book, there were many minor and major gods that showed hero-like characteristics. Some of which are: Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Grover Underwood, and Chiron. Percy’s mother may not have treated as a hero, Percy’s mother is the real hero of The Lightning Thief from the beginning of the book to her...
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...Devastating events occur in this life changing novel, The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak. This novel tells the story of a little girl’s life in Germany. It covers all of the hardships she faced with her new family, her friends, and her community. Ultimately these hardships caused depression on the characters, which provoked the destruction of them. For example, when characters lose their family or when characters lose their friends. When the characters lose their family members that provokes the destruction of them. The main character in this book is Liesel. When she was littler, her brother, Werner died at the train tracks. Liesel was also taken away from her parents because they were communists. Because of this, Liesel was sad. Death, the narrator in The Book Thief said, “In the...
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...The Book Thief Summary How It All Goes Down The Book Thief is narrated by Death, who tells us the story of Liesel Meminger. It's January 1939, and Liesel, who is about ten-years-old, is traveling by train with her mother and her little brother Werner. Liesel and Werner are being taken to the small town of Molching, just outside of Munich, Germany, to live with foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Werner dies on the train of mysterious causes having to do with poverty, hunger, cold, and lack of medical treatment. Before Liesel arrives in Molching, she attends her brother's burial in a snowy graveyard. She steals The Grave Digger's Handbook from the cemetery after it falls from a young grave digger's coat. The kicker is, Liesel can't read. Liesel is reluctant to enter the Hubermann house on Himmel Street, but is coaxed by her foster father, Hans, to whom she takes an immediate liking. She's not sure about Rosa, though. Liesel begins school, but suffers because she doesn't know how to read yet. She also meets Rudy Steiner, who is soon to be her best friend, not to mention her partner in book and food thievery. One night, Hans finds The Grave Digger's Handbook hidden in Liesel's mattress after her usual nightmare of seeing her brother dying on the train. This is what inspires him to begin teaching her to read. When Liesel learns to write, she begins composing letters to her mother, but these letters go unanswered. Finally, we find out that her mother has disappeared. ...
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...Essay: Loss Loss is a theme that is developed throughout the book. Everyone suffers loss in the book. At the beginning of the book, Liesel, her mother, and her brother are traveling to Munich. While her mother is sleeping, Liesel watches her brother die. Death takes her brother’s soul away in front of Liesel’s eyes. Her brother is buried and that is where Liesel steals her first book. After that, Liesel is given away to foster parents, Hans and Rosa. She also loses her mother during the situation. When Liesel starts school, she does not know how to read. When she stands up in front of the class to read, she can’t. That is why she remembers a section from The Grave Digger’s Handbook. She memorized and read that. However, her teacher did not fall for it so she gave Liesel a beating. After that, Ludwig Schmeikl taunts Liesel about how stupid she is. She loses her dignity at that point. However, she takes out her anger on Tommy because she loses her temper. Rosa made Liesel deliver laundry to Ilsa Hermann. While she is there, she finds out that Ilsa lost her son in World War I. He froze to death. In Max’s flashback, he loses many people. First, he loses his uncle and then he leaves his family. He finds out later that they are gone. When Hans gives bread to the older Jew, he regrets it. He put his family in danger and everyone loses Max. When Max leaves, Hans loses his optimism. He stopped playing the accordion and waits for his punishment. Eventually, Hans is drafted...
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...The character Hans Hubermann from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and the lyrics of “Everywhere You Look” sang by Wakefield, both displays that kindness can always be found, even in the worst of times. The Book Thief takes place in Nazi Germany, the era of torment and discrimination of Jews. It was a time “with clouds as mean as you’ve ever seen” (Wakefield). The sky was the color of death, as so many Jews were being killed and burned. The period was dominated by a population of people who had an animosity for Jews. Han Hubermann is a caring man, who in desperate times, isn’t persuaded to follow the Nazi ideals. In a society of prejudice, Hans is known as “the Jew painter...for painting Jewish houses” (Zusak 104). People who are kind towards...
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...A majority of The Book Thief is set in the basement or under houses. Liesel spends a lot of time in the Huberman’s basement with Max and writing her book as well as reading to her fellow neighbors in the Fielders basement. The setting of the basement highlights the mood and atmosphere of the book. The basements are also under the houses which could represent her subconscious as it is the place where she is more creative and artistic. This is also the place where she has more expression and where she can be herself with Max. Although not thoroughly explained or in great detail, Liesel’s brothers death plays a major part in the development of the plot in The Book Thief. His death marks the start of Liesel’s obsession with books and learning to...
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...Matthew Zeppieri Mr. Kilgallin AP English Language 8 August 2012 The Book Thief Questions In the first chapter, I discovered who the narrator was on page 21. It specifically was revealed when the narrator is talking about the dead brother of Liesel Meminger saying, “It was exactly when I knelt down and extracted his soul, holding it limply in my swollen arms” (21). revealing the narrator’s identity as Death. The narrator’s diction on the page can be described as vain due to the fact he doesn’t need an introduction when the narrator says it is “not really necessary” (4). The narrator’s diction reveals that he has a methodical, stone cold personality that puts the narrator in a more superior position then the human race. Achieving this, the diction creates an effect that the narrator is going to be a huge part in the rest of the story which creates more dramatic irony when the narrator reveals stuff to us that the characters in the story will not know. “ You will be caked in your own body.” is considered to be a metaphor. “ A scream will dribble down in the air.” is categorized as a catachresis. “ The only sound I’ll hear after that will be my own breathing, and the sound of the smell, of my footsteps.” is an example of synesthesia. “What will the sky be saying?” is an erotema. Colors in this story play an important vital role in The Book Thief and the most important colors are the colors of the Nazi flag: black, white, and red. Black symbolizes sadness because the narrator...
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...In The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, there are many themes developed throughout the plot. A theme is a main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work; they can be stated either directly or indirectly. The same theme can be found in a multitude of literary works, however there are often a number of different themes in a novel. One of the significant themes that is present in The Book Thief is the ability to find beauty in an ugly situation. The narrator, Death, along with Liesel and those around her, are all in or around unfortunate situations. As the story progresses, they are forced to accept what they have been given and appreciate the miniscule happiness that can be found in any situation. Both Rudy Steiner and Liesel Meminger, fictional characters in The Book Thief, lived in Nazi Germany. They were poverty-stricken, constantly hungry, and were forced to live without anything but the necessities. As Liesel and Rudy were walking down the street on...
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...Book vs Movie Some people say movies are the way to the heart, but have you ever read a book? “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief”teaches you greek mythology. Also, it is a good way to spend spare time. Another reason it is fun to read, is that you don’t half to read alone you can read with others. The three reasons the book is better than the movie are that it has Procrustes, the Waterbeds Scene, and the scene with the pearls from the Neriad. The first reason the book is better than the movie is because it has Procrustes. The thing that is good about Procrustes is he is a villian who likes to stretch people. Next, he owns a bed shop where he lures people in. Finally, after Percy defeats Procrustes they find the map to the DOA studios in...
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