...person. This was Liesel Meminger, and this was her situation in a classic novel by Markus Zusak. How did she unconsciously cope? What started with an innocent picking-up, turned into fence jumping and window crawling. Liesel's growing and declining habit of stealing books has an overall domino effect on her life, which is threaded through each page of The Book Thief. In the end, Liesel’s thievery keeps her alive. The Grave Digger’s Handbook was the first to be in the possession of Liesel Meminger. It was black with silver writing on the cover, found lodged in the snow of a “nameless” (22) town. After the burial of her little brother, Werner, had been cut short and Liesel and her mother would soon again board the train from the cemetery (this time with one less person), Liesel spotted the rectangular...
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...Liesel Meminger and Max Vandenburg’s Similarities Though they come from different families and they are different ages they are quite similar. Liesel Meminger and Max Vandenburg, from the novel The Book Thief, have a lot more in common than they may know. The two strangers grow a special bond allowing them to become closer every day. As Liesel and Max’s relationship develops and gets stronger the reader can conclude the two share nightmares. Liesel uses reading as an escape, where as Max uses crosswords as a distraction. She some what uses Max more than Hans, her papa, to help her gain courage for her nightmares. Max eventually realizes that Liesel is the one who helps him get over his own nightmares. Unlike some people Liesel and Max do not take things for granted. They love in a way you would not expect and put others before themselves. “He woke up Liesel. He’s awake.” “From her pocket, she pulled out the toy soldier...
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...The deeper I get into this historical fiction novel by Markus Zusak, the more interesting and captivating it gets. As the plot and characters develop, I get a deeper understanding of the characters and this makes me connect with them even more. The character I most admire and, in a way, look up to is the main character, Liesel Meminger. I really admire Liesel because when she starts something, she finishes, no matter the circumstances; for example when she was learning how to read, “There were, of course, some problems as well… Just when progress seemed to be flowing well, somehow things would become lodged… but she had neither the selflessness to allow him to sleep… She was a girl with a mountain to climb” (Zusak 71 & 86). Acquiring a new...
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...words, written or spoken, have life. They can change the world.” (search quotes). The power of words should not be underestimated. Liesel proves this to be true in the novel and the film The Book Thief. She uses words to develop relationships with her foster father, Hans Hubermann; Max Vandenburg, the illicit Jew in her basement; and her neighbours. In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak there is much more relationship development compared to the film The Book Thief directed by Brian Percival. This consequently causes the theme of the power of words to be less prominent in the film. The novel The Book Thief develops the relationship between Liesel Meminger and her neighbours more than the film The Book Thief therefore minimizing the theme. First, Liesel and Rudy become best friends, “Insane or not, Rudy was always destined to be Liesel’s best friend.” (Zusak 48). Rudy introduced himself to Liesel as soon as she moved in, he developed a liking for her and they soon become best friends. Rudy used his charming, and sometimes insulting, words to win over Liesel. This develops the theme because it shows that even if one does not want to like someone, their words can change them into a likable person. Second, Liesel and Frau Hermann develop a relationship, “When she came and stood with an impossibly frail steadfastness, she was holding a tower of books against her stomach, from her navel to the beginning of her breasts. She looked so vulnerable in the monstrous doorway. Long, light...
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...Chapter One - How Liesel’s Maturity is Affected by the Setting “War will change people!” -Aaron Starmer. In Markus Zusak’s, The Book Thief, the protagonist, Liesel Meminger is living in the time of World War II. She doesn’t act like a child, she is mature and sophisticated. In The Book Thief, the setting influences the maturity of the main character, Liesel Meminger. The Book Thief is set in the time of The Holocaust in Germany. Liesel’s Dad is not a Nazi. In that time, if a male figure of a family wasn’t part of the Nazis then that family didn’t have extra privileges and would most likely have issues with money. This is what happens to Liesel’s family. Because of this, Liesel must do everything she can to help her family. Liesel helps her...
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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 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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...can have a major effect on an individual level, in addition to on society as a whole. Throughout The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, he thoroughly explores this idea. The reader of The Book Thief gets to experience Liesel mature and flourish alongside literature. Words play a big role within the life of Liesel Meminger, also in the lives of all individuals and societies on earth. The Book Thief takes place in Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. The holocaust was made possible by words, mentioned in the book that Max wrote for Liesel “The Word Shaker”. “The Word Shaker” explores the idea that Hitler uses purely words to take control of Germany. Hitler used words to manipulate a large amount of people into hating the Jewish people for irrational reasons. This is a superb example of how words alone can control human beings and their...
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...If it came down to it, would it make sense for one to steal something for their survival? What if it was only for the betterment of oneself? How about if one did not care or even fully realize what they were doing? Would all of these still be considered thievery? Questions like these have the power to shroud opinions about what is defined as right and wrong. These certain questions are able to challenge people on their take of the difference between stealing for survival and stealing for greed. Ideas like these, revolving around the rightness of thievery, present themselves many times throughout The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak. This novel follows the life of the main character Liesel Meminger as she adapts to her new life while trying...
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...Reading a bunch of books a month is a hobby, right? Writing books is a job, is this true? Learning to read books is a requirement in school to pass 1st grade, correct? And what about stealing books that are going to be burnt for some lunatic that leads an entire country, is that some sort of crime? Can you still be considered a protagonist? In the story of Liesel Meminger in The Book Thief, yes, you are still considered a hero, a person of amazement, and a protagonist. But why? Why are you still considered a good guy (or good girl) if you steal a book and you can’t even read? Well, it’s because in The Book Thief, the books are a symbol of knowledge, and here’s why. The main character; Liesel Meminger or the book thief as she is known as in...
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...The story begins with Liesel Meminger, a traumatized nine-year-old girl who starts off as a rather weak-willed child, but over the course of the war she turns into a feisty, courageous young lady, who isn't scared of tackling anyone or anything. The story begins 1939 after she has just witnessed the death and burial of her younger brother on the way to her new foster family, The Hubermanns. During the burial Liesl picks up an object she finds in the snow "The Gravediggers Handbook" which sets up her love of books, even if she has to steal them. Her foster father, the kind accordion-playing Hans Hubermann, teaches her how to read, and together the two of them pass many hours reading the pages of the gravedigger's handbook. Later, when the family takes in a Jewish man, Max Vanderburg, and hides him away, Leisel shares her love of words with him, too. Desperate for new reading material, Liesel, with the occasional help of her friend Rudy, steals books from a Nazi book-burning pile, that the wife of the mayor just so happens to see. The Mayors wife, with a shared love of reading, introduces Liesel to her amazing private library that Liesel will soon, frequently sneak into and take from. All seems well, but when the Allied bombs begin to fall on their street, things get even worse and death begins to close in on Liesel, her family and her friends. The Book Thief is a very memorable story. The narrative voice is the unique voice of Death. The characters are great, capture your...
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...Family should be one of the most important things to everybody, no matter what it means to them. It goes beyond any other relationships. Family can influence people’s behaviours and personalities. It can provide confidence, responsibility, and safety to people. Liesel in ‘The Book Thief’, regained a lot of her confidence with her foster family. In the movie Moana, her family influenced her to be more responsible due to the accident that Maui did to the island. And last, in the movie Twilight, the Cullens made Bella become more confident and making better choices without regrets. In ‘The Book Thief’, Liesel Meminger’s biological mother and brother, her original family, at last abandoned Liesel and made her feel fear connecting with other...
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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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...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 Book Thief Comparison Essay Liesel Meminger is a smart girl who nearly loses everything she ever loved. On her way to her foster parent’s house her brother dies. Her mother leaves her with people she hardly even knows, but Liesel soon finds something to keep her occupied. She steals books. The first book she stole was a t her brother’s funeral and she stole or “borrowed” books from the mayor’s library. Just as things were becoming better for Liesel, something happened that would change her life forever. She has to help hide Max, a Jew who would be dead if it wasn’t for the Hubermann’s. She learns to love and care for Max, but he leaves to keep the Hubermann’s safe. Liesel finds more abandonment when an air raid goes off on Himmel Street and Rosa, Hans, and Rudy are all dead. Liesel is the only one to survive because she was in the basement writing her book. Through all of the abandonment in her life there was only one thing that was always there for her; books. The book and the movie The Book Thief have many similarities. One similarity is that in the book and the movie Rudy gets in trouble for pretending to be Jesse Owens. He gets in trouble because he shouldn't want to be someone who is black and he never will be black. Another similarity between the book and the movie is that Liesel gets I trouble for saying that she hates Hitler. Hans doesn't care that she hates Hitler, but in Germany at this time everyone was supposed to be for Hitler. Lastly, in the book...
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