...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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...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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...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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...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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...decides to protect a Jewish man in their basement, a young girl’s stolen books help her develop a deeper understanding of the world beyond Himmel Street, encouraging her to give a new life to Hitler’s toxic words in her own stories. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, the simultaneous existence of anti-Semitic propaganda in Nazi Germany alongside Liesel’s cherished books and Max’s captivating stories demonstrate how words can be both destructive and self-delegating in an oppressed society. First, Hitler demonstrates the...
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...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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...Risk And Sacrifice In The Face Of Great Danger What theme epitomizes the braveness and boldness in the characters? In “The Book Thief”, the theme risk and sacrifice in the face of great danger, is manifest. Characters such as Max, Hans, Rudy, and Liesel have presented the use of this theme in their actions throughout the book. Risk and sacrifice in the face of great danger are made evident through the characters actions. The first character who made risks and sacrifices in the face of great danger was Liesel. Liesel made a risk in great danger when she said she hated the Fuhrer. Liesel told her papa, “I hate him” (p.115, Zusak). After Liesel told her papa this, he slapped her and told her, “Don’t ever say that” (p.116, Zusak). He slaps Liesel and tells her that because, if she said that in front of an SS Guard, then Liesel and her family might have been taken away to a concentration camp or could have been killed. This would ultimately lead to their death. Also, Liesel made the same risk when she stole the book, the shoulder shrug....
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...novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, it is evident that books, reading, and words themselves represent power for different characters in different ways. Close analysis of Liesel Meminger and Max Vandenburg reveals that power can be achieved through literacy in a context where literacy is severely limited. Literacy plays a major role in Liesel’s adolescence. Liesel obtains power through literacy as it gives her a sense of comfort and control. The act of reading and writing gives Liesel the strength to cope with and heal from her emotional trauma. Reading and finishing the book The Gravedigger’s Handbook helps Liesel find the courage to move on from the loss of her brother. Although Liesel does not yet know how to read when she arrives at the Hubermann’s on Himmel Street, she keeps the book to comfort her, as it is the last object she has relating to her brother. When papa and Liesel finish reading the book, Liesel “trot[s] out, involuntarily” (Zusak 87) by explaining to Hans that her brother’s name “‘was Werner’” (87). The act of Liesel’s words being spoken involuntarily suggests that “she is finding some freedom in the effects of her disturbing experiences” (Lee 14). Liesel does not have to force herself to speak to Hans about her brother as she has gained emotional stability. Additionally, literacy helps Liesel recover from her distress as Hans reads to her nightly. Hans reads to Liesel “to soothe her, to love her” (Zusak 36). Hans’ spoken words from the books and his mollifying...
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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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...that is very present in The Book Thief. Imagery is used to convey the beauty and brutality. Zuzak uses sight, touch, and sound most often to show what is happening, and help make the beauty and brutality visible. Everything has beauty and brutality, and this is portrayed many times throughout the book. Beauty and Brutality is shown to co-exist when bombings would happen, Hans slapped Liesel, and the bombing of Himmel street happened. Beauty and Brutality was very prominent during some of the bombings that happened. Michael was a character and he was trying to get his mother to a bomb shelter. He cried to Rosa, Liesel’s step mother, “‘Tell me, Rosa, how can she sit there ready to die while I still want to live?’ The blood thickened. ‘Why do I want to live? I shouldn’t want to, but I do.’ (Zusak 487). He was trying everything to get her to move. He had a desire for life, something his mother lacked. Zuzak was using imagery, by hearing his voice, seeing his mother, and trying to pull her to the shelter. Even though this was brutal, beautiful moments were still happening. On Page 488, we learn of the event of the bomb shelter. “The night was long with bombs and reading. Her mouth was drying, but the book thief worked through fifty-four pages. The majority of children slept and didn’t hear the sirens of renewed safety. (Zusak 488)” In the midst of chaos, there was beauty in the...
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...Courageous, imaginative and adventurous are the words that best describe the once quiet, closed off young Liesel Meminger, the protagonist in the film The Book Thief, directed by Brian Percival in 2013. During the course of Liesel's journey she has gained great knowledge through her love of reading and writing but more importantly is the way her character has been shaped and moulded into the determined, strong-minded and matured Liesel she was always destined to be, through the new relationships she discovered with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa, Rudy a young boy she learned to call a friend and Max a Jew who stole her heart and mind as she looked to him for advice and guidance. Liesel's trust had to be earned. In the beginning, she had...
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...words are the most controlling force in the universe. They can be utilized in many ways, gracious or crude. Nevertheless, words 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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...“The Book Thief” Movie Reflection People always say 'the book is so much better than the movie'. In The Book Thief’s case, I agree with this statement. In my opinion, I think the original novel that Markus Zusak wrote was more captivating and told the story in a more fascinating way, including narration by Death and many other important details that were not included in the movie. For this reason, the movie did not do the book justice. Unlike the book, it felt like it was rushing through events in the beginning and the ending of the movie, but in the middle it felt slow and a little dull. The movie was still good, but I don't think it was as good as it could have been. As I mentioned before, many events from the original story were not in the movie. Some events that were in the movie got altered, which, to me, changed some effects of the story. An example of this would be when Hans stood up for the Jewish store owner getting beat by a Nazi, where in the book Hans courageously gave a Jewish man a piece of bread. The way it was written in the book seemed like more of a risk because it put his whole family in jeopardy, whereas in the movie it didn't seem as heroic. Also Alex Steiner and Hans should have left for the service at the same time, like in the book, because then Liesel and Rudy could have made a connection over their missing fathers. Although the movie made many changes, in some ways it also modified the book in a good way. One scene not in book was where Rudy and Liesel...
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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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...“Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts.” The Book Thief centers around the life of Liesel Meminger, a young girl in Germany during World War 2. The story is narrated by Death who describes the beauty and the carnage during this time period. Throughout the novel, we see the immense impact books and words have on the charecters and their surroundings, They hurt, they heal , they instill hope, and most of all, they bring the world together wether it be for good or evil purposes. In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, the theme of words and their power can be seen throughout the whole book. In the beginning of the novel, Liesel Memigner’s brother dies on the train on the way to their new foster parents. This has a traumatic effect on Liesel and the only thing she has to remember her brother is a book that she found at the graveyard titled The Gravediggers Handbook. This is...
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