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The Thief Lord: A Thematic Analysis

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At one point in our life, we have all pondered on leaving our normal everyday routine and escaping to a place with no worries or responsibility. In The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke, Prosper and little brother Bo have similar thoughts but unlike the rest of us, they acted upon those thoughts which lead them to an unexpected ending. In this adventurous story Cornelia Funke shows themes of rebellion, caretaking, and betrayal. In the story, Cornelia Funke does a great job exploiting signs of rebellion by stating “Children are caterpillars and adults are butterflies. No butterfly ever remembers what it felt like being a caterpillar” (Funke 53). Prosper and Bo decided to flee from home in search of a carefree life in Venice to escape the rules and responsibility brought upon them from their aunt and uncle. The theme of rebellion is popular in literature for teenagers due to the fact that teenagers in today’s generation are rebelling more than ever before. Authors then recreate certain scenarios that …show more content…

“She had taken them to her hiding place where they’d met Riccio and Mosca, and had given them dry clothes and something hot to eat” (Funke 20-21). It is not an everyday occurrence when a group of people offer complete strangers refuge along with food and clothing. Throughout the entire story, the bond that these kids create while surviving off of one another is one that will last a lifetime. The theme of caretaking is a sensitive yet popular topic. It is vastly expressed in numerous movies, books, tv shows, etc. In this story the main caretaker of these runaway children is a child himself. He goes by the name Thief Lord because in order to provide for these children he breaks into the homes of rich people and steals precious items which he sells back to a local shop in exchange for cash. This is a weekly routine performed by the Thief Lord and with that cash he purchases mainly food and treats for the runaway

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