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Beauty And Brutality In The Book Thief

1073 Words5 Pages

Life is not always beautiful, that is a fact. It is a fact that every human being has come to realize. Another fact that we all know but cease to accept is that life is brutal, that is another fact, except that, it is a fact no one wanted to accept until that one turning point in a person’s journey in which they realize that there is not always a way out. In “The Book Thief”, the protagonist, Liesel Meminger comes to realize that in life, there is beauty and brutality, sometimes both combined together with a fine line between them. The author, Zusak, uses three out of the five senses-vision, hearing and the ability to feel, both physically and emotionally as imagery to communicate the ideas of beauty and brutality to the reader and enforce …show more content…

One can see and hear, but what makes our experiences real are the things we actually feel, physically or emotionally. “As she made her second getaway, she could soon see the distant figure of Rudy at the bridge” (Zusak 370). This is an example of how she feels the wind and experiences the getaway for herself. It also shows the beauty and relief in seeing a familiar face after escaping for a long time. The feeling of her reuniting with Rudy is only beautiful, even if the rest had a brutal and mysterious part to it. Another thing is “Before she could answer, the wooden spoon came down on Liesel Meminger's body like the gait of God” (Zusak 99). This is a brutal part of the novel because of the pain and agony that Liesel goes through. The author lets the reader understand what is happening and how brutal the situation is by describing the events using imagery. Lastly, “I am certain he would have loved to see the frightening rubble and the dwelling of the sky on the night he passed away” (Zusak 242) This can be both beautiful and brutal, the fact that he died is the brutality of the situation but the description of the beautiful events that have made it past adds beauty to the story. The reader can relate to both sides, and with the help of imagery based on the sense of feeling, it explains everything

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