Death In The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

The novel, “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak is narrated by death, and the main characters are Liesel Meminger, Rudy Steiner, and Max Vandenburg. The novel takes place during World War Two (WWII). Liesel lives with her foster parents in Molching, Germany. She has blond hair and dark eyes. Her best friend’s named Rudy Steiner. He is a fast runner and has lemon blond hair. Max Vandenburg is the boxer, and a Jew that lives in Liesel 's basement. The main thing Markus is trying to show his readers in his novel is that books can be a person 's saving grace, and he shows that with his characters. For example, when Liesel reads to Max with a book she stole, and when she was writing in her notebook in the basement. Starting from one of the main reasons how Markus shows his readers the theme is through Max Vandenburg. Max is a Jew, and he asked his friend, Hans Hubermann (Liesel’s foster dad, also Hans had saved Max’s father in World War One) for a little help. Hans helps Max by letting him hide in his basement. Max has hope, but very little. Liesel helps build his spirit by reading to him every night even when he became suddenly ill. Markus writes on page 334 “and Rosa said you read to me twice every day, sometimes three!” Max is now

Another way Zusak presents the theme, books can be a person’s saving grace, is when Liesel was writing her life in a journal Max gave her. She was checking over her journal during a bomb raid in the basement and survived. According to the novel, “She survived because she was sitting in a basement reading through the story of her life, checking for mistakes,”(pg.498)Zusak. This shows that a book can be a person’s saving grace because if Liesel never would have stayed in the basement to check her journal she never would have lived.

“The Book Thief” is not just about how Liesel surviving during WWII and how everyone eventually dies. Markus uses his characters, and many events to express the theme that a book can be a person 's saving