English Asessment 3 Final
The Book Thief is a historical fiction novel written by Markus Zusak. The book chronicles the upbringing of Liesel Meminger, a German girl, living with foster parents during World War II. After her brother died and her mother disappeared, Liesel was sent to a place called Molching, a small town near Munich. There she lived on Himmel Street and was looked after by the Hubermanns. Liesel’s early life contained both good and bad times. She witnessed both profound sacrifice and chilling cruelty. The opposing duality of human nature, which is capable of both great good and utter evil, is encapsulated by the actions of the central characters in The Book Thief. Humans are capable of amazing acts of kindness and selflessness. This is evident when the Hubermanns, Liesel 's foster parents, take in a Jew named Max Vandenburg. Hiding Max is very significant given the Hubermanns lived in Nazi Germany, a society that killed Jews and anybody who would dare to associate with them. “For me, the sky was the color of Jews. They just kept feeding me. Minute after minute. Shower after shower.” This is a quote from Death, the narrator of The Book Thief talking about the countless amount of Jewish people who died at the hands of the Nazi Regime in Germany during the Second World War. Zusak uses Death as the narrator to show how dire the situation was for any Jew or anybody who attempted to help them. This is effective as a technique because death has a sense of
When max arrives at the Hubermanns and they have to keep him safe from the nazi party. What prediction can you make about what will happen in the next part of the book? I think in the next part of the book they will
This quote is emphasizing how the life of a Jew was during this time throughout the novel. No matter what these Jews did they would always get punished and sent away. In the novel, Max is an important character because he is a Jew and was being hidden in the Hubermann household until he knew he needed to leave to stay safe. This shows that you knew what these people were going to be like if they were in the Nazi party because they were all the same and all there to do the same thing, making Jew’s lives miserable. “With tears in her eyes, she saw the man slide farther forward, pushing Papa back to cry into his ankles…
During the hardest times, you still have to help others. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak proves just that. Through the toughest times when you are suffering, helping others makes you feel a form of self peace and happiness. Liesel Meminger is the main character in this novel and she is a young German girl living through the Holocaust.
You truly don’t know what you have until it’s gone. Everyday things are taken for granted. In “The Book Thief” It shows incredible examples of how loss transforms you for the better. “The Book Thief” Written by Markus Zusak is a novel based on Nazi-Germany during post World War 2. It Features the scary truth along with harsh humor, The story is told through the eyes of brave, Jewish girl named Liesel.
Both these protagonists happen to be political refugees avoiding Nazi persecution: Liesel’s parents were Communists and Max is a Jew. Max and Liesel alike have recurring nightmares about the last time they saw their families and these help Max and Liesel link themselves in areas where no one would understand their pain due to the loss of their family. Unlike most relationships theirs is based on their similar past and personalities as well as unspoken understanding along with the trust for each other. These similarities form a strong bond between Max and Liesel and this makes “The Standover Man”, a book compiled by Max using pages from “Mein Kampf” important, as Max helps Liesel realize that the power of words can be used to delight as well as harm others. “The best standover man I’ve ever known is not a man at all...”, a line within “The Standover Man” implies that Max believes that Liesel and he need each other and this friendship is unique to both of
In The Book Thief, Liesel and her foster family fight against hate and intolerance by sheltering a Jewish boy named Max. Keeping Max in their basement is risky, and the Hubermanns know
For this reason, Liesel best illustrates courage in The Book Thief by befriending
One by one they climbed into the ring and beat him down. They made him bleed. They let him suffer." (Zusak 254). Max is struggling to understand that he's a Jew, doesn't understand why people hate him and why people follow Hitler.
Therefore, in The Book Thief, Markus Zusak's develops the theme the theme that humans are often capable of both good and/or evil depending on the experiences they face. These experiences will then groom them for the future. Through Liesel Meminger , Zusak explores the effect of setting on one's future self. Firstly, living with the Hubermann’s has a lot of effects on Liesel’s actions.
Humans lie and steal without hesitation to survive. That is how man is. However, human nature does not allow for cruelty to exist without the other end of the spectrum - kindness. In his novel, The Book Thief, Markus Zusak reveals the extreme malice possible in humans, along with the tenderness that stems from it. In times of hate and paranoia in Nazi Germany, ones who live morally are rare.
“He - if there’s anything you ever need” (179). Hans Hubermann made a promise to Erik Vandenburg’s wife to help out in any way he could. He stuck to this promise and, consequently, agreed to house Max twenty years later. This shows how Hans kept to his promises and people could trust him. Housing a Jew in Nazi Germany could have lead to severe punishment, nevertheless, Hans decided to help Max in his time of need because he knew that he needed to stick to his commitment.
“Look proud, he advised himself. You cannot look afraid,”(Zusak Ch 25). Max fought for the safety of his life for two years by hiding out. No matter how hopeless your situation might look, keep fighting because you never know what will happen unless you try. Having Max living in Liesel's basement teaches her first-hand how serious things are, and the dangers of what Hitler can do.
“It’s just a small story really, about, among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery…” (Zusak, pg. 5) The novel, The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak in 2005 explores the theme of family relationships. It is through nine-year-old Liesel Meminger, the protagonist, that the idea of a broken family during the era of Nazi Germany is explored. The Book Thief depicts the struggle of young German girl, Liesel Meminger, living in Germany during the time of Hitler’s reign.
The Book Thief. MZ, 2005, p. 301. ). The author of The Book Thief , Markus Zusak demonstrates the idea that a person's survival or life may strongly depend on the power of words. In The Book Thief we learn that words have a lot of power, not only do we but throughout the story unfold Liesel also learns that also.
The Book Thief, directed by Brian Percival, is a film adaptation of a book by Mark Zusak centred around adolescent girl Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nelisse). Set in Germany during the early-mid 1940’s, leading up to the war, Liesel is sent away from her family to live with foster parents since she is at risk of being killed due as her parents are communists. Percival uses skilfully chosen aural and visual elements as well as cinematic techniques such as lighting and camera angles to communicate and explore the central theme to the audience: the power of human spirit, especially when dealing with adversity. Percival designs the aural elements in the scenes that make up the film The Book Thief to communicate and allow the audience to explore the power of the human spirit when dealing with adversity. Percival does this by using the aforementioned techniques to create juxtapositions, contrasting the power of the human spirit against adversity.