Fathomless Compassion In The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

Our Fathomless Compassion

If you others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

-Dalai Lama

In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel Meminger relates to others by helping her Jewish friend by allowing him to stay at their house during World War II. They also display this when they were reunited with him at the end of the war. Similarly, in William Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, Juliet demonstrates her love and devotion to the main character, Romeo, and is willing to do anything to see him again after he was banished. Both Shakespeare’s and Markus Zusak’s works show that people ought to relate to one another with fathomless compassion. I can use this virtue in my own life by strengthening my relationships

In the beginning, Romeo is heartbroken over a girl he loves named Rosaline. She, however, does not love him in return. Romeo is still determined to earn her love by attending a party where he tries to look for Rosaline and instead falls in love with a different girl named Juliet. In Romeo's newfound love for Juliet, he compares her to a Saint, “For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hand does touch,/And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss./ Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?” (I.V.98-100). Both Romeo and Juliet confess their love for one another, but Romeo wants to take it further, “Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?” By saying this, he attempts to convince Juliet to kiss him on the lips, similar to people holding hands, palm to palm. Their interaction teaches me to show compassion towards people I care for greatly and reminds me to always express my feelings. At the end of the play, Romeo is banished from Verona because of family tensions when he killed Juliet's cousin, Tybalt. This, in turn, increases the tension between the two families and forces the Mayor of Verona to banish Romeo to settle the families’ disputes. Unfortunately, this does not go over well with Juliet, as she fears that she will never

The story takes place in Nazi Germany during World War II and is about a girl named Liesel Meminger, who discovers her passion for reading stolen books which ultimately contributed to her ideas about the war. Throughout the narrative, Liesel shows different acts of compassion towards her Jewish friend by going against the Nazis. One example of this was when Liesel becomes friends with a Jewish man named Max Vandenburg. Liesel and her foster family, the Hubermanns, allow Max to hide in their basement throughout the war. Despite the risks involved, Liesel extends a hand of compassion and friendship, offering Max the support he needs during these harsh times. The Hubermanns care for him and let him stay in their house for an unprecedented two years. As the danger increases, Max is forced to leave, and in his final note to the Hubermanns wrote, “You’ve done enough” (Zusak 398). Despite the relief of being caught with a Jew, the Hubermanns were very sad, especially Liesel. Max’s words show the fathomless compassion they showed to him using the word, “Enough” (Zusak 398) as a thank you for putting their own lives on the line for him. This fathomless compassion inspires me to show kindness towards others no matter the effect it could have on me and to always give a helping hand to those in need. Once Max had written his note to the