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How Does Liesel Present Death In The Book Thief

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The last words on the final pages of The Book Thief are stated by Death “I am haunted by humans.” This a direct statement to Liesel’s when she asks Death if The Book Thief, (which he's returning to her) makes sense to him. The answer, Death gives to her represents a yes in the form of his confusion. Death wants to tell Liesel many things, however, he says this line because it is the only way Death is able to represent his murky thoughts to Liesel. To point out a unique quality that this statement has is of irony. This quote is an ironic pun because normally humans are afraid of Death. In this book, it shows us that Death is shocked by humanity, he tells the readers that humans are mysterious and frightening. This line holds great importance throughout The Book Thief and symbolizes significance in this novel. First of all Death says that “I am haunted by humans” to show his thoughts. Through this sentence, he means to tell the readers that he is shocked by what humans can do. Death is amazed that humans are capable of both extreme evil and extreme good at …show more content…

He is not able to forget the faces of "the survivors," "the leftover humans," "the ones who are left behind, crumbling among the jigsaw puzzle of realization, despair, and surprise." Death is surprised by seeing the amount of courage that survivors can have to be able to move on. He also pities them at the same time because he believes that it is better to die than to live with the guilt of surviving. This guilt is faced by many characters in this novel such as Max, Hans, Mr. Steiner and Liesel. This guilt is the same that Death has for having to see the survivors grieves and the millions of deaths. Death expresses his grief along with the survivors of seeing the dead bodies. Death cannot see the survivors left to crumble after being separated from their loved ones, this both haunts and shocks

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