Importance Of Liesel In The Book Thief

A main reason Liesel develops into the character she is by the end of the novel is due to the individuals she meets and her relationships with them. When Hans Hubermann becomes

Nelson Mandela once said, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” This quote is relatable to Markus Zusak’s novel, The Book Thief, due to the courage portrayed by several characters. The novel follows the life of a young German girl, Liesel Meminger as she becomes the book thief. Throughout Liesel’s life, she faces many battles, yet none are as invasive as those of Hans Hubermann, a stubborn yet fearless man. In the novel, Zusak introduces Hans, a character that must face several moral conflicts to lead him towards actions involving others. In Zusak’s novel, The Book Thief, courage is portrayed through Hans’s morally correct actions involving Liesel, Max Vandenburg, and a bypassing Jewish man.

Liesel had a very tough childhood with her mother abandoning her and her brother dying, plus everybody else she lost. Even though she suffered many terrible events during her childhood, she still prevailed through it by reading books and using her words. Her obsession with stealing books and living in the Hubermann household represented the beauty in her life in the wake of the brutality caused by the Nazi party. She spent quality time learning how to read with Hans, and was amazed how kind and patient Hans was. Liesel bonding with Mas was also a part of the beauty in her life, in spite of the brutality and the despair happening in her life. She read books with Max and spent a lot of time with each other, even writing books together. Their friendship adds to the beauty that Liesel’s life represented, even though Max was a Jew, she still befriended him. Markus Zusak’s poetic writing enhances Liesel’s story by adding imagery and many bold headlines to write important statements. Without these elements, the story would have been overwhelmingly boring and depressing. The bold headline is used as emphasis, such as “I am haunted by humans” to add more meaning to the quote. (Zusak

At the beginning of the novel, she developed her first friendship with Hans. Hans is a warm-hearted and compassionate man who was the first that connected to Liesel. When Liesel first arrived at Himmel Street, she refused to leave the car and meet her new family. While it took them quite a bit of time to persuade her to leave, “It was the tall man who did it”(28). The first encounter between Liesel and Hans is a memorable and significant moment because it is the moment that shows how their friendship initiated. If Hans would not have sat by Liesel’s side and coaxed her to leave the car, then she would not have developed that initial trust that transpired through this. Another moment that helped the connection between the two is when Liesel had nightmares and Hans would come in and comfort her by teaching her how to read or when they would go to the basement to teach Liesel how to spell and write. These moments shared between the two created a bond through books since Hans and she spent a lot of time together which developed the trust in Liesel towards

Liesel’s life represents beauty in the wake of brutality. Beauty in the wake of brutality means something that is good in the middle of evil. For example, the Sodom and Gomorrah story in the Bible (Genesis 19). The two cities are evil and God is going to destroy them but there is one family that is good and he saves them. The family represents beauty in the wake of brutality. In the Book Thief, Liesel’s life represents beauty in the wake of brutality in her relationship with Ilsa Hermann, in her relationship with Rudy, and in the Hubermann’s house.

Liesel, known as the book thief to the audience has a distinct passion for books and how much they mean to her. Stealing book after the book becomes a hobby for the young girl whose love of books is fostered by her foster father, Hans Hubermann. As Hans teaches Liesel how to read and write they develop an

The theme of this book is learning to love and care for the people around. How I came to this conclusion is by how Liesel acts towards Max, her foster parents, Rudy, and her neighbors. Liesel cares for people even if they weren't like her and she doesn't understand why there is hatred in this world. She wanted the world to be a happy place for everyone including Jews to be friends with one another. On page 426 in ‘The Book Thief’, when Rudy’s father went to war Liesel could relate to Rudy because “her mother. Her brother. Max Vandenburg. Hans Hubermann. All of them gone. And she’d never even had a real father.” Also, when Mama was depressed about Papa going to war, Mama would sleep with Papa’s accordion Liesel acknowledged “that there was great beauty in what she was currently witnessing, and she chose not to disturb it” (Zusak, 429). Finally, when Liesel’s papa gave a Jew bread during the parade and what Liesel did during the parade, she gave Jews bread by placing them in the street.

What is a friend? A common response to this question seems to be someone who accepts another for who they are. Another less used response to the same question is someone who leave another better than they once were. These two half definitions of friendship come to gather to explain that friend is someone who takes another how they already are and leaves that better than their previous state. True friendship often adds loyalty to ones character resulting in acts of courage. One of the strongest examples of the previous statement in found in the friendship of Liesel Meminger and Max Vandenburg in Markus Zusak’s writing, The Book Thief. Through her friendship with Max, Liesel’s rebellious behavior changes and she becomes more loyal, resulting

The Book Thief depicts the struggle of young German girl, Liesel Meminger, living in Germany during the time of Hitler’s reign. Liesel struggles to survive in a war-torn society filled with hatred and injustice. Her life is changed forever when she begins her love affair with books. With the help of her accordion-playing

Their relationship dominates the middle section of the book, as Max comes to Himmel street just as part three starts, and Liesel thinks about him almost constantly as soon as he arrives. Consequently, the first quote I chose for them was when Liesel first catches a glimpse of Max in the kitchen. “She lingered a moment before her feet dragged from behind. When she stopped and stole one last look at the foreigner in the kitchen, she could decipher the outline of a book on the table” (Zusak 186). In this scene, Liesel sees Max’s book, and this is the start of the two of them and their connection with words that appears continuously through the rest of the novel. The second quote comes from a very sweet scene in which Max asks Liesel to cut his hair. “He carried his own scissors and came forward, handing them not to Hans or Rosa but to the twelve-year-old girl. She was the calmest option. His mouth quivered a moment before he said, ‘Would you?’” (Zusak 245). In this scene, Hans and Rosa are arguing, and Hans remembers the girl’s comment about his hair being like feathers, so he asks her to cut it for him. It shows a trusting between Max and Liesel for one of the first times, after a while of awkwardness and quietness. The third quote I chose was “‘Often I wish this would all be over, Liesel, but then somehow you do something like walk down the basement steps with a snowman in your hands’” (Zusak 313). Max is speaking to Liesel and telling her that, even though his life is incredibly hard, some people make it worth it. Just a few little things someone does can make it all worth it, to keep living, like bringing someone a snowman. The final quote I chose for Max and Liesel is another moment of closeness for them. It happens just after Max wakes up from being sick and asleep for days and days, and he confides in Liesel. “Trepidation found its way onto his face and he made a

Having no one familiar to turn to, she finds a passion for words and continues to steal more books and develops strength through her burgeoning intellect of words. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is about the power of words; in this novel Zusak reveals that one who truly knows the hidden strength behind all words, can dominate others because words are more powerful than any weapon. The importance of words is shown through the symbolism of certain words throughout the novel; the motif of hunger, how it leads to her hunger for words; and how different Liesel’s world would be without words.

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. The story shows how you should always be thankful for what you have because it could be gone within a second. Growing up underprivileged definitely teaches you things that you would not have learned or viewed in that way if you were middle class/upper class. Growing up poor can have a huge effect upon yourself, but you learn, develop and become

Change is an important part of life. Change could mean a lot of things. It could mean how the character changes their personality or attitude or it could mean how the character learns from their mistakes. In the novel, the book thief, the change that Liesel undergoes as a dynamic character is fascinating. After moving into a different town, she makes a lot of new relationships, also she shows her determination and passion towards books, she also starts understanding the power of words. Firstly, after moving into a different town, she makes a lot of new relationships. In the beginning of the novel, Liesel starts having a hard time trusting and allowing herself to be vulnerable

Liesel was an illiterate due her past and thus once she started going to school she was “humiliatingly,… cast down with the younger kids” (pg. 39, Zusak). Liesel dreaded reading tests and if not for Hans’ help in their midnight classroom sessions, Liesel would have never got over her “excruciating fear” (pg. 75, Zusak) of having to read out loud. As the novel progresses so does Liesel’s adoration for reading books. Soon one after another she begins to read books by herself and their role in her development is priceless. The truly pivotal point which arises from Liesels love of reading happens once she uses the power of her words to soothe the residents of Himmel Street while they are stuck in the bomb shelter. Liesel thus surpasses her fear of reading for a crowd along with demonstrating her maturity as she focuses “only [on] the mechanics of the words” (pg.381, Zusak). All together the simple act of Liesel reading to soothe everyone nerves, thoroughly reveals how her education and maturity have drastically grown since her arrival on Himmel

The story begins with the narrator, Death, talking about his first encounter with Liesel Meminger only 9 years old at the time in Molching, Germany. He meets Liesel traveling on a train mid-winter with her mother and brother. She sees her brother who was coughing harshly take his last breath in front of her. Liesel and her mother then exited the train as soon as it stopped and had her brother buried in that town. Present at the burial was Liesel, her mother, and two gravediggers. Liesel was the last one to part from her brother’s grave and upon walking back to her mother she notice that there was a book laying in the snow. It belonged to one of the gravediggers but she didn 't know that at the time so she took it. It was the first book that she had “stolen.”