The Book Thief Analysis

The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, is about Liesel Meminger, a young girl from Germany who faces the inevitable pains of growing up in a time of war, Holocaust and Nazism. The story is told in the first-person point. It is a view of Death as he narrates. “The Book Thief” has a great deal of tragedy in it but it also is a celebration of life. In fact, it’s full of opposites. No point in seeking explanations. Like where Death says; ‘you think you’re the only one God never answers?’ Liesel is significantly changing in the story because of friendship, deaths, and words. I would like to tell you about the talents of Liesel and Hans, the stepfather of Liesel.

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.

Prior to her brother’s death, Liesel had a very pure and innocent soul which attracted Death to her. Liesel was also innocent in not knowing where her real mother was and being blind to the situation (Page 98-100). The tattered, old doll given to Liesel by Hans and Rosa represents Liesel because she is being torn and destroyed as people come in and out of her life, like her mother and brother (Page 25, page 40). Liesel was also living during a dark time of history which is all of the dirt covering the

The novel, “The Book Thief”, written by Markus Zusak shows the nature of human beings and their actions during what was arguably the most catastrophic time in human history, the reign of Nazi Germany. He demonstrates the impact that words have had on the the nation, the world, and a young girl named Liesel Meminger. However, to portray this, he utilizes a narrator which can explain events in a way no other living being can- ‘Death’. Throughout the novel, Death describes the life-changing events that Liesel is forced to undergo, but he highlights how she is able to power through them and achieve an outcome so great. Most of all, he explains how is eventually able to understand the true meaning of words, and how they have the capacity to be so simple, yet unimaginably powerful.

The power of words in “The Book Thief” and the endless strength they carry is a prime topic throughout the book. “The Book Thief”, a novel narrated by Death about Liesel, a young German girl who is given up for adoption to live with the Hubermann’s shortly before World War II. Liesel discovers the power that words, written or spoken, have to transform people, relationships, and lives. In the novel, Mark Zusak uses the relationship between characters to signify the power of words. Within “The Book Thief” the author suggests that words hold much power and have a major role in crafting the relationships between the characters.

Even death, a metaphysical entity understands the full spectrum of experiences Liesel has gone through. Death unfruitfully “[tries to tell the book thief many things] about beauty and brutality” but “he couldn’t tell her [things she already knew]” (550). Deaths inability to inform Liesel about countless struggle and resilience towards it demonstrates Liesel ’s innate understanding of hardship. Death decides not to tell Liesel anything due to the fact that she has culminated an immense understanding of her experiences on both sides of the beauty spectrum, and it is because of this understanding Liesel grows stronger in her resilience towards further hardship.

Liesel steals six books, and each book has a significant impact on her life. When Liesel steals The Shoulder Shrug from the book burning, she puts herself in great danger. She knows that she lives under the rule of Nazi Germany, and if she is caught, she and her family will suffer the consequences. The text makes it evident that she knew she was in danger and sacrificed her security anyway by describing the situation with imagery like “the sick beauty of nerves proved more ghastly with each stride” (Zusak 120).

ntroduction Paragraph: The title of this book is The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, and this book is The extraordinary New York Times #1 Bestseller. The genre of the book is historical novel and the narrator is the Death, which describes not only all the main characters’ thoughts and emotions but also his own thoughts and feelings about the humans. Summary: The story takes place in the German town of Molching, a suburb of Munich during the World War II, from1939 to 1943. The story is about the book thief, Liesel Meminger, a German girl in age of 9, who was sent to her foster family, Rosa and Hans by her real mother due to some difficulties.

Change is an inevitable aspect of life; however the most significant changes occur when an individual develops a sought after skill or learns imperative information. In the novel The Book Thief the novel’s main protagonist Liesel Meminger encounters numerous moments which help define her characterization as she grows as a character. Firstly one of Liesel’s most poignant moments occurs once she pieces together her vague past and during the same process discovers her reason for loathing Hitler. When Liesel heard the word communist being mentioned in a negative connotation at the book burning, she became stricken with fear as this word was all she knew of her past life. Liesel’s desire for answers on her Mother’s disappearance leads to her asking Hans if Hitler was one

An important role model in Liesel’s life is Ilsa Hermann. After seeing Liesel steal a book at the book burning, she gives her the ‘window of opportunity’ (Zusak, pg. 155) inviting her into her library and sharing her own love of books with Liesel. The reader eventually learns that Ilsa is still mourning the loss of her own son many years before. Ilsa takes Liesel into her care after the tragedy of the bombing raids that results in the death of Hans and Rosa leaving Liesel traumatised and

Even under the loving care of her foster parents, Liesel is determined to look and find her birth mother by sending her letters, despite the fact she vaguely senses something was going on. Page 95 quotes “Instead of asking him what was wrong, Liesel began writing immediately, choosing to ignore the sense of foreboding that was quick to accumulate inside her”. Later on she overhears a conversation between Hans and Rosa which only confirms this suspicion, but she courageously steals some of the washing and ironing money in order to mail the letters anyways. What’s more is that she receives the beating willingly because that’s simply how badly she wanted to find her mother. In addition to being plagued by her mother, Liesel has recurring nightmares about her brother who died before they arrived at the Huberman's.

Liesel has realized she must respect the man who was the reason for her and her entire families suffering. She has realized she officially has lost her home, that she is completely isolated from the community. “It was quite a sight seeing an eleven year old girl try not to cry on church steps, saluting fuhrer”(Zusak 115). After losing all of these emotionally wrecking things Liesel learns and understands she needs to keep going forward. She refuses to give up she although times are rough manages to think, it could be worse.

At the camps, Elie suffers through great trials that challenge his faith as he witnesses the worst in humanity. Similarly in The Book Thief, a fiction story about theme in character, Liesel Meminger. Liesel navigates her way through life in Germany during WW1. As she develops relationships,

The Book Thief revolves around Hans and Rosa Hubermann, Rudy Steiner, Max Vandenburg, and the infamous ten-year-old book thief, Liesel Meminger. The setting is Himmel Street, Germany during World War II and the narrator is Death, who busily runs to and fro taking souls and stumbles upon the Book Thief’s very own handwritten book. Though Death might not be the narrator someone would think fit to be point of view for the book, he manages to catch and describe the beauty and destruction of war whilst telling the stories of the people living on Himmel Street. Along with Markus Zusak’s captivating writing, he will tell an unforgettable story set during the Holocaust from the views of a Jew on the run and four Germans while a war wages on. Whereas other authors would prefer writing from the victim’s perspective during the war, Markus Zusak gives insight on the Germans that had no choice but to grudgingly obey throughout Hitler’s rule. Though Markus Zusak has written many other good books, The Book Thief is his bestselling book for its outstandingly distinct writing, perspective, and story of love.

At first, Liesel is illiterate, but when she steals her first book at her brother’s funeral, and is abandoned by her mother, she turns to something she