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The Book Thief By Liesel Meminger

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Recommended: Theme of death in literature

Death, our narrator, tells the story of Liesel Meminger. We begin with her at age nine, right after losing both her mother and brother. Liesel goes to live with foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann in Molching, Germany. When Liesel arrives, she is made of fun in school for not being able to read. She feels powerless, so Hans teaches her how to read at night in their basement, reading from a book Liesel stole from her brother 's funeral: The Grave Digger 's Handbook. In the beginning of the novel, Liesel often has nightmares. Hans helps her through this and eventually gains her trust. She becomes friends with Rudy Steiner, a boy the same age as her who lives next door. b. Rising Action or Complication: For a while, the Hubermanns’ …show more content…

Liesel, by miracle, is in the basement writing in her journal and survives. When she emerges from the basement, she finds the bodies of those she loves — Hans, Rosa, as well as Rudy. She is taken away by air raid officers, and it is at this moment that Death finds and takes her book, The Book Thief. This is how he knows her story. Alex Steiner, Rudy’s father, is relieved of duty after he hears about the bombings and finds Liesel. They spend a lot of time together, going for walks and hiking to the nearby concentration camp after its liberation. She spends a lot of time with Alex in his shop. One day in 1945, Max Vandenburg shows up. They have a tearful …show more content…

They are presented as one of the most powerful ways in which people connect with one another. Numerous examples of this can be found in the novel. Learning the alphabet and how to create words is how Liesel and Hans Hubermann start to develop their relationship. Later, Liesel’s descriptions of the weather outside to Max also help to establish a bond between them. The greatest example of the powerful effect of words is Max’s The Word Shaker, the story he writes for Liesel. In it, he suggests that words are the most powerful force there is, indicated by the fact that Hitler uses words and not guns or money or to gain control over

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In the book thief, Hans Hubermann was a father figure to Liesel. Unfortunately, Hans and Rosa had both died together in the chapter of the book. In my eyes of the book, Hans was a symbol of a hero in the book thief and in Liesel's life in general. Hans Huberman was one of Liesel's mentors in the book thief, also helping her in many ways, including her survival. When Liesel first arrived at Himmel street, Hans Hubermann had comforted Liesel about her brother's death (The first day she arrived.).

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901 Words | 4 Pages

Max Vandenburg, a twenty-two year old Jewish fist fighter, who hides in the basement of the Huberman's home. He comes to the Hubermann’s house because his father saved the life of Hans Hubermann. Max struggles remaining safe from Hitler and his soldiers that constantly capture Jews. Max and Liesel immediately

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535 Words | 3 Pages

Max Vandenburg, a young Jewish man who is kept hidden in the basement of 33 Himmel Street for 2 difficult years, experienced extreme guilt throughout the book. “They left, without looking back. It tortured him. If only he’d turned for one last look at his family as he left the apartment. Perhaps then the guilt would not have been so heavy.

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a. "She had watched a bomber pilot die in a metal case. She had seen a Jewish man who had twice given her the most beautiful pages of her life marched to a concentration camp"(521). - Liesel has been through so many struggles. Her brother died in front of her, her mother sent her away, and she witnessed almost everyone she loved depart from the world. She had more than enough reasons to quit, but she decided to stay strong through it all.

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1510 Words | 7 Pages

In part one of the book, page 20, paragraph three it states “With one eye open, one still in a dream, the book thief--also known as Liesel Meminger--could see without question that her younger brother, Werner, was now sideways and dead.” (Zusak 20) This is the first problem that Liesel has to overcome. Her brother dying, and having to start out a new life with a new

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529 Words | 3 Pages

The narrator introduces a new character at the beginning of the second quarter of the book, Max Vandenburg. He is hiding in a secret storage room because he is Jewish and therefore sought out by German soldiers to take him away. Max is starving and constantly alone in the dark, unable to sleep because he is too afraid to be found by the Führer. Eventually, Max leaves his hiding place to travel to a safer place: Molching. All he has on with him is a fake identity card, a copy of Mein Kempf, a map with a key inside, and what little remains of the food he was given by his friend that was keeping him in hiding.

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703 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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483 Words | 2 Pages

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

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749 Words | 3 Pages

Although humans may originally behave due to innate reasons, much of literature argues external forces shape character and possess the power to influence the way societies behave. Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief exhibits how individuals may react in times of discrimination, and demonstrates the love and hate accompanying war. Difficult times challenge morality, and tests one’s limits; Liesel Meminger perseveres through arduous events, namely due to her identity as a creative and brave adolescent. Liesel’s identity is shaped and ultimately strengthened by outside forces.

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840 Words | 4 Pages

Growing as a Character Every event in our lives happens for a reason, whether it is to learn from our mistakes or to gain experience from them. In Markus Zusak's novel “The Book Thief,” Liesel Meminger uses her experiences with living in the 1940s to learn life lessons and experience first hand the many terrible things Hitler is doing to people around her. She learns how to deal with the many obstacles that are thrown at her. Liesel grows as a character by following her step-father’s footsteps in being a kind and generous person, going through childhood with her best friend Rudy, and being aware of what is going on around her by learning from Max.

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978 Words | 4 Pages

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

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862 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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2175 Words | 9 Pages

One of the most important recurring themes throughout The Book Thief was Liesel’s relationships with all of the people in her life. She grows close with several different people, and trusts, loves, and cares for them all differently but equally. Three of those relationships will be explored more deeply; Liesel’s relationship with her foster father, Hans Hubermann, the Jewish man her family takes in, Max Vanderburg, and her best friend, Rudy Steiner. Liesel’s relationship with Hans is one of the most important, if not the most important, relationships in the novel. Hans is the first person Liesel trusts, and the person who stays with her and loves her until the end.

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1301 Words | 6 Pages

He killed himself for wanting to live” (Zusak 503). While Michael deals with guilt by self destructing, Liesel, the main character, handles guilt using other methods. Liesel encounters guilt through the death of her loved ones in addition to the sadness of losing everything she had. She deals with this guilt by stealing books and reading with her Papa. By stealing books, she achieved the famous nickname, the Book Thief.

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1008 Words | 5 Pages

Max and Liesel gain a very strong friendship until he must leave for the family’s safety. In the end, the Allied Powers bomb the city, leaving Liesel as the lone survivor, leaving Liesel to face an extremely difficult time. In the end, the narrator, Death, reunites her with Max. Liesel lives a wonderful life and passes peacefully. In the novel, The Book Thief, Zusak proves the satisfaction found in corruption and harmful choices

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