How can beauty be in the wake of brutality? In The Book Thief, a young girl named Liesel Meminger struggles through life in Nazi Germany; She was orphaned, her brother died, and she even had to hide a Jew. Her life is filled with constant brutality and danger; however, beautiful events still take place. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Liesel’s life is still beautiful despite struggles and death because Zusak’s poetic writing enhances this beauty. Liesel’s life is full of struggles, but beauty can still be found.
At the beginning of the book, Liesel and her brother are on a train to Molching, where their new parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, will take care of her since her biological parents might have been caught by the Germans because they were communists. Right at the beginning of the book, Liesel’s mother has left her kids with the Hubermanns because she doesn't want anything to happen to them if she gets taken away by the Germans, which she does. This is a family problem because she is only nine years old and she has already lost both her mother and father and she doesn’t know if she will see them again. For their own benefit, Liesel had to go on the train ride with her brother to her new parents; however, it wasn’t as easy as it seemed. Liesel’s little brother “died in the third carriage” (Zusak 19).
After a short period of time, Liesel chooses to write her own book. Ilsa gives her a clear little black book, and Liesel starts writing the story of her life, called The Book Thief. She writes in the basement during the night, and she's doing this when Himmel Street is being bombed. Everyone she loves dies while they rest. In shock over their deaths, Liesel drops her book, yet its picked up by Death.
Richard Puz once said, “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.” Throughout The Book Thief, this idea is portrayed through the life of Liesel, a young German girl living during the reign of Hitler. The many deaths of her loved ones began to construe her character as strong and fearless at a young age. In the novel, Liesel loses her biological family, her Jewish friend Max, and the people of Himmel Street. All the loss has left Liesel distraught and their lasting memories help her develop into a well-rounded character. Liesel’s loss of her biological family was an aid in developing the person she would become.
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
With the use of the stolen books, the value of reading helps Liesel and many others get through the tough times of despair. Through the use of books, Liesel manages to help herself and many other people forget the Death going on around Europe. The Book Thief is a plot that uncovers the true meaning of literacy through the use of the literary value of the power of words and the literary aspects of the novel. As the novel unfolds, many hidden messages containing the literary value of the story come to life. Liesel learns that the power of words can have a huge impact on society, which is the value Zusak is trying to give to the reader.
“''The Book Thief'' offers us a believable, hard-won hope. That hope is embodied in Liesel, who grows into a good and generous person despite the suffering all around her, and finally becomes a human even Death can love. The hope we see in Liesel is unassailable, the kind you can hang on to in the midst of poverty and war and violence” (Green). This quote that a critic wrote expressed the enormous amount of hope that Liesel is able to hang onto throughout all the hardships she has to go through. “Indeed, everything is upside down in Zusak's Nazi Germany.
A foster child in Nazi Germany who's hiding a Jew would not be expected to be selfish but don't judge a book by its cover (see what I did there). As the story plays out, Liesel gets more curious and disregards the well-being of others. Liesel lies to Rudy saying that's all she could find but obviously that wasn't the case.It is evident now that Liesel steals, and along with books she also like to steal food, but only for herself. The fact that she steals food and doesn't give any to her family and hurts another makes her look like a mercenary, or someone who is self centered. By now we know that she is a
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.
Having Max living in Liesel's basement teaches her first-hand how serious things are, and the dangers of what Hitler can do. Max not only is in danger himself, but puts Liesel's whole family at risk. “Now I think we are friends, this girl and me. On her birthday it was she who gave a gift to me,”(Zusak Ch 12). Liesel gave Max the gift of friendship, and that meant a lot to Max.