In chapter three you continue to see how Vladek uses his connections to make his imprisonment in Auschwitz easier. As Dani said Vladek is a resourceful man who is able to use everything he has and make the most out of it. He survives this way. In the beginning of the chapter they start to hear rumors about “the front” being very close signifying the end of Nazi control and freedom for the prisoners. Because of this the prisoners had to walk miles to a new camp and take a train where they were packed and if you fell you never came up.
In Maus, Art Spiegelman records his personal accounts of trying to delve into his father’s traumatic past. His father, Vladek, is a Jew from Poland who survived persecution during World War II. Art wants to create a graphic novel about what his father went through during the Holocaust, so he reconnects with Vladek in order to do so. Due to the horrifying things that the Jews went through he has trouble opening up completely about all the things that happened to him. But after Art gets together with his father many times, he is finally able to understand the past legacy of the Spiegelman family.
He was always up at the call. That way he had an hour and a half all to himself before work parade - time for a man who knew his way around to earn a bit on the side.” (4) Altogether, Time is valuable in in the camps, so prisoners should use their time wisely like Ivan Denisovich. In conclusion, Shukhov learned to deal with life in the horrible gulags. In One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, we discovered that he deals with the destruction of human solidarity, created a ritualization for eating, and most important, he treats time as a precious
Critics argue that this is not the main focus of the book although they are right this is still an important focus of the story. Vladeck and his family are put in very hard situations that they have to find some type of safety to save themselves and others this happens when Vladek and his wife have to figure out what to do with their son. “I have a good friend, a pole, who’s willing to hide my son until the situation gets better. ... I think he’d take you boy too.” (Spiegelman, 81).
Guilt: one of the strongest emotions, the cause of grief and sadness everywhere. In The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, characters such as Liesel Meminger, Hans Hubermann, and Michael Holtzapfel, are only a few who experience this intense emotion. Whether it stems from death, survival, or thievery, guilt finds it’s way into affecting each character’s lives, making it a main theme. The most popular type of guilt throughout the book is survivor’s guilt.
Friendship is the medicine for a wounded heart and the vitamins for a hopeful soul. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, a girl named Liesel suffers through many losses. She is taken to a new home where she developed friendships that helped her heal her wounds and survive World War II. Friendship is portrayed through her connections with Hans, Rudy, and Max and it is learned how essential these friendships are to her survival. At the beginning of the novel, she developed her first friendship with Hans.
Most people say that blood runs thicker than water, but in this book that is not the case. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, family is shown in an extremely unique way. Generally, when people imagine the average model family, they see a family that has money, a family that is prim and proper and usually, a family that is biologically related. Though, family in this book is based on shared hardships and having faith in each other, not by blood relation. Hans and Liesel’s relationship is a great example of trust.
Humans lie and steal without hesitation to survive. That is how man is. However, human nature does not allow for cruelty to exist without the other end of the spectrum - kindness. In his novel, The Book Thief, Markus Zusak reveals the extreme malice possible in humans, along with the tenderness that stems from it. In times of hate and paranoia in Nazi Germany, ones who live morally are rare.
Throughout Maus, Vladek is telling his son Artie about how he survived the Holocaust. He explained to Artie that before the war, life was good for him and his family. He tells him everything about his experience during the war as well, from the relationship he had with his family and Anja, to his friendships with both gentiles and Jews, to things he might of found or kept throughout the war. However now, a few decades after the war, Vladek’s lifestyle has changed drastically from during the war, and even from before the war. Vladek’s friendships, relationships, and everyday life has changed due to the Holocaust and WWII.
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.
Markus Zusak has assembled ‘The Book Thief’ using a variety of narrative conventions. These include a unique narrative viewpoint, plot structure and use of imagery, all of which provide meaning to the reader. (33 words) A narrative’s point of view refers to who is telling the story. In this case Zusak’s narrator identifies himself as Death.
“It’s just a small story really, about, among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery…” (Zusak, pg. 5) The novel, The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak in 2005 explores the theme of family relationships. It is through nine-year-old Liesel Meminger, the protagonist, that the idea of a broken family during the era of Nazi Germany is explored. The Book Thief depicts the struggle of young German girl, Liesel Meminger, living in Germany during the time of Hitler’s reign.
Developing Friendship through Justice, Love and Humanity Human relationships break or develop depending on the circumstances. The values that creates a stable relationship may vary on historical setting or the characteristics of each person. The novel, “The Book Thief” written by Markus Zusak shows justice, love and humanity through the friendship Liesel and Max developed during the time of the Holocaust.
The two novellas “The Metamorphosis,” and “The Death of Ivan Llych” both describe the stories of two men suffering from dramatic events in their lives. The two men both suffer from the feeling of alienation from their families. The two stories can be compared in many ways, and give insight into the way these two characters found peace in their deaths. In the novella “The Death of Ivan Llych” Tolstoy shares a story of a man named Ivan Llych, who gave all his time and attention to his career, that drew a wedge between his marriage and personal life. When decorating the new home for his family, he slipped and hit his side on the window knob, which caused the decline of Ivan Llychs life and health to begin.
Raskolnikov’s accumulating debt owed to his landlord prevents him from moving outside of Saint Petersburg and causes massive emotional damage. Each time he leaves his apartment, he fears seeing his landlady, The stress and anxiety arising from the debt he owes to his landlord causes him to become unruly and he had, “fallen into a state of nervous depression akin to hypochondria,” feeding into his detachment from society. Not only does Raskolnikov’s living situation seem grim, but his room itself furthers his emotional detachment from society. Raskolnikov’s room allows him to dehumanize himself.
