Tievery In The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak exemplifies many themes, one of which being thievery. Our two main thieves including Liesel Meminger and Rudy Steiner, are under harsh circumstances at home. These two children take food and books throughout the course of the novel and the reasons they steal vary. The thing about thievery is that it can never simply be justified; there are elements to consider such as the circumstances of the thief, and specifically what is being stolen. While at first glance stealing is wrong—depending on the context—stealing can be justified.

Predominant items of theft in the novel are books, and they are stolen primarily by our protagonist, Liesel. The Gravedigger’s Handbook is taken from the ground shortly after Werner, Liesel’s brother, dies. Liesel does not have ill intentions; the girl is unable to read. She simply picks up this book because “it was what it meant that was more important.” (Zusak 38) This is implying that she did not take The Gravedigger’s Handbook for the sake of taking it, but rather for the reason that it symbolizes the last time she would see her brother. That being said, it is justifiable for one reason. The reason being that it is likely that had Liesel not picked the book up off the ground,

A primary example of this is after the book thief becomes angry with Ilsa Hermann and starts coming regularly to take books residing in the library of the mayor. Soon after, Frau Hermann starts to purposefully leave the window open, and she even begins leaving cookies out. This is her way of allowing Liesel to take books from the library as she pleases. This is shown in Ilsa Hermann’s letter to Liesel when she says “I was so glad that you took what was rightfully yours.” (Zusak 369) Because this cannot be considered thievery, whether or not it is justifiable is out of the