Markus Zusak's The Book Thief

The state the characters in Markus Zusak’s “The Book Thief” are in, requires people to help support each other. People help each other by sacrificing their needs and also by teaching/gifting them valuable skills. In desperate times of need, it is essential to be dependent on others to an extent.

In “The Book Thief,” people sacrifice their own needs/wants for the benefit of others. Sometimes supporting others means endangering yourself or your loved ones for the greater goal of survival. This could be showed in an example from “The Book Thief.” Hans and Rosa both knew bringing a jew into their home could result in some very harsh consequences, however they did it without hesitation for the sake of humanity that Germany had lost. “ there was much excitement when max opened his eyes, if only for a few moments” (318). This quote shows how concerned all the hubermanns were for someone they had not known for a long time. They took care of Max for as long as it was safe for him to be there despite the looming dangerous consequences. Many people also offer sacrifices to those they do not know because of a mutual understanding of the state things are in. In Liesel’s case, Germany was not the best place to live at the time. People depended on each other to cope with fear. Many people were in constant fear with bomb alarms going on often. Liesel was a source of relieving that stress by reading. An example of this was was reading to the people in the bomb shelter. Her voice seemed to calm down even the crying babies. …show more content…
Two ways the characters in “The Book Thief” support each other is in the form of sacrificing things of their own to others, and to pass on lifesaving skills. Sacrifices help overcome many physical struggles, sacrificing their own morals to continue the chance of their survival, and to banish the fear embedded into people. The skills that characters teach each other help overcome oppression and