The Book Thief Theme Essay

Superior Essays
Various works of literature portray childhood and adolescence as times graced by innocence and a sense of wonder or is sometimes depicted as times of tribulation and terror. In the novel, The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak, it narrates the life of Liesel Meminger who is a young German girl living a tough life and also those around her. Throughout the times of the Holocaust, the tragedies they suffer are traumatizing and life changing. The reduction of childhood and adolescence shapes the work as a whole and can be observed through the loss of their loved ones, what it is like to live in Germany, and finally through poverty.
The loss of loved ones steals away the innocence from children because they are being separated from their closest
…show more content…
Most kids in their childhood only think about the wonders of the world and they are as free as doves. They are free enough to make their own decisions with only the influence of their parents. The harsh reality of this novel is that life in Germany is not all about rainbows and unicorns. Here, kids are forced to believe in certain things and not what they choose. One of the places where they learn about adoring for Hitler is in Hitler Youth. Rudy disagrees with everything he is taught there and decided to rebel against those beliefs. One of the main facts that the kids are supposed to learn is the Hitlers birthday and this was asked to Rudy and he answered with the birth of Christ. During his time in Hitler Youth, Deutscher made Rudy run various amounts of laps. One day he had to run and Rudy said “The field at Hitler Youth just got fertilized. It’s cow manure” (283). Deutscher already knew that there was manure out on the field but since he hates Rudy, he made him run anyways. Life in Germany did not seem to be going too well for Rudy. On another note, kids are normally out playing and always having fun. In Germany all the fun the kids were able to have was to be able to play soccer. As they were playing soccer one day, basements were being inspected for air raid shelters. Liesel had to find a subtle way of making it into her house without drawing too much attention to herself since Max was still hiding in their basement. She caused herself an injury as it states in the book “As the ball rolled off, players ran in. Liesel held her grazed knee with one hand and her head with the other” (340). She needed to inform her foster parents that basements were being checked and that they had to hide Max. Luckily they were able to hide him in time and he was not discovered. Liesel was forced to keep the secret that they were harboring a Jew and most

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Symbols In The Book Thief

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is narrated by Death as he follows Liesel and her foster family during the Holocaust. Throughout the novel, books, an accordion, and bread appear multiple times. These three symbols can be compared at contrasted when looking at what they represent, how they relate to rebelling, and how they aid the evolution of the characters associated with them. To begin with, books, the accordion, and bread all symbolize positive things.…

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Book Thief Narrative

    • 1279 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Even German children were a major part of the war effort. Shortly after arriving at her foster home, “Liesel tried on her new uniform. Ten years old meant Hitler Youth” (Zusak 38). Hitler Youth units were formed during World War II due to the fact that Germany was lacking supplies and manpower. As the Jews are paraded through town, it is mentioned that “perhaps the death camps were kept a secret, but at times, people were shown the glory of a labor camp like Dachau” (Zusak 312).…

    • 1279 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In spite of changes and destructions on one’s emotional and physical state, there is always beauty in the wake of brutality. This is a key representation throughout “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak and “V for Vendetta” directed by James McTeigue, in which both successfully emphasises the the concepts of rebellion towards a totalitarianism government and the power of words. ‘The Book Thief’ parallels with the contextual influences of the Nazi Party ruled by Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. Whereas ‘V for Vendetta’ draws a direct correlation from the horrendous acts in Iraq governed by Geroge Bush subsequent to the infamous attack of 9/11. During distratrous time, individuals who are amidst difficult situation, should realise that there is always…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the novel, Zusak juxtaposes the kindness and cruelty of humans several times. During the brutal Death Marches, Liesel, Rudy, and Hans selflessly offer the Jews bread. Their generosity towards the Jews proves that kindness is often the result of malice. In another instance, Rudy places a teddy bear next to a dying soldier who has just been in a plane crash. This incident depicts the innocence amidst the suffering that surrounds them.…

    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “The Book Thief” has broadened my understanding of the way that historical fiction can be used to create a sense of realism to historical events, notably through Mark Zusak’s creation of realistic characters that effectively portray what it was like to live in Nazi Germany during the second World War. This has been achieved through Mark Zusak’s successful incorporation of various literary techniques throughout the book. A number of these literary devices will be elaborated in this essay. One of the more striking techniques employed by Mark Zusak in “The Book Thief” is personification where he effectively uses Death as the narrator of the book, and creates a Humanised concept of Death.…

    • 1072 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak depicts the life of Liesel Meminger as she grows up in Nazi Germany. Liesel struggles with the death of her younger brother and with the death of other’s she knows. Overall, her main conflict is figuring out how to cope with death. The death of her brother was a very traumatic experience and she was not given enough time to learn to cope with it.…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Being able to have an enjoyable time is one of the most important aspects to having good life. In the work of historical fiction “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak, there is a character named Liesel who struggles to become properly educated in Nazi Germany. Liesel struggles to fight against the power of Nazism. Her, and some of her friends gather knowledge about the world that they live in, and the worlds they don't live in. She approaches the summit of her mountain of knowledge when she puts all of her life’s experience into one book she writes.…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief tackles the tragic subject of the Holocaust from the point of view of an unusual narrator. Zusak speaks through a characterization of Death to deliver a wider range of information about the characters. Although Death lacks omniscience, he adds critical insight to the story, providing details about the characters’ thoughts while giving synopses of World War II. Through Death’s narration, Zusak reveals the gravity of the Holocaust, employing situational irony and personification to emphasize the sins committed by humanity.…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout the novel Liesel learns to read, love, and understand the power of words from her gentle foster father and a few books she steals. In the midst of an ordinary childhood, she also is put in much danger. Her foster parents hide a Jewish man in their basement and her father is punished for his tolerance towards Jews.…

    • 1025 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    WWII can be seen through many eyes and The Book Thief tells its story through the eyes of Death (Zusak 3). Death tells a story of a German young girl named Liesel and her experience of growing up through WWII (Zusak 5) In the book, the reader sees the importance of reading through the stages of Liesel’s childhood. To her, the books she steals are not just words on pages. They remind her of a turning point in her youth. The importance of reading in Liesel’s life can be reflected in the reader’s life.…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Liesel still takes possession of the book and reads it secretly. She also enjoys that the library in the mayor’s house “belong[s] to the woman” because she “thought it was the mayor’s room” (461). Liesel gets most of her books from the library in the mayor’s house. Even though she thought the library belonged to the mayor, who is a loyal Nazi, she still stole books from the library she believed to be his. The Nazis don’t want women to get ideas that would cause them to go astray and go against them but Liesel reads and gets different values that go against the Nazis.…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ethics In The Book Thief

    • 1195 Words
    • 5 Pages

    As for these naive children, Rudy and Liesel, they must learn the difficult way that an innocent act of kindness in an intolerant society can often lead to severe punishment. Hans also offers bread to a dying Jewish man, but in his case, he suffers dire consequences. What a Nazi soldier witnesses Hans ' kindness, "he was struck four times before he… Hit the ground" (394). The Nazi whipped Hans because in his eyes, Hans was breaking the law; this demonstrates the extent of "brainwashing" any Nazi supporter undergoes. In this instance, the cruelty of the Nazi…

    • 1195 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Liesel is very hesitant the first time entering, representing her fear of discovering her underlying feelings and bringing them to the surface. After psychoanalytically seeking out the comfort of being a feeble child by writing letters to her mother, she realizes that her mother does not want her and she is alone and deserted in the world. Liesel finds shelter and comfort in the basement through reading, writing, and laying in a fetal position underneath the table, representing her underlying deprivation of a childhood. Liesel ultimately finds enjoyment in escaping reality by hiding inside herself. She spends most of her time writing everywhere she can: letters to her mother, words on the walls, even her own novel: The Book Thief.…

    • 1047 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Beauty and Brutality of Mankind Constant controversies on humans suggest that humanity is responsible for great compassion and great evil. In the novel The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak, the exploration of human nature reveals that one is capable of both beauty and brutality based on different experiences. Firstly, the setting and conflicts shown in the story help develop the concept of humanity. To add on, symbols and motifs are used as a powerful tool to portray the opinions and emotions of different individuals. Lastly, in this story, characters such as Liesel, Hans Junior, Hans, and Death, influence the idea of the good and evil in mankind by showing how experiences can shape their ideas.…

    • 1534 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Book Thief Essay

    • 1839 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The theme that is ever present in the novel is to always hold onto hope. The Book Thief’s main character, Liesel Meminger, never loses hope through all she endures. In fact, Liesel seems to always have hope when the odds are stacked against her. For example, there was a time in the book when Max had been asleep for many weeks.…

    • 1839 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays