The book, The Book Thief is set in one of the darkest time periods of the entire world, World War II or The Holocaust. The main character, Liesel, has lost everyone and everything she ever knew, and she has to learn to live her new life in a new area. Throughout this journey she makes new friends and family, makes a new life, and she learns how powerful words are. In The Book Thief, Mark Zusak shows how words are powerful enough to create friendship, give freedom, and overshadow hate.
Through various experiences, Liesel learns about how words can create connections and friendships with other people. One example is how words began a friendship between Liesel and Rudy. In the beginning of their relationship, Liesel is very quiet and she does not say much. However, when she does begin to speak to Rudy, an instant friendship is born. The first time they have real interaction is the soccer game where Liesel handed Rudy his first missed penalty kick and then he hit Liesel in the face with a mud snowball. She said, “‘How do you like that?’ The boy grinned, and he ran off in pursuit of the ball. ‘Saukerl,’ Liesel whispered. The vocabulary of her new home was catching on fast”(Zusak 48). This shows a level of friendship that is both playful and fun, but only by the words that the two characters use with each other. …show more content…
He focusses on how words create friendships, provide freedom, and how they overshadow hate. Zusak uses various scenarios to show this power of words. All of these things that Zusak shows make the reader truly think about what they say and what words can do. This book shows that words are the best and most dangerous thing that people have to use. It gives one example of good use in the midst of a negative one. Liesel used words for all of these good things while Hitler used them to bring death and suffering to an entire group of people. What will you do with your
Through various experiences, Liesel learns about how words can create connections and friendships with other people. One example is how words began a friendship between Liesel and Rudy. In the beginning of their relationship, Liesel is very quiet and she does not say much. However, when she does begin to speak to Rudy, an instant friendship is born. The first time they have real interaction is the soccer game where Liesel handed Rudy his first missed penalty kick and then he hit Liesel in the face with a mud snowball. She said, “‘How do you like that?’ The boy grinned, and he ran off in pursuit of the ball. ‘Saukerl,’ Liesel whispered. The vocabulary of her new home was catching on fast”(Zusak 48). This shows a level of friendship that is both playful and fun, but only by the words that the two characters use with each other. …show more content…
He focusses on how words create friendships, provide freedom, and how they overshadow hate. Zusak uses various scenarios to show this power of words. All of these things that Zusak shows make the reader truly think about what they say and what words can do. This book shows that words are the best and most dangerous thing that people have to use. It gives one example of good use in the midst of a negative one. Liesel used words for all of these good things while Hitler used them to bring death and suffering to an entire group of people. What will you do with your