The Book Thief Essay
Power is often associated with machines of war—guns, tanks, missiles etc. However, history shows otherwise. Although weapons have caused many many deaths, there is something so terrible that it makes weapons look like toys. That thing is words. Words have power. More power than perhaps anyone is willing to admit. But words don’t always destroy. Words have the power to create beauty, to create life. The Book Thief is a story about words, about what words do and what they can accomplish. They don’t always stand on their own; oftentimes, they are accompanied by pictures. The plot is interrupted thrice by stories written and illustrated by Max Vandenburg. Max’s books offer a unique perspective on the themes of light and darkness, …show more content…
The Standover Man is one of two complete illustrated stories in The Book Thief, the other being The Standover Man. The story is of a bird who is terrified of and dominated by men standing over him. The first standover man was his father, Erik Vandenberg, who seemingly disappeared while Max was a baby. (Zusak 225) The reader knows, however, that Erik was killed during the first world war as a result of taking Han’s place in battle. When Max was a boy, he enjoyed fistfighting. (Zusak 226) Whenever he lost, another person would be standing over him. Walter Kugler stood over him while he hid from the Nazis. Things changed, however, when Max fled to the house of Hans Hubermann and he met Liesel—the first girl to stand over him. They share interests, and the girl says he looks like a bird. (Zusak 232). Although the story is black and white, color—or shade rather—plays an important role in the significance of The Standover Man. The first and last pages showcase this especially. The bird standing over Max on the first page is large and black, possibly signifying the power of Hitler and the Nazis. Max, on the other hand, is small and white—a terrified and innocent babe among wolves. The last page uses black and white similarly. It shows Liesel reading calmly in the Hubermann's basement. The stair show contrasting color, representing the safety, sensory deprivation and depression of the …show more content…
Max creates The Word Shaker from his copy of Mein Kampf and leaves it with Rosa to give to Liesel when she is ready. It describes the Führer who plants words like seeds throughout Germany. The words grow into trees that grow into an immense forest of words. Word shakers climb those trees to throw words down to people below. The best word shaker was Liesel. She was able to climb faster and higher than anyone else, because her hunger for words was so great. She meets a man who is hated and condemned by his country. He becomes sick, and she cries over him. From one of her tears, she plants a seed. The seed grows and grows and grows until it is the tallest tree in the forest. The Fuhrer is angered by the height of the tree and orders it to be cut done. Liesel stays in the tree, strengthening it, and it cannot be cut down. Many of the Fuhrer’s men attempt to cut it down, but it remains unharmed. A man comes, hammers nails into the trunk and climbs up to the girl. Together they climb down and when they have reached the ground, the tree collapses, destroying most of the forest. The story is an artful metaphor for propaganda in Nazi Germany. It tells of “farmed thoughts,” and conveyor belts and machines that gave people a “lifetime in ten minutes” (Zusak 446). Another contributing element can be observed in the sentence “Soon, the demand for lovely ugly words and
Power is often associated with machines of war—guns, tanks, missiles etc. However, history shows otherwise. Although weapons have caused many many deaths, there is something so terrible that it makes weapons look like toys. That thing is words. Words have power. More power than perhaps anyone is willing to admit. But words don’t always destroy. Words have the power to create beauty, to create life. The Book Thief is a story about words, about what words do and what they can accomplish. They don’t always stand on their own; oftentimes, they are accompanied by pictures. The plot is interrupted thrice by stories written and illustrated by Max Vandenburg. Max’s books offer a unique perspective on the themes of light and darkness, …show more content…
The Standover Man is one of two complete illustrated stories in The Book Thief, the other being The Standover Man. The story is of a bird who is terrified of and dominated by men standing over him. The first standover man was his father, Erik Vandenberg, who seemingly disappeared while Max was a baby. (Zusak 225) The reader knows, however, that Erik was killed during the first world war as a result of taking Han’s place in battle. When Max was a boy, he enjoyed fistfighting. (Zusak 226) Whenever he lost, another person would be standing over him. Walter Kugler stood over him while he hid from the Nazis. Things changed, however, when Max fled to the house of Hans Hubermann and he met Liesel—the first girl to stand over him. They share interests, and the girl says he looks like a bird. (Zusak 232). Although the story is black and white, color—or shade rather—plays an important role in the significance of The Standover Man. The first and last pages showcase this especially. The bird standing over Max on the first page is large and black, possibly signifying the power of Hitler and the Nazis. Max, on the other hand, is small and white—a terrified and innocent babe among wolves. The last page uses black and white similarly. It shows Liesel reading calmly in the Hubermann's basement. The stair show contrasting color, representing the safety, sensory deprivation and depression of the …show more content…
Max creates The Word Shaker from his copy of Mein Kampf and leaves it with Rosa to give to Liesel when she is ready. It describes the Führer who plants words like seeds throughout Germany. The words grow into trees that grow into an immense forest of words. Word shakers climb those trees to throw words down to people below. The best word shaker was Liesel. She was able to climb faster and higher than anyone else, because her hunger for words was so great. She meets a man who is hated and condemned by his country. He becomes sick, and she cries over him. From one of her tears, she plants a seed. The seed grows and grows and grows until it is the tallest tree in the forest. The Fuhrer is angered by the height of the tree and orders it to be cut done. Liesel stays in the tree, strengthening it, and it cannot be cut down. Many of the Fuhrer’s men attempt to cut it down, but it remains unharmed. A man comes, hammers nails into the trunk and climbs up to the girl. Together they climb down and when they have reached the ground, the tree collapses, destroying most of the forest. The story is an artful metaphor for propaganda in Nazi Germany. It tells of “farmed thoughts,” and conveyor belts and machines that gave people a “lifetime in ten minutes” (Zusak 446). Another contributing element can be observed in the sentence “Soon, the demand for lovely ugly words and