Liesel's Journey In The Book Thief

A Girl with a Mountain to Climb – Prompt 2 The novel, The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak is a grand series of stories narrated by Death. The stories recall a young German girl named Liesel who faces her foster parents, Nazis, and most of all, hiding a Jew in her basement. Also, Liesel grows and develops throughout these stories in a WWII Germany. As she grows up on Himmel Street in Germany, Death himself narrates and gives the reader his perspective on each of Liesel’s obstacles, mishaps, and victories. As stated by Death, Liesel was a girl “with a mountain to climb.” To begin, the mountain that Death speaks of is Liesel’s journey of becoming an individual and her climbing partners on this journey are each of the people she bonded with on Himmel Street. When Death’s tale commenced, Liesel was dependent, confused, and lost as …show more content…
When Liesel first arrived on Himmel Street, Death stated, “When Liesel arrived in Molching, she at least had some inkling that she was being saved, but that was not a comfort. If her mother loved her, why leave her on someone else’s doorstep? Why? Why?” (32). Later in the novel, Liesel even stood up to the mayor’s wife to speak her thoughts and ridicule the mayor’s wife on her own doorstep (262). These quotes illustrate how Liesel Memminger began as a poor, confused girl who had yet to find her way in the world; she stood at the base of her mountain. After Liesel discovered Himmel Street, however, she found her place and knew exactly where and who she wanted to be. Liesel found her place as an individual with the support of those she bonded with in Molching including her foster parents, Rudy, and Max. Each of these