The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, is a story about Liesel Meminger, a young girl living through the Holocaust. The story focuses on Liesel’s life story and the book that she wrote about it. Zusak provides the reader enthusiasm and anticipation to continue reading through the themes that he utilizes throughout the story. Foreshadowing, metaphors, and the beautiful, original, and creative use of language are elements that all work together to highlight the two main themes in the story. These two main themes are the power of words, and the idea that humans are beautiful while being brutal at the same time. Throughout the story, the power of words remains a major theme that develops the plot and helps the reader feel connected to the story.
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On page 445, Max states through his book, The Word Shaker, “Yes, the Fuhrer decided he would rule the world with words. ‘I will never fire a gun,’ he devised. ‘I will not have to.’ … His first plan of attack was to plant the words in as many areas of his homeland as possible. He planted them day and night, and cultivated them.” The story’s plot revolves around the Holocaust and the power that Adolf Hitler exercised on Jews. Through one of the story’s most influential characters, Zusak offers the idea that Hitler gained his power, not physically, but through the power of words. He made speeches rather than murdering people initially. This was how he persuaded people to support him. That was how he gained all of his power. Max’s book, The Word Shaker suggests that words are the most powerful force through this concept. Later on in the story, words literally save Liesel’s life. On page 528, Zusak explains that Liesel was in her basement, rereading the words of her book, specifically the last line. The last line of Liesel book is, “I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.” In the next chapter, the bombs strike, and everyone does, except Liesel. The reason she survived is because she fell asleep in her basement, reading her book. Not only was she tied to the different emotions that she felt because of the words, but her life was literally …show more content…
For the book’s narrator, Death, this concept is a driving force forward. It is what keeps him doing his job, as well as what powers him to continue telling Liesel’s story, which is a hard one to tell. He wants to prove to himself that humans are the cause of their own destruction, but he also wants to prove that humans are beautiful. This theme is evidenced on page 491, when Death declares, “The human heart is a line, whereas my own is a circle, and I have the endless ability to be in the right place at the right time. The consequence of this is that I’m always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both.” This quote from the book is one of the most important quotes to the theme, as well as the story as a whole. This quote shows why Death is telling the story of Liesel Meminger. Specific to the theme, it shows how Death doesn’t know if humans are good or bad, beautiful or brutal. He wonders how “the same thing can be both,” which means that he wonders how the brutality and beauty of humans can be the same thing. He needs to prove to himself that humans can be both beautiful and brutal, and he does so threw Liesel’s story. Furthermore, on page 550, Zusak writes, “A last note from your narrator: I am haunted by humans.” This final line of the book is more meaningful than it may seem. Humans are usually haunted by the idea of
On page 445, Max states through his book, The Word Shaker, “Yes, the Fuhrer decided he would rule the world with words. ‘I will never fire a gun,’ he devised. ‘I will not have to.’ … His first plan of attack was to plant the words in as many areas of his homeland as possible. He planted them day and night, and cultivated them.” The story’s plot revolves around the Holocaust and the power that Adolf Hitler exercised on Jews. Through one of the story’s most influential characters, Zusak offers the idea that Hitler gained his power, not physically, but through the power of words. He made speeches rather than murdering people initially. This was how he persuaded people to support him. That was how he gained all of his power. Max’s book, The Word Shaker suggests that words are the most powerful force through this concept. Later on in the story, words literally save Liesel’s life. On page 528, Zusak explains that Liesel was in her basement, rereading the words of her book, specifically the last line. The last line of Liesel book is, “I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.” In the next chapter, the bombs strike, and everyone does, except Liesel. The reason she survived is because she fell asleep in her basement, reading her book. Not only was she tied to the different emotions that she felt because of the words, but her life was literally …show more content…
For the book’s narrator, Death, this concept is a driving force forward. It is what keeps him doing his job, as well as what powers him to continue telling Liesel’s story, which is a hard one to tell. He wants to prove to himself that humans are the cause of their own destruction, but he also wants to prove that humans are beautiful. This theme is evidenced on page 491, when Death declares, “The human heart is a line, whereas my own is a circle, and I have the endless ability to be in the right place at the right time. The consequence of this is that I’m always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both.” This quote from the book is one of the most important quotes to the theme, as well as the story as a whole. This quote shows why Death is telling the story of Liesel Meminger. Specific to the theme, it shows how Death doesn’t know if humans are good or bad, beautiful or brutal. He wonders how “the same thing can be both,” which means that he wonders how the brutality and beauty of humans can be the same thing. He needs to prove to himself that humans can be both beautiful and brutal, and he does so threw Liesel’s story. Furthermore, on page 550, Zusak writes, “A last note from your narrator: I am haunted by humans.” This final line of the book is more meaningful than it may seem. Humans are usually haunted by the idea of