The Power Of Words In The Book Thief

The power of words is used everywhere in the world; from teachers in school to leaders of countries. In The Book Thief, the power of words create sanity, comfort, and relationships in a time of war. Liesel grew more intelligent through the power of words, giving her the ability to form opinions and understand the evil going on in the world. The power of words formed a deep relationship between between Hans Hubermann and Liesel. Lastly, the power of words comforted Max when living in the basement and the townspeople when sheltering from the bombs. When Liesel was younger and illiterate, she knew nothing about the world around her. Learning to read gave Liesel knowledge, allowing her to be able to form opinions and understand the evil occurring around her. Before learning to read, Liesel didn’t know what words and ideas of Nazi Germany meant. An example of this is how Liesel didn’t know what communist, and jew meant in the beginning of the book (31). Another example is that in Hitler Youth, Liesel was taught to say Heil Hitler, sing propaganda songs, roll bandages, and sew up cloths before learning to read (40). Liesel and other kids …show more content…
When Max was first put in the basement, he asked Liesel, “If your eyes could speak, what would they say?” That helped Liesel describe the way she saw the world in words. When Liesel described the outside world to Max, he would visualize it, and become happy and relaxed. Liesel also comforted Max by reading stolen books from the Mayor’s library to Max when he was deathly ill. Reading to Max allowed him to relax in a time of immense pain. When sheltering from the bombs the townspeople were silent and terrified until Liesel started to read the Whistler (381-384). Liesel read the beginning of the Whistler aloud, the word’s power comforted everyone by giving them something else to listen to and think