“Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.”(“Words Quotes - BrainyQuote”). In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, words are expressed to change the minds of Hitler’s followers to believe his every word. Words are also used against German citizens if they do not conform to the societal expectations. On the other hand, Liesel has a lust for words and she wishes to use them to positively impact others. Unlike Liesel, Hitler is focused on using his words to corrupt. There are many instances in the novel that words are used to mend and also harm. For example, Liesel reads to her neighbours during the air raids to …show more content…
The novel The Book Thief shows this in many ways. One example of it is, while everyone was crowded in the basement for shelter, Liesel read. “For at least twenty minutes, she handed out the story. The youngest kids were soothed by her voice, and everyone else saw visions of the whistler running from the crime scene. Liesel did not. The book thief saw only the mechanics of the words—their bodies stranded on the paper, beaten down for her to walk on. Somewhere, too, in the gaps between a period and the next capital letter, there was also Max.” (Zusak 381) Liesel used the power she has with words to soothe everyone in the bombshelter. Her words distracted them enough so they were not contemplating the fact that they might die. Another example of this is when Liesel read to Frau Holtzapfel after she received the news that her son had died. “The brother shivers. The woman weeps. And the girl goes on reading, for that’s why she’s there, and it feels good to be good for something in the aftermath of the snows of Stalingrad.” (Zusak 471) After Michael Holtzapfel told his mother that his brother died, Liesel kept reading. She did this to comfort Michael and his mother and not leave them alone to their misery. This shows that Liesel uses her words for good and not only to benefit …show more content…
In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, there are many instances where relationships are built. An example of this is in Max’s story “The Word Shaker.” where he symbolized his and Liesel’s friendship. “They became good friends, and when the man was sick, the word shaker allowed a single teardrop to fall on his face. The tear was made of friendship—a single word—and it dried and became a seed, and when next the girl was in the forest, she planted that seed among the other trees. She watered it every day.” (Zusak 446) This symbolizes when Max was in a coma she read to him everyday. She left him gifts so that when he woke up they would have something to talk about. These things strengthened their friendship. So when Liesel read his story after he left it still made their relationship grow stronger and stronger. “And she walked over and hugged him for the first time. ‘Thanks, Max.’ At first, here merely stood there, but as she held onto him, gradually his hands rose up and gently pressed into her shoulder blades.”(Zusak 222) When after Liesel embraced him and said thank you, Max decided that he should give her a gift. She inspired him to use words and write “The Standover Man” which brought them closer. Max explained the story of his life to her in the book, and it was all because of the words she used. Throughout the novel The Book Thief there are instances where people used words to create new
Within the pages of The Book Thief, there lives a jewish boy. A bloody knuckled, hard faced, fist fighting, jewish boy named Max Vandenburg. Because of the wrath of Adolf Hitler, Max had to go into hiding with his friend, Walter Kulgur. Unfortunately, Max had to find a new place to hide, due to increased danger in his current whereabouts. No doubt, Max experienced a wide and vast range of emotions, one of which is guilt.
You truly don’t know what you have until it’s gone. Everyday things are taken for granted. In “The Book Thief” It shows incredible examples of how loss transforms you for the better. “The Book Thief” Written by Markus Zusak is a novel based on Nazi-Germany during post World War 2. It Features the scary truth along with harsh humor, The story is told through the eyes of brave, Jewish girl named Liesel.
The power of words in “The Book Thief” and the endless strength they carry is a prime topic throughout the book. “The Book Thief”, a novel narrated by Death about Liesel, a young German girl who is given up for adoption to live with the Hubermann’s shortly before World War II. Liesel discovers the power that words, written or spoken, have to transform people, relationships, and lives. In the novel, Mark Zusak uses the relationship between characters to signify the power of words. Within “The Book Thief” the author suggests that words hold much power and have a major role in crafting the relationships between the characters.
Their relationship dominates the middle section of the book, as Max comes to Himmel street just as part three starts, and Liesel thinks about him almost constantly as soon as he arrives. Consequently, the first quote I chose for them was when Liesel first catches a glimpse of Max in the kitchen. “She lingered a moment before her feet dragged from behind. When she stopped and stole one last look at the foreigner in the kitchen, she could decipher the outline of a book on the table” (Zusak 186). In this scene, Liesel sees Max’s book, and this is the start of the two of them and their connection with words that appears continuously through the rest of the novel.
- Liesel, knowing the outcome of running through a stream of Jews, wanted to find Max and see him for the last time before he would disappear for years. She wanted to see him and thank him for everything he 's done for her; the stories, the fun times they 've had. She willingly put herself in a bad situation because she loves him, and she knows that he loves her too. She knew that if Max saw her, it would make him the happiest
Max Vandenburg impacted Liesel Meminger the most during her childhood because they were able to relate their lives and they shared interests. This made Liesel like being around Max, and she wanted the best for him because she knew the hard situation he was in. They looked out for each other like no other two characters in the book. Max’s background story was really hard. He lost his father as a child, he and his family were targeted by the Nazi’s because they are Jewish, and he has had to be cautious his whole life.
According to Harmful and Undesirable by Guenter Lewy, “Hitler had argued in Mein Kampf that the Jews had “poisoned German culture,” including literature, and had “wrecked all the conceptions of beauty and dignity” (101). Words were important for Liesel. She stated, “I have hated the words and I have loved them” (Zusak 528). She hated the words because a powerful word “communism” had tore her away from her mother. She loved the words because they connected her with her friend Max Vandenburg.
Max and Liesel gain a very strong friendship until he must leave for the family’s safety. In the end, the Allied Powers bomb the city, leaving Liesel as the lone survivor, leaving Liesel to face an extremely difficult time. In the end, the narrator, Death, reunites her with Max. Liesel lives a wonderful life and passes peacefully. In the novel, The Book Thief, Zusak proves the satisfaction found in corruption and harmful choices
Friendship is the medicine for a wounded heart and the vitamins for a hopeful soul. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, a girl named Liesel suffers through many losses. She is taken to a new home where she developed friendships that helped her heal her wounds and survive World War II. Friendship is portrayed through her connections with Hans, Rudy, and Max and it is learned how essential these friendships are to her survival. At the beginning of the novel, she developed her first friendship with Hans.
Humans lie and steal without hesitation to survive. That is how man is. However, human nature does not allow for cruelty to exist without the other end of the spectrum - kindness. In his novel, The Book Thief, Markus Zusak reveals the extreme malice possible in humans, along with the tenderness that stems from it. In times of hate and paranoia in Nazi Germany, ones who live morally are rare.
Max not only is in danger himself, but puts Liesel's whole family at risk. “Now I think we are friends, this girl and me. On her birthday it was she who gave a gift to me,”(Zusak Ch 12). Liesel gave Max the gift of friendship, and that meant a lot to Max. Liesel hugs Max as an act of pity, but Max sees it more than that.
The Book Thief. MZ, 2005, p. 301. ). The author of The Book Thief , Markus Zusak demonstrates the idea that a person's survival or life may strongly depend on the power of words. In The Book Thief we learn that words have a lot of power, not only do we but throughout the story unfold Liesel also learns that also.
In the novel, Liesel’s behavior shows justice and love through her friendship with Max. Although her relationship with Max in the beginning of the book was rather awkward, soon her perspective towards Max soothes and their relationship bonds to a friendship. There are some times when Liesel’s actions were unbelievable, especially during the Jew parade. “ ‘ You have to let go of me Liesel.’
THE TIME DEATH STOLE MY KISS By: Amy Stendrup As I ran through the scrub and forest, seeing all the smoke and hearing the engine sputter over and over only made me need to get to him faster. I had to save him; I had to do it for Liesel. There was no true reason in my mind, but I had to know whether
Having no one familiar to turn to, she finds a passion for words and continues to steal more books and develops strength through her burgeoning intellect of words. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is about the power of words; in this novel Zusak reveals that one who truly knows the hidden strength behind all words, can dominate others because words are more powerful than any weapon. The importance of words is shown through the symbolism of certain words throughout the novel; the motif of hunger, how it leads to her hunger for words; and how different Liesel’s world would be without words. Simple words can have deeper meanings.