Literature
Professor Moore
21 October, 2014
The Book Thief Questions
1) Death explains that Liesel steals books for different reasons that reflect what is happening in her life at the time which was her brothers death. “Still in disbelief, she started to dig. He couldn't be dead. He couldn't be dead. He couldn't”(5.60). Liesel was incredible hurt and couldn’t stand it. Death says, “The point is, it didn’t really matter what the book was about. It was what it meant that was more important.”(1.38) She steals her first book because it reminded her of her brother after he died. She steals the second book at the book burning to rebel against Hitler. “Then they discovered she couldn't read or write.” (7.25) This is also a reason that Liesel takes book. She cannot read and is determined to learn. She is taught by Hans who immediately bonds with her and teaches her: “Unofficially, it was called the midnight class, even though it commenced at around two in the morning.” (7.30) Liesel also takes The Whistler and The Dream Carrier to add to her collection. One reason Liesel takes The Whistler to get back at Ilsa and finally she takes the Dream Carrier to read to Max while he is in a coma. Each theft had a significance that validated her actions or gave her a memory.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The beginning of part 3 begins when Liesel’s papa, Hans, sees that she stole a book out of the celebratory fire. He promises not to tell Rosa, her mama. You also find out that the mayor’s wife was the mystery identity who saw her steal the book. Later, when she goes to the mayor’s house to pick up the washing, she fears Frau Hermann will scold her, but instead, the Frau invites her into her library room. That puts Liesel in awe and also makes her very happy. Everytime she goes to the Hermann house for the washing, she also reads a few books at a time, a few paragraphs each. Liesel’s understanding of the literary world is expanded. It is in the library Liesel finds out that Frau Hermann’s son had died and that is why she is so reserved. At the…
- 568 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Besides strengthening the bonds she had with Hans and Rudy, it had also helped form a friendship with the mayor’s wife. Starting out as an act of revenge and Liesel thinking that she was clever with her stealing, it was actually in fact Ilsa allowing her to steal the books. Eventually, Liesel figured this out, and through her gratefulness she was able to forgive and understand the woman she had once hated. Liesel’s book thievery in the library taught her about life and death, images of such appearing all throughout the book, including of Ilsa’s grief when she explained her son’s death: “The mayor's wife tightened. ‘I used to read in…
- 688 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
This Passage reminds me of the similar situation that has happened to Liesel when her younger brother, Werner, died suddenly during their trip to Germany. Similarly, Arthur Berg is also going through this situation, but with his sister dying in his arms. Also, when death, the narrator says that he "could sense [that] he would hold her for hours," it reminds me of Liesel shaking his brother as she doesn’t believe that he is dead. (Zusak 167) As well, these passage allows the reader to understand that death can arrive at anytime, leaving their loved ones in sorrow, which is also one of theme that is revealed through this piece of…
- 112 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
The Book Thief takes place in Nazi Germany with a girl named Liesel Meminger. Her mother gives her up to the Hubermanns because they are being persecuted for their communist beliefs. The Hubermanns are nice people; there is Rosa who is a stout and abrasive woman and then there is Hans who is an affable and kind man. Liesel loves to read and learn new words. One day Hans gets a letter from the army saying they need him for battle. That night Hans is at the bar drinking away his fears and sorrow when he takes out his accordion. Hans performs for everyone who is able to hear.…
- 863 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The effectiveness of words is more impressive than we tend to understand. Words are just different combinations of the same letters, but without their existence, life would have no direction. We often take for granted our ability to share and comprehend ideas. Throughout The Book Thief, however, Liesel slowly realizes just how powerful her own words can be. Taking into consideration the stolen novels, the German autobiography, and the two stories written by Max, it is safe to say that each of these books contributes to the theme of The Book Thief.…
- 420 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The presence of death reveals itself to the book thief within both celebration and mourning as her life of words cycles on. In a state of partial sleep, Liesel “could see without question that her younger brother, Werner, was now sideways and dead… [for] his blue eyes stared at the floor seeing nothing” as Death tenderly “knelt down and extracted his soul” (20-21). The book thief’s primary encounter with Death would always stay with her as she watches her sickly but beloved brother depart from this world in a train carriage. Liesel senses Death’s presence as she gazes at the dying pilot and the two “recognized each other at that exact moment” from the scene of “a train and a coughing boy [as Death] slowly extracted the pilot’s soul from his ruffled uniform and rescued him from the broken plane” (400-401). An intimate sharing of identity occurs as Liesel faces the sight of death’s mark on humanity alongside Rudy and recognizes a sense of solemn passing in this occurrence. This passionate adolescent witnesses death at its climax as she sees “the bodies of Mama and Papa both lying tangled in the gravel bedsheet of Himmel…
- 395 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Stealing her first book opened Liesel up to a world filled with words and grammar. As she stared at The Grave Digger’s Handbook, “touching the print inside, she had no idea what it was saying.”(38). Because Liesel could not read or write, as a nine-year-old, she was forced to attend school with children who just started learning the alphabet. There was a stolen book hidden under Liesel’s bed and she didn’t know what any of the words said. That inspired her to have “sudden desire to read it that she didn’t even attempt to understand” (66). However, it was also ironic that she asked her foster father to teach her these skills, when he could not comprehend them himself. It all became beneficial for Liesel because his lack of ability “would cause less frustration in coping with the girl’s lack of ability” (65). Because Hans could not read acutely, he understood what she was going through, and he was patient. In a few years, she was able to pick up a book and read…
- 438 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
This passage takes place right after Liesel scolds the Mayor’s wife for firing her mother from the cleaning job.…
- 1717 Words
- 7 Pages
Good Essays -
Though Liesel had a very spontaneous attitude towards books, there were certainly points through the story where books were her only safe haven when she was going through the horrors of war, due to them bringing her a sense of peace and comfort. “There was a sudden desire to read it [The Grave Digger’s Handbook] that she didn't even attempt to understand. On some level, perhaps she wanted to make sure…
- 784 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
No one believed she was smart enough to read, and instead of being placed in her age appropriate classes, she was out with the kids at her reading level. For her it was humiliating, but it only gave her the fuel she needed to keep moving forward. Desperate for help, she confronted her uneducated step father Hans for help. Hans himself cannot read that well, but she knows any help is better than none. Hans, referred to as Papa by Liesel, began to teach Liesel basic reading skills every night. They had a tradition, “unofficially…called the midnight class, even though it commenced around two in the morning”. Now Liesel knew how to read. She had an unlimited amount of knowledge available to her through literature. But, she herself could not take down Hitler. That does not mean that she could not fight back though. When the Nazi’s bombed her street, most people stood in the bomb shelter terrified. Yet, Liesel instead took out a book and began to read. Everyone soon began to congregate around her and listen. The fear of what was going on around them subsided, and at the moment they had won. Though Hitler was still attack them, he no longer had control over them, they were not scared. It was at this moment that Liesel realized the true power of literature, and the book she held between her fingers transformed into the sword she would use to fight her way out of Nazi Germany.…
- 554 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Liesel realizes how words can be good and evil. She learns that words and reading can bring families and communities together. When she is reading at the shelter, “Young kids [are] soothed by her voice, and everyone else saw visions of the whistler running from the crime scene... they [are] distracted now, by the girl with the book” (Zusak 381-382). When she reads at the shelter during the bomb raid, it gives the audience a sense of comfort and distraction. Because of her reading in the shelter, Frau Holtzapfel stops her grudge with the Hubermanns, and asks Liesel to read for her. Liesel realizes that words also have a good side, where the words have the power to bring people together. Liesel also comprehends that Adolf Hitler uses words to manipulate German citizens to carry out horrific facts, which cause a lot of deaths and suffering. So Liesel decides to create her own novel, so she can spread the good in words. Her last line ends with, “I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right” (Zusak 528). This shows how the power of words has impacted Liesel in good and bad ways. She shows that she wants to use the words for good, rather than evil. The fact that Liesel was illiterate and now she is writing a book to spread awareness is very impressive. In…
- 1233 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
She is beginning to grasp the concept of reading and is seeing the effect words can have on people. She sees that words can be weapons. During the 1940’s, Hitler was in power. Hitler used words instead of guns and money to take over. He manipulated and tricked people into believing what he was doing was right. This shows that words can give someone the ability to rule and take charge if used in the right way. On page 262, Liesel is very rude to Frau Hermann. Liesel gets very angry that Isla cancelled her washing and uses words to insult Ilsa Hermann and damage the relationship they had. Later on Liesel apologises to Ilsa, but before she does, she feels terrible about the nasty things she…
- 532 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In the Book Thief, Zusak shows through Liesel's relationships with books how she develops from a helpless and weak girl to a strong and mature young woman. Mostly it is not the books themselves that change Liesel but it is how she responds and relates to them. For instance, when she stole her first book, "The Grave Digger's Guide" at her brother's funeral she was feeling helpless and weak, by picking up the book, even though she couldn't read it, it gave her a sense of control to steal it. It also piqued her curiosity to find out what was in it by learning to read. Later in the novel when Liesel is learning to read and write she also begins to understand and relate to the people and the story in her books.…
- 258 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Liesel has a great passion for books and it is first shown when her brother dies and she steals her first book The Gravedigger’s Handbook. The second time Liesel steals a book, she is seen by Ilsa who is one of the clients of Liesel's mother Rosa Hubermann. Liesel faces an argument with Ilsa and this is how she used the power of words: “It’s about time,” she informed her, “that you do your own stinking washing anyway. It’s about time you faced the fact that your son is dead. He got killed! He got strangled and cut up more than twenty years ago! Or did he freeze to death? Either way, he’s dead! He’s dead…
- 659 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
This passage reminds me of the scene where Napoleon steals the milk and apples from the animals without asking in Animal Farm. Similarly, in The Book Thief, Rudy and Liesel are also stealing vegetables from many farms. However, the reason that Napoleon steals the milk and apples is because of his greed, while Rudy and Liesel are stealing to "extend their thieving repertoire" (Zusak 161). Also, from my interpretation of this passage, I feel that the law enforcements are not strong enough to stop thievery at that time in Germany because, if the law enforcements were powerful, then Rudy and Liesel wouldn't take the risk to extend their thieving…
- 110 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays