Courage In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief

Alexandra Gandy
Miss DiPetro
English 3
May 12, 2011

Courage in the face of the worst

“Here is a small fact: You are going to die(Zusak 4).” But have courage, for death will not

come just yet. Show courage when faced with death and despair, like Hans Hubermann, Rosa

Hubermann, Liesel Meminger, and Max Vanderburg. These are all characters from Markus Zusak's

book, The Book Thief, a story told by death, of a young girl, Liesel Meminger, who lives in Nazi

Germany with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa. They take in a Jew, and Liesel, Hans, and Rosa

suddenly are forced to show courage that they weren't sure they had themselves. The courage shown by

the Hubermanns and Max is uncommon among men, but this heroism
is often shown in Markus

Zusak's, The Book Thief, when the characters stand up for their beliefs, show strength for their family,

and put others before themselves.

Hans Hubermann showed great courage by standing up for his beliefs. “As a teenager, he was

aware that his feather had been called 'Der Juden Maler'-the Jewish painter-fro painting Jewish houses.

Then came the incident I'll filly present to you soon enough- the day Hans blew it, on the verge of

joining the party. Everyone knew you weren't supposed to paint over slurs written on a Jewish shop

front. Such behavior was bad for Germany and bad for the transgressor(Zusak 104)” Hans had, at this

point, applied to be be in the Nazi party, so as not to start rumors about his loyalty, and also to soothe

his son. A Jewish shop owner had many diatribes written on his shop front. Hans did not think that this

was right, so he painted over the slander. This meant, the wrath of his son, the wrath of the people, and

the wrath of the Nazi party. But, even though he knew all of this wrath would be upon him, he still

did what he thought was right.

In another instance, Hands showed courage by feeding a Jew bread. During the war, German

soldiers would march Jews hundreds of miles to Dachau, a death camp. The German people who

witnessed the march, just watched as thousands of starving and weak people were shuffled along like

animals. Some were shocked. Others cried inside, and some even cheered and Heiled Hitler. Some

threw things at the Jews. But Hans did something that shocked everyone. He gave a struggling and

starving Jew a piece of bread. “ The Jew stood before him, expecting another handful of derision, but

he watched with everyone else as Hans Hubermann held his hand out and presented a piece of bread,

like magic(Zusak 394).”

Rosa Hubermann showed courage by being strong for her family. “...there was no denying the

fact that Rosa Hubermann was sitting on the edge of the bed with her husband’s accordion tied to her

chest. Her fingers hovered above the keys. She did not move. She didn't even appear to be

breathing(Zusak 181).” Hans has been sent into the war, and Rosa is scared for her husband's life.

This is the first time in the book that you see Rosa showing fear. She shows no fear at taking in Liesel,

whose family is communist. She shows no fear of taking in Max, who is a Jew. She shows no fear in t

he bomb shelter, during the air raid. She also shows no fear when faced with the lack of money. To the

reader, Rosa shows virtually no fear. But, as it is later found out, Rosa has many fears and worriers, but

she hides them behind swearing and strength.
She does this for her family. She knows that they also

have fears, so she doesn't burden them with her own. Facing her fears on her own is what makes her

courageous.

Liesel show courage through her love of Max and books. “ 'Remember what you promised

me?' the girl concurred. To the wall, she said, ' That I would keep a secret.(Zusack 202)'” She keeps the

secret of Max, and all her concerns to herself, even when he gets sick. She tells no one. She also steals

a book from a Nazi book burning. Despite the risks, she takes one of the surviving books. When Max

has to leave, due to the Hubermann's fear of the Gestapo, Liesel begins to look for him in the Jewish

Marches. “” Liesel walked at him. She was courageous enough to reach out and hold his bearded face.

“ Is it really you Max(Zusak 512)?” She sees him, and, though she knows she could lose her life, she

approaches him and hugs him. The soldiers see her and they whip her. She did what she did out of

love and courage. Even when everyone around her is gone, she shows courage.

Max showed great courage of his own by put others before himself, and surviving. “ It
was

Max who convinced them, 'They said it's not deep enough here.
I've already put you in enough

danger.'(Zusak 372)” Max is telling the Hubermanns to find a more sufficient bomb shelter. He can't

go, but their basement isn't deep enough for them to use it as a bomb shelter. Max tells them to go. He

would rather die alone then see them die just to stay with him. Max survives the war. He hides from

the Nazis, which is very risky. He leaves the Hubermanns to protect them, and is captured. He is sent

to Dachau, which is a death camp, but he survives the war. It takes courage sometimes, just to survive.

“His soul sat up. It met me. Those kinds of souls always do-- the best ones. The ones who rise

up and say, 'I know who you are and I am ready(Zusak 394)'” Here death is talking about when he

collected Hans' soul. Later, he tells us, that Liesel's soul also sits up. Two courageous souls, ready to

face death when it came for them. The best kinds of souls. Death describes them as the best kind of

souls. He admired Liesel's courage and Hans' kindness. The hope of every person is that their :soul

will sit up” for death. This shows that the person has had a good and full life, and that they
posses

quality character traits, such as courage. The courage shown by the Hubermanns and Max is

uncommon in today's population, but anyone can be courageous by standing up for what they believe

in, show strength in the face of their own fears, and put others before themselves no matter what the

circumstances.