1. Elie’s first impression of the camp at Buna was that it looked empty and dead as if an epidemic had hit.…
Death is our guide and narrator to 'The Book Thief,' by Markus Zuzak. In some ways Death seems human as we see that he experiences both sadness and joy in the novel and even gets depressed. To help distract him from his sad, never-ending work, he often fixates on the colour of the sky as a distraction from the anguished survivors of the dead. Death faces suffering with dignity. He does not enjoy his never-ending job of collecting souls but he keeps persevering as he knows he must continue for the sake of the living. Like many humans, Death tries to find ways to give meaning to his…
Markus Zusak’s sanguine novel The Book Thief illustrates the austere story of a Jewish foster girl living amidst the cruelty and devastation of World War II. Liesel Meminger, an intelligent and kind-hearted youngster stricken by family tragedy, must contend with both physical and emotional conflict as she and her friends cope with the atrocities of life in Nazi Germany. In spite of the chaos encompassing their lives, Liesel and her allies manage to find peace and resilience through love and compassion.…
This photograph shows a man giving his sandals to a homeless girl in Rio de Janeiro. This picture shows significance because the man showed empathy to the girl and he cared about how bad she was living. It also shows that the man gave his sandals to her because she needed it more than he did. This picture is similar to the scene in the Book Thief where Hans Hubermann offers a piece of bread to the Jew. Personal Reflection Personally, I think that relationships do not always involve two people who are in love with each other, but it also involves friendship and family.…
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…
In the bestselling novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Death states, “To me, war is the new boss who expects the impossible.” Death uses this quote to emphasize how ruthless the war is, for he is caught up in a storm of souls that grows larger as the war progresses. Those souls remain in the storm, waiting for death to free them from the nightmare they are stuck in. As Death frees these lost souls, he “notices their ugly and their beauty, and wonders how the same thing can be both.” Overall, Death remains a major character and provides a unique point of view which connects the story…
In cinematic performances, Death is often portrayed as heartless and also often exemplifies the characteristics of a malevolent character. However, contrary to this popular concept, the character of death in The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, has a very humane personality, with his ability to feel pain, sympathy, and humor causing him to defy most stereotypes set by other portrayals. In the novel, he narrates the life of a girl named Liesel, a German citizen who lost her parents and her brother at an early age and has been adopted by two foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermman. It is within this narration that Death reveals is compassion for humanity.…
Although most assume Death looks like the Grim Reaper or a scary skeleton thing, in The Book Thief, Death is not. In fact, he even tells us what he looks like when he says, “I do not carry a sickle or a scythe. I only wear a hooded black robe when it’s cold. And I don’t have those skull-like facial features you seem to enjoy pinning on me from a distance… Find yourself a mirror while I continue” (Zusak 307). Essentially Death is saying that because all humans die, we all resemble death. Humans can and will die, and thus he is one of the things that is constant between all humans. Due to this reason I drew a man looking into a mirror to show Death. I just…
In The Book Thief, guilt can be found as a recurring theme, especially in the cases of Hans Hubermann and Max. In a deeper analysis, the reason as to how and why can be answered.…
Death as the narrator creates a dark and dreary tone in The Book Thief.Death is a very depressing and cynical person. He is more humane than some actual humans, which is sad. The Dramatic Irony highlights the suffering in the novel,and that helps create the Depressing mood within the novel .Humans will continue to haunt…
The first lady, Michelle Obama says this, “You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not be able to solve all of life’s problems, but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.” Many people wonder what importance life has and this quote answers it all. Everyone is so important because everybody has the potential to do incredible things. Markus Zusak’s novel, The Book Thief shows us this. It is told from the perspective of Death and set during the time of the Holocaust. The story follows a German girl, Liesel, who moves to live with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Huberman. It tells her story while she lived in Germany during…
War is a foul and nauseating occurrence throughout history. Nevertheless, it is something that has happened more than once. There are numerous amount of people who have experienced the events of a war. Each person can have a different perspective and experiences. However, those people can be categorized as victims, perpetrators, or bystanders.…
Death is a horrendous thing that can cause an irreplaceable hole in somebody’s life. Death can also represent chaos and the pain of another character in the story. In Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck, the deaths of Johnny, Dally, and Bob created an intriguing plot and unveiled the hidden feelings and personalities of characters who react to the deaths, like Dally and Randy. The major deaths in The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, which are the deaths of Candy’s Dog, Curley’s Wife, and Lennie, displayed the personalities of the characters who killed them and developed the story in the book. The theme of death reveals hidden elements of characters who strongly felt a certain way about the character. Even though death is the end of a character, it…
“Here is a small fact: You are going to die.” Death said this quote. He the narrator of Markus Zuka’s The Book Thief. Although this quote from Death is scary, he says later, “I urge you - don’t be afraid.” Everyone will die eventually, Death himself even said that. Whether that be intentional or accidental, the effects of death can change the direction of someone’s life, for the better or for the worse.…
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, has caused me to have multiple reactions, to the story, characters, and themes. They have made me feel mad, sad, upset, happy, but most of all surprised; throughout the recent readings every night more gets added to the story and more just surprises me. What completely shocked/surprised me was when Liesel fought back against Ludwig Schmeikl and what followed afterwards. However, there has been far more things than just that, that have surprised me. A couple include Liesel receiving two books for christmas, Hans Junior leaving, and how Rudy has reacted to Liesel throughout the entire passage,…