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…
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…
Her brother died on the train when they were going to the Hubermanns. Her nightmares started the first day she was with the Hubermanns. Hans tries his best to sooth her pain from the memories by playing the accordion for her “Some days papa told her to get back into bed and wait a minute, and he would return with his accordion and play for her.” (Zusak 37) He plays for her to not only amuse her but to show her that he cares. Liesel’s nightmares tend to reoccur every night until she realizes that she is loved and she can trust her new…
On Hitler’s birthday, she sitting on the steps watching the dead aftermath of the celebration. She was just thinking about her mother and her brother. Then she started making calculations. “The word communist + a large bonfire + a collection of dead letters + the suffering of her mother + the death of her brother = the Fuhrer” (115). Liesel realized that her mother was taken was by Hitler because she was a communist and wanted to get revenge. She stole The Shoulder Shrug to get even with Hitler. His words caused her mother to go away, so she’s taking those words…
This passage takes place right after Liesel scolds the Mayor’s wife for firing her mother from the cleaning job.…
This passage makes me feel sad because of the sudden death of Liesel. As a result, this prompts me into realizing that one of theme of this book is about how life is unpredictable. An example of this is when Liesel dies without warning. I can relate to this theme because a friend of mine from elementary has committed suicide and none of her friends knew until her parents posted a post on Facebook declaring that she has died. Therefore, I've learned that cherishing the people around me is important as they might die without warning, like…
Markus Zusak, in my opinion is a genius and a wonderful writer. Although I did not enjoy reading The Book Thief I felt it was written beautifully. Death narrating the story was brilliant and really unique. This was a book that I felt the author chose every word very carefully. My favorite part of the book was the bold text, it was almost like puzzle pieces to help you get a better idea of the story. One reason the book was not very appealing to me was because the author created these characters you could really connect with and the end of the book is just filled with death.…
Throughout the story, Liesel, meets new faces with good, soft, bad, or/and hard attitudes. take for example Mama (Rosa Hubermann), Papa ( Hans Hubermann), Ilsa…
“Nazi’s were gathering fuel…Liesel was witness to men and women knocking on doors, asking people if they had any material that they felt should be done away with or destroyed.”…
Upon Liesel’s arrival to Himmel Street, she has no desire to meet Hans: her new Papa. Hans notices her stolen copy of The Gravedigger's Handbook and offers to teach her how to read and write. From then on, a lively friendship presents itself as “Liesel made her way down to the basement.…
It seems as if books are the only thing close to a permanent “family” that Liesel has, as all of the real family she has seems to always be taken away from her. On the other hand, books always seem to be there for her when she wants to soften the blow of the losses and sorrows thrown towards her, such as losing her friends and family. Books are Liesel’s safe haven throughout having to leave her parents at the beginning of the book, all the way through the deaths of her extended family and friends at the end of the book, and she would most likely use books as her therapy throughout the rest of her life after the book ends. However, there still might be a lingering trauma following her and her relationships with books, as they will always remind her of why she needed them.…
In this passage, Liesel is going through one of her toughest moments in her life. At the same time, the author uses the word darkness, to symbolize Liesel's feelings. In this situation, darkness is representing the feeling of hopeless. In other words, Liesel is currently going through a lot of fluctuations in her life which causes her to get trapped inside of her own world. Simultaneously, she loses hope in this world, causing her to see everything in darkness. The reasons that Liesel would feel this way is most likely due to her brother's death, being sent to a foster home and getting beaten by her foster mother and realizing that she will never have the chance to see her real mother again. As a result, Liesel's experiences makes my…
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…
When Liesel saw Rudy “her hands were trembling” and she was “losing control and misjudging” things. Liesel was so shocked after seeing Rudy’s corpse that she started losing control of herself. She couldn’t accept his death, so she lost it and continuously tired to wake him up. Liesel described “Papa” as “a man with silver eyes, not dead ones.” Papa had silver eyes when he was alive so she expected him to have those eyes when she found him, but they disappeared and became dead after he lost his soul. His eyes “were all empty” and they “continued to rust.” After looking at Papa, Liesel said, “Goodbye, Papa, you saved me. You taught me to read.” This major detail expresses Liesel’s feelings towards her father, and it shows how important and influential “words” are to her.…
However, the Hubermanns are too poor to pay for something extra like a book for Liesel, so Liesel getting a Christmas present was completely out of the question. Even though Papa wanted to get Liesel a book, “the Hubermanns were essentially broke, still paying off debts and paying rents quicker than money could come in” (88). After Liesel, Rosa, and Hans got back from church on Christmas Liesel sees something wrapped under the tree in newspaper addressed to her, even though it is from Saint Nicholas she knows her Papa got it for her. When Liesel got the gift it completely surprised, that she even got a gift, at that a book, when her family couldn’t even afford it, without going further into debt. Also the way Hans got the books surprised me, making cigarettes and trading them to a…