“Death and Chocolate”
1. The novel’s point of view switched back and forth between First Person Limited to Third Person Limited. The Prologue of the story is in First Person Limited narrated by Death. He speaks of his so called “job” of collecting souls from corpses, and how he distracts himself by the colors of the skies and how the colors vary throughout the day. After introducing himself he begins the story of “the book thief” a young girl named Liesel and her encounters in life, this is when the novel switches to Third Person Limited.
2. The theory Death speaks of in the beginning of the novel is about how people observe the colors of a day only at its beginning and ends. The day merges through a multitude of shades and intonation. Death seems to see a day not like humans, hour to hour for 24 hours, he sees the day as various colors in the sky. He makes a point to notice each one.
3. Death uses the colors in our sky to distract him. His “job” not necessarily a cheerful employment, the colors help show him the beauty in life. He uses colors almost as a getaway.
4. Critical Aspects of the Novel:
A girl
Some Words
An accordionist
Some fanatical Germans
A Jewish Fist Fighter
And quite a lot of thievery
5. During the prologue Death refers “the book thief” as a little girl. This raises many questions. Why is this small girl stealing book? Can she not afford them herself? It also refers to in the book that the small innocent girl has not only stole a book once but has stolen a total of 3 books. How is she getting away with so much thief? How is someone in their youth have the sneakiness and intelligent to successfully steal 3 books? Does she every get caught? Death does not give us any further more information on “the book thief” like a name of physical characteristics during the prologue, so the reader is made to assume characteristics of the child.
6. Having successfully taken three books, the reader can assume the girl is