Charlie Henning
Mr. Gibson
Black 4
March 14th 2023
The effects of DEATH
Guns blazing everywhere, men shouting in agony, blood dying rivers red. Many people that went to war know that it is no joke, death in combat has haunted soldiers for centuries. Liesel Meminger is a nine-year-old child at the beginning of the book, her six-year journey from nine to fifteen with death changed her tremendously. Liesel’s experience with death altered her view on life into something that most young girls could never imagine.
Firstly, many different events in The Book Thief changed Lisel. When Liesel arrived at 33 Himmel Street she was lonely and afraid. For example “Liesel would not get out of the car.” (Zusak 28) This quote shows Liesel’s unsureness about her new home, especially after her brother's death. Her timidness proves that she was nervous about what her new home would bring her. More death? Happiness? The death of Liesels brother affected her and caused her to be shy and not want to try and be happy again. This event is one of many events that show how death has affected Liesel as a person.
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Hans Huberman helped Liesel cope with the death and allowed her to be more like a little girl. On Christmas eve Liesel brings Max pots and pans of snow. The event that haunted Liesel is, “In mid-February, a few days before Liesel was thirteen, he came to the fireplace on the verge of collapse. He nearly fell into the fire.” (Zusak 314) Liesel blamed herself for Max’s sickness and it terrified her because she thought Max was going to die. “Liesel couldn't bring herself to say anything else.” (Zusak 314) She begins to develop this guilt. Liesel’s guilt is an event that changed her personality and caused her view on death to become even more personal and freighting. These quotes show that she cared deeply about the people around her and that she would struggle greatly if someone like Max died at that
After she shuts the door, Leisel does not return home, but instead, goes back up to the house to unload how she's feeling onto Ilsa. She uses her words to tear her down, and compares her dead son to her dead brother, "He’s dead and it’s pathetic that you sit here shivering in your own house to suffer for it. You think you’re the only one?" (Zusak 262). Consequently, while angry, Liesel makes herself vulnerable, bringing up her brother who is, otherwise, rarely mentioned.
He talked about how her words and tears had saved him and gave him the strength to fight. Max writes “liesel- I almost scribbled this story out. I thought you might be too old for such a tale, but maybe no one is. I thought of you and your books and words, and this strange story came into my head. I hope you can find some good in it.”
Liesel’s foster family and friends that she grown to appreciate are all decimated by a bomb. Shocked by the sudden loss of everyone she used to love, Liesel weeps and faints. Those moments are times when both the audience and principle characters truly understand the significance of death, and with further thought, realize that there have always been signs of death on display
She’s kind, and she looks out for herself. Liesel’s deep care and love for those around her captivates Death, makes him see the beauty humans
Another quote that shows Liesel’s attitude toward her past which is found on page 119 “‘Three books.’ Liesel spoke softly and she looked at the backs of the men”. This quote shows Liesel fighting with herself trying to decide whether or not to take a book from the fire. Once again a part of her is telling her not to take the book while the other part is telling her to take it. These examples of conflict show why Lieselk in a sense of her opinions and her problems while when characterizing Liesel we learn about her personality or in other words what she is like on the
Liesel has realized she must respect the man who was the reason for her and her entire families suffering. She has realized she officially has lost her home, that she is completely isolated from the community. “It was quite a sight seeing an eleven year old girl try not to cry on church steps, saluting fuhrer”(Zusak 115). After losing all of these emotionally wrecking things Liesel learns and understands she needs to keep going forward. She refuses to give up she although times are rough manages to think, it could be worse.
The text also states, “Liesel was torn between distress and total mystification. The one time she desperately wanted a Watschen and she couldn’t get one.” (Zusak 264). This shows that Liesel was stressed to see the new side of her mama and how she wasn’t getting punished like she usually would have. At this point in the book, Liesel had shouted at Isla Herrman, the mayor’s wife, about canceling the washing services.
When Liesel’s brother dies (Chapter 2), we see Liesel struggling to move on. Left at the doorsteps of Hans and Rosa Hubermann with no familiar faces to follow, she refuses to bathe. She has persistent nightmares, and it seems that she can not push past this grief. But in spite of her circumstances, she perseveres. She uses her ever-growing imagination (and the
- Liesel, knowing the outcome of running through a stream of Jews, wanted to find Max and see him for the last time before he would disappear for years. She wanted to see him and thank him for everything he 's done for her; the stories, the fun times they 've had. She willingly put herself in a bad situation because she loves him, and she knows that he loves her too. She knew that if Max saw her, it would make him the happiest
Empathy helps Liesel connect with others, specifically her foster father, Hans Hubermann. She creates a close bond with him because he demonstrates kindness and empathy to Liesel, which helps her learn the value of empathy. As a result, this has an effect on how she communicates with others, such as her foster mother Rosa and her friend Rudy Steiner. Liesel develops a passion for books and reading, which becomes a way for her to cope with the harsh realities of her life. As she reads books to others, such as her neighbors during air raids or to Max, a Jewish refugee hiding in her basement, Liesel realizes the power of words to comfort, inspire, and connect people.
Knowing that Hitler was the cause of her mothers passing, makes Liesel “feel the slush of anger, stirring hotly in her stomach” (Zusak 78) which makes her publicly announce that she “hate[s] the Fuhrer” (Zusak 78). By acting on her profound hatred for the Fuhrer, Liesel defies the widespread respect of Hitler and the Nazi party as a whole. Naturally, Hans reacts negatively to Liesel’s declaration and even slaps her, not because he disagrees with her, but because he doesn’t want her to outwardly state her dislike for the societal norms of Nazi Germany. On the other hand, Liesel does not actually believe that she is incorrect for what she said because she knows Hitler’s doings are wrong and she believes her acts of rebellion were right in her eyes. All in all, the death of Liesel's mother causes her to develop a newfound hatred for Hitler and lead to her public outburst of
Rosa says, “I bet started with the snowman--- fooling around with ice and snow in the cold down there” (Zusak 315). The family did everything they could to get Max back to full strength, especially Rosa. Death says, “What he predominantly saw was Rosa Hubermann, practically flinging an armful of soup into his mouth” (Zusak 318). Liesel toward the beginning of the book was criticized because she was illiterate, which drove her to the point in which she beat someone up for making fun of her. With the help of her foster father Hans Hubermann, she soon began reading book after book.
Death tells us that whenever Liesel has nightmares, Hans is always there to comfort her. This was a part of Liesel adjusting to her new home and establishing the relationship with her Papa. The next nightmare is when Liesel dreams about Hitler. Liesel, from the dream, seems to think that Hitler is a loving person. This shows her relationship with the outside world.
In the novel, Liesel’s behavior shows justice and love through her friendship with Max. Although her relationship with Max in the beginning of the book was rather awkward, soon her perspective towards Max soothes and their relationship bonds to a friendship. There are some times when Liesel’s actions were unbelievable, especially during the Jew parade. “ ‘ You have to let go of me Liesel.’
At first, Liesel is illiterate, but when she steals her first book at her brother’s funeral, and is abandoned by her mother, she turns to something she