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The Thief Lord: A Thematic Analysis

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At one point in our life, we have all pondered on leaving our normal everyday routine and escaping to a place with no worries or responsibility. In The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke, Prosper and little brother Bo have similar thoughts but unlike the rest of us, they acted upon those thoughts which lead them to an unexpected ending. In this adventurous story Cornelia Funke shows themes of rebellion, caretaking, and betrayal. In the story, Cornelia Funke does a great job exploiting signs of rebellion by stating “Children are caterpillars and adults are butterflies. No butterfly ever remembers what it felt like being a caterpillar” (Funke 53). Prosper and Bo decided to flee from home in search of a carefree life in Venice to escape the rules and responsibility brought upon them from their aunt and uncle. The theme of rebellion is popular in literature for teenagers due to the fact that teenagers in today’s generation are rebelling more than ever before. Authors then recreate certain scenarios that …show more content…

“She had taken them to her hiding place where they’d met Riccio and Mosca, and had given them dry clothes and something hot to eat” (Funke 20-21). It is not an everyday occurrence when a group of people offer complete strangers refuge along with food and clothing. Throughout the entire story, the bond that these kids create while surviving off of one another is one that will last a lifetime. The theme of caretaking is a sensitive yet popular topic. It is vastly expressed in numerous movies, books, tv shows, etc. In this story the main caretaker of these runaway children is a child himself. He goes by the name Thief Lord because in order to provide for these children he breaks into the homes of rich people and steals precious items which he sells back to a local shop in exchange for cash. This is a weekly routine performed by the Thief Lord and with that cash he purchases mainly food and treats for the runaway

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In “The Palace Thief,” by Ethan Cain, Cain conducted a thesis of morals versus pragmatic. By having his main character as the narrator, Cain introduces a character called Hundert, a history teacher who claims he wanted to teach good virtues to his pupils so that they could become great leaders. However, this was then challenged by one student, Sedgewick Bell. The relationship between Hundert and Sedgewick challenged Hundert’s convictions and principles. Cain develops a central idea that morals and virtues are irrelevant to gaining power.

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In the “Palace Thief, we see a change in character behavior arise between Mr. Hundert. and Sedgewick, Mr. Hundert and Senator Bell, and Mr. Hundert and Charles Ellerby. Mr. Hundert is recalling past events that happened at St. Benedict upon the arrival of a particular student, Sedgewick Bell. He recalls how the arrival affected him, his colleagues, the boy's father, and young Sedgewick.

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Many readers may interpret this piece as a coming of age story for the Narrator or for adolescents in general. However, the theme is actually human nature and the choice to succumb or stray away from it. Human nature in it of itself is the power to make

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Imagine, a girl sits in a burning hellscape, the sky burning red, and the street is littered with bodies, holding her dead father in her arms. In the historical fiction novel, The Book Thief, Markus Zusak writes to young adults about the time in the life of a little girl, Liesel Meminger, growing up in Nazi Germany through the eyes of death. A big reason the book is so emotional is due to Zusak’s way of writing which makes it so strong. He uses wording and metaphor to build up emotional gut punches, writes archetypes and settings in a way to attach readers to them, and outlines his themes using symbols to express said themes. Markus is an expert in wording and metaphor.

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‘That [Death] in a way was a metaphor for the idea that this book is about people doing beautiful things in a really ugly time.’ (Zusak, 2010) One of the central themes presented in The Book Thief is the idea of family. It is evident in the text that the idea of a family is not just limited to those in which we are inherently connected; it encompasses those we care for. Her arrival on Himmel Street, leaves Liesel struggling to face the abandonment she has experienced with her mother leaving her for a reason she does not understand and the devastating loss of her brother, Werner, whose ghost haunts her throughout the novel.

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Therefore, in The Book Thief, Markus Zusak's develops the theme the theme that humans are often capable of both good and/or evil depending on the experiences they face. These experiences will then groom them for the future. Through Liesel Meminger , Zusak explores the effect of setting on one's future self. Firstly, living with the Hubermann’s has a lot of effects on Liesel’s actions.

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For most people, childhood is a time that should be celebrated because of the bliss and innocence one experiences then. For others, it is the complete opposite. Childhood for those few can be described as being full of uncertainty and fear. In The Book Thief, Markus Zusak portrays Liesel’s childhood and adolescence as a time of tribulation and terror after being separated from her family, having to conform to a society she did not agree with, and living surrounded by war and violence. At only nine years of age, Liesel was separated from her biological family.

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Growing as a Character Every event in our lives happens for a reason, whether it is to learn from our mistakes or to gain experience from them. In Markus Zusak's novel “The Book Thief,” Liesel Meminger uses her experiences with living in the 1940s to learn life lessons and experience first hand the many terrible things Hitler is doing to people around her. She learns how to deal with the many obstacles that are thrown at her. Liesel grows as a character by following her step-father’s footsteps in being a kind and generous person, going through childhood with her best friend Rudy, and being aware of what is going on around her by learning from Max.

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Markus Zusak has assembled ‘The Book Thief’ using a variety of narrative conventions. These include a unique narrative viewpoint, plot structure and use of imagery, all of which provide meaning to the reader. (33 words) A narrative’s point of view refers to who is telling the story. In this case Zusak’s narrator identifies himself as Death.

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Humans lie and steal without hesitation to survive. That is how man is. However, human nature does not allow for cruelty to exist without the other end of the spectrum - kindness. In his novel, The Book Thief, Markus Zusak reveals the extreme malice possible in humans, along with the tenderness that stems from it. In times of hate and paranoia in Nazi Germany, ones who live morally are rare.

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Most people say that blood runs thicker than water, but in this book that is not the case. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, family is shown in an extremely unique way. Generally, when people imagine the average model family, they see a family that has money, a family that is prim and proper and usually, a family that is biologically related. Though, family in this book is based on shared hardships and having faith in each other, not by blood relation. Hans and Liesel’s relationship is a great example of trust.

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Finally, “…he was a beautiful butterfly.” The plot was appealing in that it was constantly progressing. • The book develops a worthwhile theme both implicitly and explicitly. The explicit theme of this book is the process of metamorphosis.

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