Words And Communication In Liesel Meminger's The Book Thief

The Book Thief is a fictional story narrated by death , based in Nazi Germany, during the time of war.. The story traces a young girl’s tragic life, her relation with her foster parents, and with a young Jew who hides in her house during the Second World War. The book also traces the life and times during the infamous autocratic rule of Hitler and what it meant to be living during times of war and bloodshed.

The book tells the story of Liesel Meminger and is set in the year 1939 in the fictional town of Molching, Germany. The story is narrated by Death, starting with when she first catches him take away her young brother’s souls. During the burial, she manages to “steal” her first ever book, thus justifying the title ‘The Book Thief’.

This was the time when a misread on the map lead to the bombing of the street where she resided. She finally woke up to rubble and broken homes and dead bodies. Dead bodies of her mama, papa and Rudy. All was lost. Only once reunited with Max, years later did she realise, maybe all was not lost after

The most important of these is the one highlighting the importance of words and communication. The author has given immense value to words and the communication they allow for. He gives numerous examples in the novel to support this theme. He starts with how teaching the very word and alphabets to Liesel allowed Hans to develop a deep and beautiful bond with his daughter. Liesel used the power of her words to bring bliss and calm to Max when he would ask her how the weather outside was. Words were what Liesel used during the bombings to calm her neighbours and friends. Max’s greatest gift to Liesel was also a notebook, where he encouraged her to write. Ironically, Hitler also used the power of his words to spread his ideas and control the world. The author has dramatized how Liesel used words to create her own safe haven in times of crisis and war. The second theme talks about the duality of Nazi Germany. While one on side Rudy is considered to a pure Aryan to be recruited in the Nazi Army, he internally idealises the African- American, Jesse Owens, which contradicts the ideology of Hitler. The Hubermanns too after the arrival of Max pretend to be law abiding citizens while infact they could be arrested for being traitors of the country. Thus the theme reflects how in oppressive times people practice humanity in hiding and pretend to be in support of the oppressive power at the same time. The third theme is