Cigarette As Depicted In The Book Thief

Throughout the novel, The Book Thief, there are many different seemingly miniscule commodities which hold stunning power, and meaning. One such commodity is the cigarette, which represents a sense of caring, love, and a family connection over the duration of this book. Cigarettes, although by nature having a negative connotation, symbolize a sense of kinship and reward which mean a lot to the primary protagonist of the novel, named Liesel. This is shown in many instances all over the book, such as in the beginning, during the period of time when Liesel was first getting accustomed to daily life in Molching. She was coming to terms with the fact that the Hubermanns were essentially bankrupt, and didn’t really expect much of anything for her first

Hans Hubermann had died, and Liesel was in utter disbelief and anguish. During this scene, Death reminisces about how, “He had sat in the washroom with her and taught her how to roll a cigarette,”(Zusak 538). Here it shown how much Hans meant to her, and how the cigarettes essentially were a representation of that love all rolled up in a simple vessel . The pain and sorrow she feels from these memories of a happier time filled was love, and joy often contain moments involving a cigarette. Yet there were often many instances where the love and joy these cigarettes symbolize is shown in a much lighter sense. This is clearly shown in the book when the backstory of Erik Vanderburg and Hans is being narrated, Death describes them as being friends “...due to the fact that neither of them was terribly interested in fighting. They preferred rolling cigarettes to rolling in snow and mud,” (Zusak 119). This serves to show how the cigarettes continued to serve as a tool to foster a friendship among people, and bolstered the overall sense of familiarity between these