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Color Symbolism In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief

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By using the color motif, Markus Zusak demonstrates that everyone in The Book Thief needs an escape, whether it’d be color itself or a moment that sheds their life with color and pure ecstasy. Throughout the book, it is seen that Zusak uses a lot of color motifs or color imagery, describing situations vividly or a characters actions to the point that you can see it right in front of you. From what the book has shown, color not only describes the actions of the characters, but it describes their own versions of an escape. Whether it was shown from the vivid description of these character’s actions, the demonstration of them working to escape their pain, or showing the color and beauty of the world around the characters, it is commonly seen that color has left a major impact on how the story occurs and how these characters develop. …show more content…

Death says, ”I do try to enjoy every color I see - the whole spectrum. A billion or so flavors, none of them quite the same, and a sky to slowly suck on. It takes the edge off the stress”(4). This motif continues on especially as Liesel meets her step father and death describes how his eyes affect her, death says,” Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father’s eyes. They were made of silver. Like soft silver, melting. Liesel, upon seeing those eyes, understood that Hans Hubermann was worth a lot,”(34). Both of these ideas describe the theme of escape because it shows how these colors and these actions bring these two characters back down to earth and gives them an immense feeling of calm. Death describes the sky as his stress reliever as he carries the souls away and Liesel is described to have home and comfort within her father’s

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In the book thief, Hans Hubermann was a father figure to Liesel. Unfortunately, Hans and Rosa had both died together in the chapter of the book. In my eyes of the book, Hans was a symbol of a hero in the book thief and in Liesel's life in general. Hans Huberman was one of Liesel's mentors in the book thief, also helping her in many ways, including her survival. When Liesel first arrived at Himmel street, Hans Hubermann had comforted Liesel about her brother's death (The first day she arrived.).

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1397 Words | 6 Pages

On the first night she began living there, she began to have the same horrible and vivid nightmare of her brother’s death. She would wake up in the middle of night in a cold sweat screaming. Hans would stay with her till dawn either talking or playing the accordion making her feel more calm and at ease. Liesel became more comfortable around Hans and started to love him

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521 Words | 3 Pages

It was when Liesel came down, however, that Max found himself interested in life again.” (Page 250). From the day Max left the Hubermann household in fear of being found, Liesel made sure to look

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1179 Words | 5 Pages

Examples of these appeals include the relationship between Liesel and her adoptive parents, Hans and Rosa; the friendship between Liesel and Max; and the beautiful yet haunting scenes of war-torn Germany. The author intends for these appeals to evoke empathy, provoke thought, and elicit strong emotional responses from the audience. For example, the film's cinematography captures the stark contrast between the beauty of the snow-covered landscape and the destruction caused by war, evoking a sense of loss and sadness. Additionally, the performances of the actors, particularly Sophie Nélisse as Liesel and Geoffrey Rush as Hans, create a strong emotional connection between the characters and the audience, allowing viewers to deeply empathize with their struggles and triumphs.

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466 Words | 2 Pages

a. "She had watched a bomber pilot die in a metal case. She had seen a Jewish man who had twice given her the most beautiful pages of her life marched to a concentration camp"(521). - Liesel has been through so many struggles. Her brother died in front of her, her mother sent her away, and she witnessed almost everyone she loved depart from the world. She had more than enough reasons to quit, but she decided to stay strong through it all.

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703 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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989 Words | 4 Pages

To love is to risk. Whether that is risking life, belief, health, or reputation, it is still a risk at any rate to give devotion to another. No era in history knows this better than during the Holocaust. Still, the most unexpected of people would die trying to help Jews escape persecution, they would help others who didn't share the same moral foundation as they did, they would share food rations when they barely had enough for themselves, or they would risk their public standing and forever be labeled as a sympathizer just to help a suffering soul regain his balance. Similarly, Markus Zusak's The Book Thief demonstrates a complete comprehension of how humans act against self preservation and individual comfort when challenged with harrowing situations that appeal to their own personal connections.

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888 Words | 4 Pages

Liesel’s only connection to them is through The Grave Digger’s Handbook which is also her first act of book thievery. Han is Liesel’s silver eyed, accordion playing foster father who wins her over with his gentle humility, quiet nature and caring demeanour. ‘They were made of kindness and silver… Liesel when seeing those eyes understood that Hans Hubermann was worth a lot.’

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1173 Words | 5 Pages

Color is a huge part of how people view different emotions and feelings. For an example, when people see the color black, they may feel darkness and loneliness. Using color as a description in books can really help the reader better understand what the author is trying to get across. Color can mean so much more than shades and tints, it can show true meaning and emotion. It's proven that warm colors trigger thoughts of happiness, energy, and optimism.

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840 Words | 4 Pages

Liesel and her father’s relationship grows each and every day they are together. She feels comforted by his presence. “Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father’s eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver… Upon seeing those eyes, understood that Hans Hubermann was worth a lot,” (Zusak Ch 6).

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712 Words | 3 Pages

What is a friend? A common response to this question seems to be someone who accepts another for who they are. Another less used response to the same question is someone who leave another better than they once were. These two half definitions of friendship come to gather to explain that friend is someone who takes another how they already are and leaves that better than their previous state. True friendship often adds loyalty to ones character resulting in acts of courage.

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To Heal and to Hurt: The Importance of Words in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak “Words do two major things. They provide food for the mind and create light for understanding and awareness.” This quote by Jim Rohn highlights the two major things words do, indicating they have a power, an important role in everyday lives. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is an outstanding representation of many topics including the most crucial one, the importance of words. It is the late 1930s to early 1940s in Germany during the World War II, and the main character, Death, cannot help himself but to be intrigued by Liesel Meminger’s story, a girl that lives in Munich, Germany on Himmel Street.

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862 Words | 4 Pages

Also, when Mama was depressed about Papa going to war, Mama would sleep with Papa’s accordion Liesel acknowledged “that there was great beauty in what she was currently witnessing, and she chose not to disturb it” (Zusak, 429). Finally, when Liesel’s papa gave a Jew bread during the parade and what Liesel did during the parade, she gave Jews bread by placing them in the street. How the author characterized Liesel

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808 Words | 4 Pages

There is a wide variety of different colors we can see through many things In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Death is the narrator and often connects the souls he collects to different colors. The color he sees normally represents something such as white may mean they are pure and innocent. Zusak portrays Death as a witty, sarcastic character, yet there is a deeper part of Death he has experienced so much and the colors are a way for him to connect to the human world. The theme of color can be found throughout the novel through Death and his life-changing experiences, Zusak shows the power of colors through Liesel, Death and other characters. Colors often represent a bigger picture of what is going on.

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554 Words | 3 Pages

The colors show his depression and agony and reveal how truly broken down the subject

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