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Corrupt Authority In The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

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Recommended: The impact the Nazis had on the German people

The novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is centered around the theme of escaping control from corrupt authority. With escape comes poverty and hardship for the inhabitants of Molching. Germany is under Nazi rule and Jewish people are being punished daily. Many citizens, soldiers, and Jews struggled with poverty throughout the story due to the sacrifices they made to better the town. Rosa Hubermann is a cardinal example of the hard times people of Germany in the low-middle class faced. Rosa had been running a washing service in Molching and lost her last customer roughly halfway through the novel. “The one time she desperately wanted a Watschen and she couldn’t get one! …That was when they fired you.” Rosa lost her job that day in exchange for the “good” of the German citizens as a whole. Hans Hubermann, during his tenure as a soldier, experienced difficult situations and gruesome encounters during both world wars, as on page 175. “Found in several pieces…among the bodies. Cold sweat- that malignant little friend- outstaying its welcome in the armpits and trousers.” …show more content…

Max had barely escaped his former town only because his mother chose to accept capture to save Max. Between that point and his arrival in Molching, he had arguably the roughest journey of the characters. “The young man’s voice scraped out like it was all that remained of him.” In this quote, the emptiness of voice symbolized his lack of hope and lack of sustenance in the last month. “He had eaten only the foul taste of his breath for what felt like weeks, and still nothing. Occasionally, voices wandered past and he longed for them to knuckle the door, to drag him into the unbearable light.” Max was soon thrown into parades as seen in part 10, “In those camps, many people were still made to work, and walk. Max Vandenburg was one such jew.” Max was treated as a prisoner, as a slave, because he believed in

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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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Liesel came out. They hugged and cried and fell to the floor” (Zusak, 365). This quote is when Liesel and Max are grown up. Max survived the concentration camps and came back for Liesel, even after all that time. This demonstrates their strong relationship and how much they meant to each other.

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In the novel, The Book Thief, a fictional story, author Markus Zusak demonstrates the power of words to save or destroy someone or something. The setting is WWII in Molching, Germany. Leisel is a foster child who went through a lot to get to where she is, Himmel Street. She is living with her foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann. She also has a very good friend, Rudy, who is your typical Aryan boy with blonde hair and blue eyes.

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Jews were being put in Concentration camps, but because of his knowledge he goes into hiding at the home of the Huberman’s. The book describes him as an introvert because in the book it states, “He was the type of person who worked quietly away for very little reward. He kept to himself...”(Zusak 188). Max has positive solutions that he wants to fulfill in a negative way. We can can determine this because Zusak expressed in his writing, “Punches are thrown, the crowd

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Max finally answered and denied his identity. He was then taken and beaten twice before being sent off to Auschwitz, a concentration camp, when he was 19. They were packed into cattle cars; people were crying, it was dark, it was scary. When Max arrived, he separated from the women and given a number, which they tattooed on his arm. He went through many tough situations, very similar to what happened to Elie Wiesel in the book Night.

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What’s happening in the story is that Max is acting tough but he’s not. In paragraph 50/51 the text says The boys asked Max if he had been crying “Naw” he said “there was the water dripping from the tunnel roof but you said don’t move right?” “Well I was just being obedient.” This shows that this is important because it’s showing that he’s acting tough

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I think that this shows that Max is really fighting mainly his guilt, and all of the other bad things that happen to him and that in his battle, he loses. Another example of Max distracting himself from everything is when he says to Liesel, “Often I wish this would all be over Liesel, but then somehow you do something like walk down the basement steps with a snowman in your hands.” (p. 313) I think that this shows how Max uses Liesel as a distraction and the happiness she brings him, to take away from all of the things he is feeling responsible for. Michael used his pain and his suffering to help him deal with the guilt of surviving and it is obvious when he was in the basement and his eyes, “beat furiously in their sockets as he squeezed his injured hand and the blood rose through the bandage” (p. 487).

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“It’s just a small story really, about, among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery…” (Zusak, pg. 5) The novel, The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak in 2005 explores the theme of family relationships. It is through nine-year-old Liesel Meminger, the protagonist, that the idea of a broken family during the era of Nazi Germany is explored. The Book Thief depicts the struggle of young German girl, Liesel Meminger, living in Germany during the time of Hitler’s reign.

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“Look proud, he advised himself. You cannot look afraid,”(Zusak Ch 25). Max fought for the safety of his life for two years by hiding out. No matter how hopeless your situation might look, keep fighting because you never know what will happen unless you try. Having Max living in Liesel's basement teaches her first-hand how serious things are, and the dangers of what Hitler can do.

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