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Corrupt Authority In The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

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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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260 Words | 2 Pages

Max has a very guilty conscience. Max’s conscience is so foggy because he is asking a lovely family, the Huberman's, to hide him; If he is found, they will be killed alongside him. Max thinks on page 169 “How could he do this? How could he show up and ask people to risk their lives for him? How could he be so selfish?”

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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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975 Words | 4 Pages

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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801 Words | 4 Pages

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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452 Words | 2 Pages

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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697 Words | 3 Pages

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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456 Words | 2 Pages

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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687 Words | 3 Pages

Finally, Max had given up basic human needs like food, warmth, and a bed to protect The Huberman's from getting arrested and even killed by The Nazi. Which although isn’t a lot, it still shows how he is kind enough to give up these basic human things which most of us wouldn’t do. The modest things he did like giving advice to Liesel about life and boys and

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1191 Words | 5 Pages

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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703 Words | 3 Pages

You truly don’t know what you have until it’s gone. Everyday things are taken for granted. In “The Book Thief” It shows incredible examples of how loss transforms you for the better. “The Book Thief” Written by Markus Zusak is a novel based on Nazi-Germany during post World War 2. It Features the scary truth along with harsh humor, The story is told through the eyes of brave, Jewish girl named Liesel.

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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

“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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569 Words | 3 Pages

“And here I am, again… I could die because of this “rebellion”; I mean after every torture I have suffered, I don’t want you to ignore the situation we have to deal with. I really don’t care about myself anymore; they have taken off every single thing I used to long for, even my life as everyone’s here, and we are all robots without souls, as they have wanted it to be since always. Nothing is good ever. Even that I know the truth.

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840 Words | 4 Pages

“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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1283 Words | 6 Pages

Despite the potential consequences of assisting Max, Han’s compassion compels him to take refuge and help Max as he understands his fear and pain, as mentioned in the novel “With the added protection of the basement and Hans Hubermann, Max Vandenburg lived

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