In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, words played a vital role to both heal and destroy in this time period of war. Words are used to either influence people and things in a positive or negative way. Liesel learns that she has the power of words on her side and that words can affect her life and what happens in it. On the other hand, words cause atrocious things to happen as well, like Hitler coming to power. Words also have the power to heal and create marvelous things in the bad world.
Throughout the book, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, symbolism is used in different ways to help the characters through tough times; the items that are symbolic in the book that are books, the accordion, and bread. The items have similar meanings and different meanings as well. The meaning each item has makes the reader really think about how objects may mean nothing to one person, but means greater things to another. To begin with, books are a big part of Liesel’s life in Molching; in addition, the books symbolize much to Liesel. Liesel had a strong relationship with books; for instance, the book, The Gravedigger’s Handbook, provided comfort and was in remembrance of her brother that passed away on the train ride to her foster family.
The general ability of language to influence people has always been astounding. The number of lives changed every day by mere sentences. Even the lack thereof, silence, is a very powerful linguistic device which conveys some strange mythical strength. This power is harnessed and used to convey messages in speeches, books, songs, and even just commonplace conversation. Words having this much weight is a little strange for one to think about but all throughout history they have defined and separated humans from everything else.
The issue of war is one that is deeply etched into the history of humanity, previously proven to bring out both the good, and bad in human nature. Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, set in Nazi Germany, and Steven Galloway’s The Cellist of Sarajevo, set in wartime Sarajevo, these aspects of humanity are explored. The theme of courage is explored by Zusak using symbolism and characterisation, with Galloway too using characterisation and the motif of water. Zusak uses the motif of books, with Galloway using the symbol of the cello to convey humanity’s ability to find beauty in times of great horror. The theme of evil in human nature is shown by both authors through setting, with each author using narrator to portray the idea of both good and bad
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.
The Importance of Words in the Book Thief The plot of The Book Thief if heavily influenced by words. Used by persons like Hitler, words are what turns a country like Germany into a horrible dictatorship. In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, words are important because they are more powerful than just pure force alone and can be used to convey emotions. In this novel words are used mainly in three ways.
Readers always think “what is the purpose for this”? As well, details have great importance to a story, especially when dealing with characters and setting. As readers, the characters in a story become almost lifelike to the reader, and
This quote from Jodi Picoult shows how words have the ability to completely change the way someone thinks or feel when they are used negatively or positively towards someone or a big amount of people. When words are used in a negative way towards someone, they are like eggs, described by Picoult, they make a “mess” because they leave someone feeling incomplete and sad. Words, when used positively, have also the power to make someone feel better about themselves. In the Book Thief, this quote shows that Hitler’s use words have the power to persuade people to believe in his political views which leaves them to go against an entire group of
The cuneiform text of the “Legend of Sargon of Akkade” tells of a baby hidden in a basket coated with pitch and placed in the Euphrates River. As the basket carried down the river, the basket was opened by Akki, a royal gardener, who adopted the child and raised him as his own. Favored by the goddess Ishtar, the boy grew up and eventually became the ruler of Akkade, called Sargon, conquering lands near and far. While Sargon was late in reign, he commissioned the “Legend of Sargon of Akkade” for the future to read to preserve his military and leader accomplishments, as well as establishing the source of his legitimacy both to secure his legacy as a form of afterlife.
J.D. Salinger uses varying diction and syntax in “The Catcher in the Rye” to create mood and tone throughout the novel. The specific choice of words (diction) that the author uses contributes to the characterization of Holden Caulfield. The use of profane and jargon-like word choice encapsulates the voice of the teenage narrator Holden. Holden’s informal diction emphasizes his immaturity and allows the reader to learn more about Holden’s character. Holden often uses the word “and” in a repetitive manner which gives the reader a child-like impression of Holden.
“I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race-that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant”(Zusak 550). In The Book Thief, Markus Zusak introduces that words have power and the ability to be beautiful, and ruthless. The Book Thief demonstrates that in words there are forms of solace, forms of brutality, and escapes to freedom. (To begin with,) As seen through The Book Thief, words have the ability to inflict damage, manipulate the human race, and kill.
Words in The Book Thief demonstrates that words and language have immense power. Words can be used in a negative or positive ways. Hitler used words to spread propaganda in a fallacious way which led to deleterious human beings. The people (Germans) that lived during the war were credulous about what Hitler said therefore their life turned out to be debacle. Hitler used words to deceive and outsmart the others, he implanted words and images into the Jews heads to think a certain way(Zusak, Markus Frank.
The book I chose for Language Arts was The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I selected this book because I knew that it was historical fiction and that it was an amazing g book. W.W.II makes this book historical fiction. W.W.II was involved with Hitler despising Jews. In this time, If you hid a Jew, it was a serious crime and you were to be punished.
Words can have a powerful effect in your life. Words can be hurtful to a person, they can be helpful to a person, and they can also change a person’s emotions quickly. In past experience and reading The Book Thief it became evident how the power of words affect all humans. The first way that words are powerful is how they come to hurt people. This is shown in The Book Thief when Liesel steals and reads many books and she develops a vision of how words make people do cruel things.
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.
