Figurative Language In The Book Thief

The Book Thief is a novel set in the era of the Holocaust. Liesel Meminger has to survive through hard times after being left in foster care by her mother. The overall theme of the story is that words can have a powerful effect, especially with a different tone of voice, inspiring a multitude of feelings in people, such as fear or hope.

Words always manage to seem underwhelming, but twisting them in the correct way yields results. For example, page 110 features a speech from a Nazi official: “‘We put an end to the disease that has been spread through Germany for the last twenty years, if not more!’ He was performing now what is called a Schreirei - a consummate exhibition of passionate shouting - warning the crowd to be watchful, to be vigilant,

For Rosa staggered.” These lines help show how powerful words can be. No physical contact was made, yet 3 words can stagger a person. Feelings of grief and pain were transferred in a heartbeat. Imagine what could happen if perfectly selected words were delivered to a much larger audience. A great example of this is Max’s story, The Word Shaker. Page 445: “At one point, she admonished the the small boy, until finally, he began to cry. Within a few minutes, she spoke very softly to him, after which he was soothed and even smiled. The young man rushed to the woman and embraced her. ‘Words!’ He grinned.” The young man was Hitler, a very influential man who began the Holocaust. He recognized the power of words and had the ability to twist them into speeches which would make the people side with him. Due to his convincing nature, many people began to follow him and his beliefs. He made the people feel scared that the Jews were taking their jobs and land. With the fear that they felt, there was also a form of hope that sprung up. The people felt hopeful that once they got rid of the Jews, everything would be better. Had words not been so powerful, tragedies such as the Holocaust could’ve been

Hitler placed the blame onto the Jews, in which people were happy to do. The fear began to turn into hope, a hope that one day, Germany would be great again. Even when Hans had lectured Liesel, he did it with the hope that Liesel would not be punished and taken away. Another example of something which has powerful words is a book. Mein Kampf, a book written by Hitler to convey his thoughts and feelings to the people, did exactly that. There were now many people who thought like him and followed his lead. However, for a Jew called Max, it was, as stated on page 160, one “of all the things to save him.” These two words protected him with their power. It gave him hope that he would survive. People saw the book and automatically assumed he was one of them. Any other book would’ve been powerless, but this had the power as it was what the people wanted. Another story with power is The Book Thief, as written by Liesel. It was a story with so much hope, along with other emotions and thoughts, that even Death itself was