The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a book about an illiterate young girl navigating through the trenches of a war-torn Nazi Germany. While she learns to read and devours whatever books she gets her hands on, she gains a better understanding of the world around her and grows into an independent woman. In this process, she expands her vocabulary and emotional intelligence, becomes bold, and supports her family with her words. Liesel’s character growth in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief is symbolized by her growing confidence with language and words.
Language gives people power. Being illiterate, Liesel did not have the access to learn from books and writing. She is distressed and clueless, frequently asking herself questions. Liesel can’t comprehend
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As Liesel gets older and smarter, her reading skills bloom, and so does her bravery. The third victim of the book thief, The Whistler, shows this point well. Liesel decides that in order to enact revenge on Ilsa Hermann for firing her mother, she must steal a book from their esteemed library. She questions her decision, wondering “Whether she could really go through with this” (285). However, in the end, her decision is a resolute yes. Before, she could not have read any of the books in the mayor’s library but here she is able to sneak in and steal them. Stealing is an uncomfortable act that Liesel does not take lightly, but she is still able to go through with the theft, which she could not have done earlier in the book. Even Death, the narrator of The Book Thief, acknowledges Liesel’s success, saying that “that night, Liesel Meminger truly became the book thief” (292). This is the first time Liesel has taken a book with the absolute intention of stealing it. Her reading skills combined with her new bravery won her a title from Death himself. Titles mean power, and being the Book Thief shows that she has a power with language and an interest in books and knowledge that others around her