Liesel's Nightmares Affect The Characters In The Book Thief

Death states, “You are going to die” (Zusak 13). This quote comes from the novel, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. Liesel Meminger, the main character, is a nine-year-old girl living in Germany. Liesel loves to read. Her parents are communists and are taken away by Adolf Hitler. She is a little girl haunted by the nightmares about the death of her brother (Zusak 36). Max, the Jew, hides in the Hubermann’s basement. His nightmares are about leaving his mother (Zusak 220). In the novel The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, the characters Max and Liesel, have nightmares that are reoccurring and affect the way the characters interact with the outside world.

Liesel is one of the characters in The Book Thief that has nightmares that affect her interactions

Liesel’s nightmares would include her brother dying and Hitler kneeling down and smiling at her. Her nightmares are what brought her closer to her Foster Father, Hans. When Liesel would have nightmares her foster father would come in, comfort her, and read with her. She developed a special relationship with her Papa because of this. “Possibly the only good to come out of these nightmares was that it brought Hans Hubermann, her new papa, into the room, to soothe her, to love her” (Zusak 36). Death tells us that whenever Liesel has nightmares, Hans is always there to comfort her. This was a part of Liesel adjusting to her new home and establishing the relationship with her Papa. The next nightmare is when Liesel dreams about Hitler. Liesel, from the dream, seems to think that Hitler is a loving person. This shows her relationship with the outside world. At first, she dreams of him as this great, powerful person. “‘I hate the Führer,’ she said. ‘ I hate him’ ” (Zusak 115). Her relationship changes with Hitler. Her opinion of him changes too. She later seems to discover that Hitler was the one that took her family and Rudy away. Max also has dreams that affect his relationship with others and the outside world. Max’s dream about leaving his mother gives him guilt. While Max stays at the Hubermann’s house, he is always apologizing for putting their lives at risk. This affects his relationship with Liesel because this is how they relate. They both have dreams about their mothers leaving or leaving their mother. This affects how they interact with each other because, Max feels guilty and Liesel feels