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Max Vandenberg Thesis

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Max Vandenberg is a Jewish man who is taken in and hidden by the Hubbermanns, Rosa and Hans, during World War 2 in Nazi Germany. His father saved Hans's life during the First World War. Hans, in turn, repays this deed by hiding Max from the Nazis, therefore putting his family in great danger as a result of it. During Max’s time living in the Hubbermann residence he befriends the protagonist, Liesel Meminger. The two find that they are very similar to each other. They both have nightmares having to do with the hardships and disasters they had once experienced. They also both have survivors guilt as the two of them have lost and left behind family. In addition to this, both have taken part in fighting early on in their lives, with Liesel instinctively taking to beating up a classmate when she felt like it and with Max …show more content…

“And she has more in common with you than two you think.” Papa checked that Rosa wasn’t coming this. “She likes a good fistfight, too.” (Page 218). But more importantly, they share the love for words, reading and books overall which really gives significance to this particular relationship. Max writes short books in his time hiding in the cold basement of 33 Himmel St. about how her words, emotions and actions are able to provide him with hope as well as the strength to continue to brave the circumstances life has presented him with. In one of Max’s books, The Book Shaker, it describes how Liesel’s words were able to supply him with the determination and courage help him to topple the metaphorical forest full of hate. In his vivid day dreams, he talks of him boxing with Adolf Hitler, unceasingly observing how the Führer persuades the crowd to rise up with him against Max and all other Jews. He turns his hatred into words. He even begins an exercise routine that transforms his aggression into energy. Liesel begins to look up to Max, as he has become somewhat of a motivator to

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Liesel and Max bond through their love of books. When Max becomes very sick, Liesel reads to him at any given moment. When Max was better, her wrote Leisel a

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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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The Hubermanns are also hiding a Jewish man, Max, from Hitler and his devious Nazi regime. Hitler wants to kill off all the Jews, and create one supreme Aryan race. Throughout the course of the book, all of these characters have something to do with who lives or who dies, depending on the words they use. The power of words is so strong that they can save or destroy someone or something physically or emotionally. Max is saved by a collection of words by the book Mein Kampf when he is riding the train to the Hubermanns to try to get to safety from the wrath of the Naxi regime.

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Another important character in The Book Thief and in Liesel’s life is Max Vandenburg. Max is a Jew who loved to get in a fistfight in his younger years. Liesel and Max become good friends after realizing they have many things in common such as the love of words and nightmares. Hatred of Hitler runs deep in Max’s heart and he often writes about it. When Max first begins staying with the Hubermanns he feels ashamed and like a heavy weight on their backs.

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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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In The Book Thief, Liesel and her foster family fight against hate and intolerance by sheltering a Jewish boy named Max. Keeping Max in their basement is risky, and the Hubermanns know

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55). The book has helped two people who are against Hitler; it helped Hans by making him appear to be a Hitler supporter, a role he has to play in order to keep himself and his family safe, and it is now helping Max by carrying both a literal and metaphorical key to his safety. The very words of the man who has made Max go into hiding is also helping to fuel his escape, how Hitler's depiction of his own struggle is indeed helping Max in his own

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Liesel grows through choosing to be different from most people by hating Hitler and the Holocaust as she expresses a few times. She also grows smart to realize that what is going on isn’t right. She also starts stealing books to read which also makes her guilty. Towards the end she loses almost everything to the bombing of her street where she is saved. After all of these tragic events in her life she has loosed

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Max creates a story for Liesel, which serves as a form of escape. Zusak writes, "It was the story of the everlasting Jew, who lived forever and died at the hands of Hitler" (Zusak 365). Max's story provides Liesel with a sense of empowerment and allows her to confront the horrors of the war. Through storytelling, she is able to process her emotions and find comfort, demonstrating the freeing effect of words. By showing Liesel's connection to books and the power of storytelling, Zusak illustrates how words can offer solace, strength, and a sense of freedom in the face of

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Liesel has realized she must respect the man who was the reason for her and her entire families suffering. She has realized she officially has lost her home, that she is completely isolated from the community. “It was quite a sight seeing an eleven year old girl try not to cry on church steps, saluting fuhrer”(Zusak 115). After losing all of these emotionally wrecking things Liesel learns and understands she needs to keep going forward. She refuses to give up she although times are rough manages to think, it could be worse.

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These events are an example of two internal conflicts. Although the two yell at each other, the real struggle is within themselves. When Max Vandenberg, a Jew, arrives, and the Hubermanns hide him in their basement, a lot of stress is put on the family. Rosa is trying to be as motherly as she can towards him, whilst battling with the fact that any moment he could be discovered and her family would be endangered. Liesel is trying to be a good friend to Max, but is also

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A main reason Liesel develops into the character she is by the end of the novel is due to the individuals she meets and her relationships with them. When Hans Hubermann becomes

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Another moment that helped the connection between the two is when Liesel had nightmares and Hans would come in and comfort her by teaching her how to read or when they would go to the basement to teach Liesel how to spell and write. These moments shared between the two created a bond through books since Hans and she spent a lot of time together which developed the trust in Liesel towards

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The theme of this book is learning to love and care for the people around. How I came to this conclusion is by how Liesel acts towards Max, her foster parents, Rudy, and her neighbors. Liesel cares for people even if they weren't like her and she doesn't understand why there is hatred in this world. She wanted the world to be a happy place for everyone including Jews to be friends with one another. On page 426 in ‘The Book Thief’, when Rudy’s father went to war Liesel could relate to Rudy because “her mother.

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Their relationship dominates the middle section of the book, as Max comes to Himmel street just as part three starts, and Liesel thinks about him almost constantly as soon as he arrives. Consequently, the first quote I chose for them was when Liesel first catches a glimpse of Max in the kitchen. “She lingered a moment before her feet dragged from behind. When she stopped and stole one last look at the foreigner in the kitchen, she could decipher the outline of a book on the table” (Zusak 186). In this scene, Liesel sees Max’s book, and this is the start of the two of them and their connection with words that appears continuously through the rest of the novel.

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