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Power Of Words In Markus Zuzak's The Book Of Thief

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Words have a powerful impact on people, they can inspire and uplift, but they can also have the ability to heal and hurt. While words can be a powerful tool, they are only a solution to some problems. Regardless of how good words can be, other actions may be necessary to address specific issues. Markus Zuzak’s novel, The Book of Thief, is all about the power of words, incredibly how words can often be deceiving. Words help us communicate with others, but they mainly have both positive and negative sides. Death narrates The Book of Thief, while Liesel Meminger tells her life about her in Nazi Germany. Liesel Meminger, the protagonist, is a young girl who learns to read and write during the Holocaust and finds comfort and meaning in the power …show more content…

“I hate the Fuhrer,’ she said. I hate him” (115). Adolf Hitler is responsible for causing World War II and many deaths of millions of Jewish people. Throughout the story, Max Vandenburg is a character who is hiding from Hitler and all Nazis just because he is Jewish. He hides in the basement of the Hubermanns, Liesel Foster family home. However, despite everything wicked happening, his wish to live is strong, and he fights to stay alive against the cold and then malnourishment and illness he hides out. “It was a nation of farmed thoughts. He invited his people toward his own glorious heart beckoning them with his finest, ugliest words, handpicked from his forests. And the people came” (445). Hitler’s speeches were masterful in their ability to connect with audiences on an emotional level. He used powerful rhetoric and persuasive techniques to appeal to the fears and frustrations of the German people. Hitler's power of words was a significant factor in his rise to power and the devastation that ensued. Without being able to speak, without words, Nazi Germany would have existed. Words have much impact on what they do and how powerful they are. Words have the power to shape our thoughts, emotions, and actions. They can express love, hate, joy, and sorrow. They can be used to persuade, inform or educate. They can also be used to hurt, mislead, and manipulate. Hitler’s rise to power and the development of ideologies, including anti-semitism and the belief in Aryan superiority, significantly impacted the characters and German citizens. Hitler’s actions and policies, the novel’s characters faced persecution, loss, and

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This was the time when Hitler started to take over and orders Jewish stores, homes and anything Jewish be destroyed or vandalized by the Nazi. Liesel’s new foster home was located on Himmel Street where she met her best friend, Rudy. In the basement of the house, they kept Max down I the basement because they could risk him being seen in the house by other people from the outside of the house. The basement was small and disorganized but Max made living down there bearable. There were writings on the walls and paint cans all around.

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801 Words | 4 Pages

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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673 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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607 Words | 3 Pages

Written by Markus Zusak, The Book Thief is a coming-of-age story about a young girl named Liesel Meminger narrated through the words of Death. The thievery character of this girl emerged after the death of her younger brother. Built over a prolonged period, this desperate nature is the foundation of what became of her later in the story. The books that Liesel stole, the stories that she told, and novel that she wrote enhanced a symbolic meaning in this novel centered around wholeness. Liesel Meminger’s first victim was the gravedigger.

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734 Words | 3 Pages

“Without them, there wouldn't be any of this. Without words, the Fuhrer was nothing.” The hyperbole is used to exaggerate how weak Hitler would be without words, showing how much power he received from them. By stating that “without them, there wouldn’t be any of this” it illustrates that all the pain and suffering caused by Hitler was also caused by the power of his words, demonstrating Hitler’s rise to power was solely from his ability to manipulate the public using words. By using his novel as a vehicle for communicating the idea of the power of words, Markus Zusak prompts the audience to consider the effects words have on

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920 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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2019 Words | 9 Pages

WW1 and 2 is all based of disagreements and impulsive decisions. This leads off into wars and when there's war, there's guns. Guns are a weapons used by humanity to fight wars or against something. There are a shaped metal that is meant to shoot projectiles typically at an organism to end a problem it's causing.

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1144 Words | 5 Pages

Lastly, this purpose is shown when Max and Liesel bond over newspapers and the recount of their nightmares. These events show the variety of ways that we can use our words to affect others. As Siddhartha Gautama-- more commonly known as Buddha-- once said, “Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.”

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711 Words | 3 Pages

"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak is a novel set during World War II, which is narrated by Death and centered around a girl named Liesel Meminger. Throughout the novel, Zusak explores various themes, however we will only focus on one, which is the power of words and storytelling. The story takes place in Nazi Germany, where Liesel discovers the power of words as she learns to read and steals books to escape the harsh reality around her. Mark Zusak rather effectively develops the theme of the power of words and storytelling by showcasing their ability to give individuals a sense of freedom in the face of adversity. Zusak depicts the negative nature of words through the Nazi propaganda that is constant in Liesel's world.

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483 Words | 2 Pages

The power of words in “The Book Thief” and the endless strength they carry is a prime topic throughout the book. “The Book Thief”, a novel narrated by Death about Liesel, a young German girl who is given up for adoption to live with the Hubermann’s shortly before World War II. Liesel discovers the power that words, written or spoken, have to transform people, relationships, and lives. In the novel, Mark Zusak uses the relationship between characters to signify the power of words. Within “The Book Thief” the author suggests that words hold much power and have a major role in crafting the relationships between the characters.

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752 Words | 4 Pages

Words can be used to harm people, or to heal people. This is evident in the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, which narrates the life of a young girl named Liesel Meminger who is living in Nazi Germany. The book navigates through interesting character interactions, while many life lessons are discussed throughout the plot. The novel develops a theme of words which is proven to be evident in the plot through symbols and characters. This is proven through symbols such as Max’s copy of Mein Kampf, and character interactions such as Liesel Meminger and Isla Hermann.

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840 Words | 4 Pages

“Look proud, he advised himself. You cannot look afraid,”(Zusak Ch 25). Max fought for the safety of his life for two years by hiding out. No matter how hopeless your situation might look, keep fighting because you never know what will happen unless you try. Having Max living in Liesel's basement teaches her first-hand how serious things are, and the dangers of what Hitler can do.

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528 Words | 3 Pages

Hitler’s use of pathos and ethos made him seem very emotional towards the topic. His use of pathos by using hand gestures to express more emotion while he talked as well as letting tension rise by making people wait made his speech more effective. He used ethos when he talked he would start in a lower voice and get higher while he made it sound like was really looking out for the German people. He wanted to gain their trust. When he would say sentences such as “The delusion that some are the conquerors and others the conquered destroys the trust between nations and thereby also destroys the world economy.

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978 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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529 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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