Power Of Words In The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

In the novel “The Book Thief” By Markus Zusak, almost all of the character have been affected by the power of words at some time or another in their stories. When the book first starts the main character is very uneducated and unaware of what is happening in the world around her but as the book progresses she slowly becomes better educated and learns how to uses her words so that they make an impact on those around her. In the book one of the most important themes is the power of words. The power of words have impacted the Jewish citizens, helped Ilsa Hermann out of her depression and made it so Max’s believes he is not deserving of help. The first way that the power of words is shown in the novel is when Max's is daydreaming about fighting Hitler. “As we speak, he is plotting his way into your neighborhood.... He’s infesting you with his family and he’s about to take you over.... will you stand there and let him do this? “ (Zusak 254). This is showing how by just talking, Hitler has persuades an entire nation that the Jewish citizens are dangerous and that the Germans need to help him defeat them before the Jewish people harm them and their families. Also, by just talking he has made it so people who were most likely once friends and colleges were now enemies and did not trust each other.

“Her voice,though sakey hooked at the woman's throat.” (Zuask 262).When Liesel is using all of her pent up wrath to yell at Ilsa Hermann she chooses her words very carefully and the words that she deliberately decides to uses she knows will hurt Ilsa. By using theses specific words Liesel makes Ilsa Hermann confront all of the things she had been hiding behind for the last 20 years including her son's death. And It is shown in a later chapter that Ilsa Hermann took to heart what Liesel had said and she was slowly trying to changing her