Suffering In The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

One of the few certainties in life is suffering. In Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief, the main character Liesel is sent to a foster home because her mother is not able to support her in Nazi Germany. Liesel struggle without her brother, Hans’ battle against the societyal pressure from Nazi’s, and Max’s story are great exampes that suffering is most painful when one is alone.
Liesel’s struggle without her brother and mother is the first example of the struggle of suffering alone. Early in the novel her brother dies, who was supposed to go the foster home with her, leaving her alone physically and emotionally“She still had nightmares about her brother and missed her mother” (Zusak 58) Liesel's struggle to sleep at night was caused by her not being able to accept her brother had died but because she had no one to support her at first makes it even worse. When her mother leaves “There was a chaos of goodbye” (Zusak 20) She struggled when just her brother was dead, but her mom leaving her augments that, as she has no means of comfort, that is, until Hans

Not only was he laughed at by the NSDAP, but he was yelled at by his own son. Upon submitting his application to join the NSDAP and buying a copy of Mein Kampf, he hears a member say “‘He will never be approved,’ (...) ‘even if he buys a hundred copies of Mein Kampf’” (Zusak 87) This is all because he showed some sympathy to a Jewish man in the street, and how he is singled out even when he’s trying to conform. Even in his own home, his son Hans Jr. says “You’ve never cared about this country’ (...) ‘Not enough anyway’ (...) ‘You coward’” (Zusak 71), showing that he is even denied by the people he should trust most, making him a stranger at his own Christmas dinner. Hans’ sympathy to the oppressed is what saves yet another victim of loneliness, Max