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Survival In The Book Thief

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A natural human instinct is to do anything in order to survive. Though a person may not necessarily want to survive, the physical body of a person does. The body naturally will try to do anything in order to protect itself and survive even when the person does not notice. Survival comes at a cost that not all people are willing to pay. To survive there are struggles and obstacles that not all are willing to face, but to get through these obstacles an individual is one step closer to survival. In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak this can be seen. Zusak purposes that man must suffer before they are able to heal in order to become empowered to survive. Parallelism is used to show how humanity must suffer before they are able to heal in …show more content…

By using a contradictory statement it captures one 's attention and makes them ponder on the statement until they gain an understanding of it. The snowman is an example of this, it shows a pure and innocent moment of unity that many take for granted. “The colder he became, the more he melted” (316). People do not notice others until they are in pain. They do not realize the suffering a person has gone through to try to survive in order to obtain a moment of happiness. When someone is alive people do not see the value of life and how precious it is, they do not realize it until it is too late. Many people would not notice such a small moment like this in their lives and would take it for granted. However, the characters seen in the novel treasure every moment similar to how they treasure life. They are able to see the value of life and how each person 's struggles has helped them heal. People are able to see that the obstacles an individual faces, which leads them to survival. “He killed himself for wanting to live” (503). People suffer in order to live, but through suffering they are also trying to help others live. If one cannot get through that suffering they will not be able to live. Michael Holtzapfel is someone who is unable to move on from the guilt he has. Though he survived many physical obstacles, the psychological ones still stand …show more content…

By using all three points of view the reader is able to see all the different perspectives and gain an understanding of everyone in the book. It also helps readers be able to see what Zusak is trying to tell them. The different tones allow people to see the different sides of Death and understand how he views the world. “It kills me sometimes, how people die” (464). By using first person confessional people are able to see Death in a new way, it shows his emotions and makes him more humanized. It shows how he suffers every time he needs to collect a body, but he helps them by collecting their souls. He does not wish for people to die but he is the one who needs to deal with the result when they do. It hurts him to see what humans do to other humans, but by going through this suffering, he heals and continues to survive which shows the humanity that is in Death. Zusak also uses third person omniscient to convey the thematic message on suffering in healing. Readers can have a sense of how everyone feels and see how they develop as characters. “They should have come by now and swept through the house, looking for any evidence of Jew loving or treason” (400). Zusak uses third person omniscient with an observant voice to allow readers to understand and connect with each character. The actions of one person not only affect themselves, but others around them. This is seen

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