ipl-logo

Taking Risks In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief

945 Words4 Pages

What does it mean to take a risk? What are we willing to risk? Many people will take risks in their lives, but what were all willing to put on the line will vary widely. This is the case for many characters in Markus Zusak’s 2005 novel The Book Thief. The characters all put different things on the line for the same soul purpose of helping others. In The Book Thief we learn through the development of different characters, that in order to help others you must take risks.
A way we can see the theme of in order to help others you must take risks is by tracking Hans Hubermann ,Liesel’s father. In the novel when germany first got attacked Hans first reaction was to go help out but quickly changed his mind due to the risks of getting killed. “Should I go out? To see if they need help where the bombs dropped?”(Zusak 383). This shows us who Hans is because we see that Hans would have gone to go help but let fear stop him and stay instead of going and helping others. Later in the novel we see Hans change because when he is fighting in the war he takes the risk of helping an injured jew though he could have gotten killed for helping a jew. “ A blood stain was signed across his face. It trailed off down his throat and neck. “ could you prop me up now, young man?”(Zusak 435). This shows how hans has changed to be willing to risk it all in order to help an injured jew. Hans has developed from the beginning of the novel …show more content…

In The Book Thief, there are many times when the characters have matured from being selfish to caring for others. Liesel,Rudy and Hans like most people in hard times would only care to help themselves survive but they grow to understand the importance of thinking and helping others.The novel teaches us that we need to be willing to look past ourselves and go help others even if that means putting our own safety on the

Show More
Related
210 Words | 1 Pages

The Book Thief is narrated by Death. Throughout the book he makes casual remarks about his job, but occasionally he puts the casual talk on hold, and that is when one can infer that he cares about something. Rudy Steiner was a talented boy, from running around a track, to soccer, to memorizing facts about ancient beings, he was the best of the best, and what is hard to like about that? Nearly all the time, death is associated with all objects depressing.

Read More
1184 Words | 5 Pages

How does a person’s response to and perspective of a crisis define him or her? In the event of a crisis, a person’s response and perspective of it can define him or her. In the novel, The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, and the short story, “On the Rainy River”, written by Tim O’Brien, the characters experience crisis all around them. Hans Hubermann in The Book Thief and Tim O’Brien in “On the Rainy River” have a hard time staying true to themselves in moments of crisis.

Read More
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.

Read More
989 Words | 4 Pages

The Book Thief further develops that idea with characters who sacrifice themselves in order to keep someone else safe from harm. This carries outside of the fictional text as well, as with allies in the fight for LGBT+ rights, supporters during the protests in Ferguson, and the Muslims who had surrounded the Christians during prayer so that they would not get beaten. Every single one of these examples from both the real world and the text involve putting others over themselves and letting their emotions rule for the greater good. They all do this because when humans love, they love with everything they have and will willingly put down their life in order to protect the people they care for so much. Altogether, this shows that in attempts to make personal acquaintances benefit physically and emotionally, people will toss aside personal well-being because they want deem others' happiness over their

Read More
749 Words | 3 Pages

In addition to glorifying Hitler, saluting symbolizes Hitler’s dominance over his citizens, which subconsciously indoctrinates them and ensures his reign. None of the main characters in The Book Thief stand by Hitler’s beliefs, however, unless they want to be disciplined, they are forced to conform. Due to outside forces, Liesel Meminger’s identity is formed and strengthened. Liesel is able to learn from her relationships, the major events she experiences, and even the culture she is surrounded by, to construct the person she becomes.

Read More
888 Words | 4 Pages

“It’s just a small story really, about, among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery…” (Zusak, pg. 5) The novel, The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak in 2005 explores the theme of family relationships. It is through nine-year-old Liesel Meminger, the protagonist, that the idea of a broken family during the era of Nazi Germany is explored. The Book Thief depicts the struggle of young German girl, Liesel Meminger, living in Germany during the time of Hitler’s reign.

Read More
1208 Words | 5 Pages

Therefore, in The Book Thief, Markus Zusak's develops the theme the theme that humans are often capable of both good and/or evil depending on the experiences they face. These experiences will then groom them for the future. Through Liesel Meminger , Zusak explores the effect of setting on one's future self. Firstly, living with the Hubermann’s has a lot of effects on Liesel’s actions.

Read More
880 Words | 4 Pages

Markus Zusak has assembled ‘The Book Thief’ using a variety of narrative conventions. These include a unique narrative viewpoint, plot structure and use of imagery, all of which provide meaning to the reader. (33 words) A narrative’s point of view refers to who is telling the story. In this case Zusak’s narrator identifies himself as Death.

Read More
1144 Words | 5 Pages

People Who Helped in Hidden Ways Topic: Germans that helped Jews during World War II Working thesis statement: Helping Jews was very dangerous in Nazi Germany during World War Two because of Hitler’s bigoted nationalism, yet numerous Germans civilians and soldiers assisted a Jew in some way during the time of war. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel’s fictitious family and friends help Jews in the same ways that real life Germans helped Jews to hide and escape during World War II. Rolling Introduction Introduction Paragraph #1 Introduction Paragraph #2 Religious intolerance and persecution of Jewish people was common in Nazi Germany; however, there were some Germans that helped Jews despite the dangers. Some brave German soldiers and

Read More
712 Words | 3 Pages

For this reason, Liesel best illustrates courage in The Book Thief by befriending

Read More
1721 Words | 7 Pages

Humans lie and steal without hesitation to survive. That is how man is. However, human nature does not allow for cruelty to exist without the other end of the spectrum - kindness. In his novel, The Book Thief, Markus Zusak reveals the extreme malice possible in humans, along with the tenderness that stems from it. In times of hate and paranoia in Nazi Germany, ones who live morally are rare.

Read More
862 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
2175 Words | 9 Pages

In this scene, Hans and Rosa are arguing, and Hans remembers the girl’s comment about his hair being like feathers, so he asks her to cut it for him. It shows a trusting between Max and Liesel for one of the first times, after a while of awkwardness and quietness. The third quote I chose was “‘Often I wish this would all be over, Liesel, but then somehow you do something like walk down the basement steps with a snowman in your hands’” (Zusak 313). Max is speaking to Liesel and telling her that, even though his life is incredibly hard, some people make it worth it.

Read More
894 Words | 4 Pages

The Book Thief, directed by Brian Percival, is a film adaptation of a book by Mark Zusak centred around adolescent girl Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nelisse). Set in Germany during the early-mid 1940’s, leading up to the war, Liesel is sent away from her family to live with foster parents since she is at risk of being killed due as her parents are communists. Percival uses skilfully chosen aural and visual elements as well as cinematic techniques such as lighting and camera angles to communicate and explore the central theme to the audience: the power of human spirit, especially when dealing with adversity. Percival designs the aural elements in the scenes that make up the film The Book Thief to communicate and allow the audience to explore the power of the human spirit when dealing with adversity. Percival does this by using the aforementioned techniques to create juxtapositions, contrasting the power of the human spirit against adversity.

Read More
909 Words | 4 Pages

Is Sherlock Holmes doing what's best for the people of London or is he above the law in his own way? Throughout the stories and tales of Sherlock Holmes, the constant recurrence of catching the villain and solving the case is apparent throughout Holmes’s legend, but is he really doing anything to save the people of his city and stopping crime? Holmes’s mythos always starts with a crime seen through Dr. Watson’s eye, and we see the conclusion of the case through however the crime is never stopped before hand. Within the book, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The detective always uses the crime as a starting point to the mystery however he never prevents a life to be lost before the crime is committed.

Read More

More about Taking Risks In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief

Related Topics

Open Document