The Book Thief Chapter 12 Summary

Chapter twelve marks the beginning of Hank’s transformative journey with Sandy. This chapter also marks a shift in Twain’s language of how Hank thinks. Before this point, Hank had despised everything about the sixth century. During and after, he starts to become more accepting of the way the world is. He realizes that he doesn't have to complain about it anymore, but rather he needs to change it for the better. Twain included this purposefully, to teach us a valuable lesson about life. If you don’t like the way something is, then do what you can to make it better. At first, Hank is very negative and critical of the methods of the people around him. He hates how childish and trusting they are, he doesn’t like the way the government is set up, and he believes that their morals are incorrect. He thinks that he is superior to them in every way; “A man among children.” (Chapter 8) In chapter twelve, however, Hank begins to open his mind to the customs of the sixth century. He starts his adventure with Sandy, wearing a full suit of armor and admiring the view of the nature around him. He realizes that not all things are bad. Although he does complain about the burdensome armor, he marvels at how knights can wear it for so long. He does not see it as an

We learn to become more accepting of things that we are not used to, because we see how everyone goes through pain, and how everyone just wants to be happy. We learn to accept our differences and embrace our similarities. Hank learns how hard it is to be a knight, with the heavy armor on and the difficulties that come along with it. He therefore gains respect for the knights, and decides to make their lives easier. Twain wants to make the book’s emotions realistic, the message clear, and he wants us to connect with Hank. The language shift is the best representation of