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The Book Thief Quotes Analysis

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“The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” A quote from Nelson Mandela Square. In “The Book Thief,” the characters Hans Hubermann and Liesel Mimenger demonstrate acts of bravery through their actions. These actions are accepting a Jew and standing up for one. Markus Zusak suggests through his writing that, people commit acts of bravery because they believe what is being done is wrong, and they need to stand up and take action for what they believe is right. Markus Zusak demonstrates bravery through emotional, joyful, and stressful moments. An example is the author's character, Hans Hubermann. He is a significant character who showed great acts of bravery and courage, from accepting a Jew and choosing …show more content…

Throughout the book, Hans bravely and courageously stood for what he thought was right and wrong. While he knew he could get serious punishment, he stood his ground and fought for what he thought was right. This can be demonstrated by how quickly he accepted Max Vandenburg in his home. He knew there would be repercussions for his actions if Max was found, as seen in the quote, “Liesel, if you tell anyone about the man up there, we will all be in big trouble.” However, he chose to ignore that and fulfill his promise to Max Vandenburg's mother in keeping him safe and providing for him when he could not. This bravery can also be related to how his hatred for Jewish people changed into something more friendly. In the beginning, Hans hated anyone Jewish, the reason why is because his business was becoming overpowered by Jewish people. After a while, Hans realized how much pain the jewish felt because of the Nazis. He then began to realize that it was wrong. He showed empathy, anger, and disappointment because of the …show more content…

In many instances of the book Liesel Steals, her first stolen book was, “The Gravedigger's Handbook” found at her brothers' grave site. This symbolizes the start of her stealing journey. Liesel knows the consequence if she were found stealing them, yet she chose to keep stealing because of the euphoric feeling afterward. This can be seen in quotes like, “ Everything was in place to make April 20 magnificent. It would be a day full of burning and cheering. And book thievery.” The reason she steals books is probably because it shows her way of being rebellious and going against rules. Liesel constantly showed signs of hating Hitler/Hitler's ideology, as seen in quotes like, “I hate him.” or, with absolute misery, she repeats it. “Heil Hitler.” However, she chose to steal books as an alternative to protesting/refusing to follow these rules. Liesel stealing books is also a way to represent how she wants to learn more about the world. In conclusion, different acts of bravery shape your identity. Whether that is from, standing up for yourself or others, stealing, or doing something you should not. This newly discovered form of bravery shapes your identity and the way you perform things. Your bravery shows what you stand for, what you love, and what you want to

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561 Words | 3 Pages

She bent down and picked it up and held it firmly in her fingers. The book had silver writing on it.” -This was when Liesel stole her first book and that lead her to start stealing more books. Page 180: THE THOUGHT PROCESS OF HANS HUBERMANN:

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788 Words | 4 Pages

Even though Liesel does not agree with Hitler his words captivate her to a point where he is in her dreams, “The book thief was dreaming about the Fuhrer…she was attending a rally at which he spoke,” (Zusak 20). Even in Liesel’s dreams words carry the weight to shift tides, but only because she and all of Germany are allowing them to. As Liesel realizes this she seems to understand that she can take value from words and that is continuously shown to be Liesel's gift, she can learn better than most how to use her words and this give her and her words power, “Once words had rendered Liesel useless, but now…she felt an innate sense of power,” (Zusak

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1003 Words | 5 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” (5). In The Book Thief, the author Markus Zusak creates a marvelous story and it is enhanced by the story being told in Death’s perspective. The title of The Book Thief, refers to Liesel Meminger, who is The Book Thief of the story for the obvious reason that she steals books to learn how to read. Liesel also wrote a book named The Book Thief which is about her life. The author uses a lot of figurative language and illustrates many themes when writing the book.

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1244 Words | 5 Pages

It was just a regular dinner at the Meminger household when the narrator pointed out that Liesel always had a book around her, “As always, one of her books was next to her,” (Zusak, 90). Liesel always had a book with her, wherever she went, it was almost guaranteed that one of her books would be there too. Her commitment to bringing them everywhere shows how important they are to her and how much she relies on them. As time went on Liesel started running out of books to read, and since her family couldn't afford to buy more she started stealing them from the mayor's house. “Stealing it, in a sick kind of sense, was like earning it,” (Zusak, 287).

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551 Words | 3 Pages

But, Liesel rebelled throughout the book with reading books and stealing them from the mayor’s house: “A necklace of sweat had formed around her throat. Beneath her shirt, a book was eating her up” (Zusak 122). This illustrates Liesel’s rebellion to the Nazi by taking the book from the book burning. If the Nazi found out that Liesel stole a book, they would, in a split second, kill her for rebelling

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293 Words | 2 Pages

Liesel's journey into adulthood can be traced through the books she reads, In the book, The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak, there are many books that one of the main characters, Liesel Meminger steals. Most of their books that are talked about in this story have a purpose. Words are everything to Liesel, sometimes she loves words and sometimes she hates them. There are many books that mean a lot to Liesel, one of those books are The Whistler, in the book The Whistler there are many things that Liesel not only takes but also receives.

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2095 Words | 9 Pages

Jews like Max at this time in the novel went through extremely rough events just because they were Jewish. In the novel you get to see and understand how Jews were not only treated but also how they were viewed. You also get to see that even if you didn’t agree with the statements of Hitler you had to act like you did or you get punished and viewed like a criminal and Hans was one of those people. “Being a Jew in these times means being a criminal. There is no move a Jew in Nazi Germany can make that isn’t considered a crime.”

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521 Words | 3 Pages

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak is a very courageous book, it is chock full of courage! It took courage to defy Hitler and other bullies, because usually if you did, you died. Also it took courage for Rudy to jump in the river, for Hans to willingly go to war again, and for Liesel to confront Ilsa about her problems. Courage can be applied today by describing military members, law enforcement, etc. The Book Thief is absolutely full of courage.

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168 Words | 1 Pages

The book burning against Liesel's chest acts as a symbol for the physical effects that words can have. Words burn themselves into the mind, and they can incite a person to action. The fact that three books survived the bonfire symbolizes for Liesel that, no matter how extreme the Nazi Party's actions are in trying to rid the world of words and ideas they do not agree with, those words and ideas will always survive and are worth fighting for. And just as Hans took painful action to keep Liesel safe (by slapping her) in the previous chapter, Liesel takes painful action by taking the hot book and hiding it in her shirt in order to preserve the words and ideas within it. The fact that someone has seen her steal a book, someone with fluffy hair

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703 Words | 3 Pages

Liesel has realized she must respect the man who was the reason for her and her entire families suffering. She has realized she officially has lost her home, that she is completely isolated from the community. “It was quite a sight seeing an eleven year old girl try not to cry on church steps, saluting fuhrer”(Zusak 115). After losing all of these emotionally wrecking things Liesel learns and understands she needs to keep going forward. She refuses to give up she although times are rough manages to think, it could be worse.

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483 Words | 2 Pages

Liesel, known as the book thief to the audience has a distinct passion for books and how much they mean to her. Stealing book after the book becomes a hobby for the young girl whose love of books is fostered by her foster father, Hans Hubermann. As Hans teaches Liesel how to read and write they develop an

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712 Words | 3 Pages

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

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978 Words | 4 Pages

At first, Liesel is illiterate, but when she steals her first book at her brother’s funeral, and is abandoned by her mother, she turns to something she

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676 Words | 3 Pages

This make Liesel really seem like a thief, but in reality, she just a girl with a passion about books. Also you don’t get to know that the Mayor and his wife takes her in after the

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885 Words | 4 Pages

In the story The Book Thief Liesel also gains power from her friends and family. Liesel learns to read and write from Hans who is her father. She also gets her ability to rush into things without thinking. One example is when she tries to find Max out of the Jews walking through the street. She goes and does what she feels is right which is exactly what Han did when he stood up for the Jew who was being taken from his store, but unlike Liesel Hans was punished for it.

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