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The Reoccurring Theme Of Liesel's The Book Thief

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When first reading this book, I realized that it had a reoccurring theme that took place throughout it. Which was the power that words can do to a person, place, or even the world. In The Book Thief, this theme is first introduced when Liesel, the main character, finds or “steals” her first book, The Grave Digger’s Handbook. By already being curious about books even though she hardly could read, it creates a sense of hunger for knowledge that we develop at a young age. In which makes people question the world, introduce them to experiencing new ideas, and cultures through books and the stories that they hold. Through learning to read the books that she stole including, The Grave Digger’s Handbook, she developed a way to express herself in …show more content…

By first her hearing words that use to just mean a political party or a religion was now are words that are seen as dirty and allowing the separation of people from those who are seen as superior. Then by her seeing the things that she treasures more than anything in this world, books, being burned in a massive bonfire. All those books that she could have read and experience their stories being turned to ash right before her eyes. By finally befriending Max, his hiding opens up her innocent eyes to how her country, her Fürhrer was treating people and how his ideals were hurting everyone around her. Not only Max and all …show more content…

They can be used to express leadership, love, companionship, emotion, and so many other good things that bring out the humanity in all of us, and the way that The Book Thief is written brings to life not only the characters but their emotions which opens the reader's eyes to true hardship and love that most humans experience throughout their lives. In the book this theme of the power of words comes to light when it effects the main character's, Liesel, ability to express herself, make relationships with the people around her, and the strength to endure all the hardships that happen in her life. By reading Liesel’s story about how the power of words changed her shows how the book’s theme not only effects the people in the story but people around the world, and how it only takes one person to change the world and have their words reverberated throughout history even if it is only one little girl with a crumbled up

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The conflict in "The Book Thief" - the horrors of Nazi Germany and the loss and grief that Liesel experiences - serves as a backdrop against which the theme of "finding the light in darkness" is developed. Liesel's love of books and her ability to find comfort in her life. The life changing power of literature and the human spirit's capacity to persevere in the face of change. Additionally, the novel's mood of love, friendship, and sacrifice demonstrate that even in the darkest of times, there is hope and light to be found. The imagery in the novel helps to develop the theme of "finding the light in the darkness" by highlighting the contrasts between light and dark, good and evil.

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There have been thousands of books written about war, but none are like The Book Thief. In most war novels, the authors focus on either side. Markus Zusak takes a unique approach by focusing on the terror-filled childhood of a small girl named Liesel Meminger. Because the protagonist of the novel is a young girl in Nazi Germany, the portrayal of her childhood drastically shifts the focus of the work from World War II to Liesel’s growth and awakening in spite of the terrible times. As Liesel matures, she learns the power of words, confronts uncomfortable truths, and grows into a confident, brave young woman.

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This leads Liesel to notice the prejudice against the Jewish allowing for the reader to see the importance of good words in the novel. The second way that the importance of words in their goodness is seen when Liesel gets her last book from Ilsa. When Ilsa Hermann gives Liesel this last book the pages are empty and she tells Liesel that she should write her own book. This is justified when Ilsa says, “I thought if you do [not] want to read any more books, you might like to write one instead,” (Zusak 523). The significance of this quote is that Ilsa tells Liesel that if the words are all being used for bad and or Liesel disagrees with them, she should make her own words, writing her own book.

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The Things They Carried: In the beginning the story, we are introduced to Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, the one who carried the letters from Martha. The narrator explains that the letters that Jimmy has are not love letters, but dreams that they are love letters. The narrator explains more about Martha and why Jimmy is interested in her. The narrator states that Martha is an English major and a possible virgin.

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In part one of The Book Thief, Liesel, one of the main characters, starts to develop relationships with other main characters of the novel. One relationship that she starts to develop is with Rudy. Liesel starts to become best friends with Rudy even though he likes her. Rudy likes Liesel so much so that he challenges her to a race in which if he wins then he gets to kiss Liesel. Liesel only accepts this under the condition that if she wins, she will be free from the position of goalie.

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The Book Thief displays a plethora of symbolism, such as bread, the accordion, which her father played, and books, these can either represent emotions or thoughtful actions. The symbolism of books in the novel is displayed a numerous amount of times throughout the book. Books in The Book Thief are demonstrated as acts of rebellion against the Nazis. The Nazi’s believed, that in order to keep the citizens in the dark about the truth of society, they should control the amount of knowledge that is put into civilians’ heads.

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Empathy and cruelty are both aspects of the human soul and are accordingly evident in society and have been through the years. Written by Markus Zusak, The Book Thief is a story told in an omniscient view by the narrator, Death, who observes the life of a young foster girl named Liesel Meminger during the time period of Nazi Germany. Throughout Liesel’s life, Death explores the positive influence that relationships encountered in the book have on the human nature of the characters. The narrator then goes on by looking at the influence that the power of words have on people’s human nature. Finally, Death explores the impact that a specific book written by Adolf Hitler called Mein Kampf as on the human nature of the characters.

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The Infiltration of Words In “The Book Thief” the use of words can be seen in both a negative and positive context. From the harsh words used by Hitler and the Nazis, to Liesel who communicates love and strength. The author demonstrates that words hold the ability to convey powerful messages. Writer Robin Sharma once said, “Words can inspire, and words can destroy.

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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.

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Growing as a Character Every event in our lives happens for a reason, whether it is to learn from our mistakes or to gain experience from them. In Markus Zusak's novel “The Book Thief,” Liesel Meminger uses her experiences with living in the 1940s to learn life lessons and experience first hand the many terrible things Hitler is doing to people around her. She learns how to deal with the many obstacles that are thrown at her. Liesel grows as a character by following her step-father’s footsteps in being a kind and generous person, going through childhood with her best friend Rudy, and being aware of what is going on around her by learning from Max.

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586 Words | 3 Pages

She did not start out stealing books regularly in the beginning of this novel. The first book at the criminal hands of Liesel Meminger was lying not far from her young brother’s grave. The second, salvaged

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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.

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978 Words | 4 Pages

Having no one familiar to turn to, she finds a passion for words and continues to steal more books and develops strength through her burgeoning intellect of words. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is about the power of words; in this novel Zusak reveals that one who truly knows the hidden strength behind all words, can dominate others because words are more powerful than any weapon. The importance of words is shown through the symbolism of certain words throughout the novel; the motif of hunger, how it leads to her hunger for words; and how different Liesel’s world would be without words. Simple words can have deeper meanings.

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2175 Words | 9 Pages

One of the most important recurring themes throughout The Book Thief was Liesel’s relationships with all of the people in her life. She grows close with several different people, and trusts, loves, and cares for them all differently but equally. Three of those relationships will be explored more deeply; Liesel’s relationship with her foster father, Hans Hubermann, the Jewish man her family takes in, Max Vanderburg, and her best friend, Rudy Steiner. Liesel’s relationship with Hans is one of the most important, if not the most important, relationships in the novel. Hans is the first person Liesel trusts, and the person who stays with her and loves her until the end.

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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.

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