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The Role Of Love In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief

376 Words2 Pages

Where would mankind be without love, the root of all human connections and foundation of relationships. Love is what brings us together, as a community, as a society, and as a species. In the novel, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, love is the most powerful, predominant theme. To Begin, the Hubermanns accepted Liesel Meminger into their lives and treated her as their own child, particularly Hans Hubermann. Secondly, the Hubermanns kept Max Vandenburg, a Jewish man, who had a connection to Hans Hubermann, safe from the German authorities. Lastly, Liesel Meminger and Rudy Steiner developed a lasting friendship which, in turn, helped them through many hard times. The Hubermanns welcomed Liesel into their homes in an attempt to provide her a …show more content…

After the loss of her younger brother and separation from her mother, it is easy to see that she found it very difficult. She was more than lucky to receive the love and care that Hans and Rosa Hubermann provided for her, even if it was accompanied with a strict mentality and plenty of yelling. Hans was a nurturing presence in Liesel's life, teaching her to read and comforting her through nightmares. On the other hand Rosa provided a fair share of mean spirited nicknames, such as, “Saukerl” and, “Arschloch.” Rosa’s projection of love differs immensely from Hans but she certainly cares for liesel just as much, as shown in this quote, “...But she did love Liesel Meminger. Her way of showing it just happened to be strange. It involved bashing her with wooden spoons and words at various intervals.” (Zusak Page 35). The love shown by both Rosa and Hans was most certainly reciprocated by Leisel, especially in their final moments, “In her final visions, she saw her three children, her grandchildren, her husband, and the long list of lives that merged with hers. Among them, lit like lanterns, were Hans and Rosa Hubermann…” (Page 544). This quote shows Liesel looking back on her long life at her beloved foster parents, Rosa and Hans, with affection after losing them in the war many years prior. Another loved one of Liesel’s was Max Vandenburg, a Jewish stowaway living in the Hubermanns

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