The Standover Man Character Analysis

In The Book Thief Max writes Liesel two books. The two stories Max wrote were “The Standover Man” and “The Word Shaker.” Both stories show a little of Max’s life and how he has been treated, but they also show how Liesel has impacted his life. The message Max was leaving for her is that she has the power to make a difference using just words. The first book Max wrote is “The Standover Man”. This book is about a bird who is scared of men standing over him. The plot is exactly like Max’s own life. At the conclusion of “The Standover Man” Max realizes that Liesel is his closest friend, “It makes me understand that the best standover man I’ve ever known is not a man at all…”
(235) This first book contributes to the overall plot by highlighting

This story is about how Hitler used the power of words to grow a forest of propaganda, then a girl comes who also knows the power of words. She plants a tree that is bigger than all of Hitler’s trees. People try to cut her tree down, but none succeed. When her friend arrives she climbs down the tree, which makes it fall over carving a path through the forest. This book represents how Liesel is making a difference using just words, and how she is carving a path for more people to understand the power of words. Proof of this is “the tree was laid out among the rest of the forest. It could never destroy all of it, but if nothing else, a different-colored path was carved through it.” (450) This proves that Liesel has the power to make a difference using just words, because it shows you can’t kill or destroy words. “The Word Shaker” focuses on the power of words, and how words can affect people negatively. Through these books Max is trying to teach Liesel lessons about the power of words, and how words can change people. He also teaches Liesel that words can be very dangerous, for example, “Yes, the Fuhrer decided that he would rule the world with words.”