Virtues In The Book Thief

“The greatest virtues are those which are most useful to other persons.” This quote from Aristotle tells many things about how virtues give power to people and how The Book Thief connects to the real world. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, is taken place at the time of WWII. Liesel Meminger lives with her two adopted parents who have a secret. They are hiding a Jew, which is very illegal. Liesel makes friends with the Mayor’s wife, Ilsa Hermann, who has a library with books that Liesel is allowed to read. Liesel must learn to deal with many arising problems. Virtues, like anger and compassion, give Liesel power to heal Ilsa Hermann and to influence others, specifically Max Vandenburg.

In The Book Thief, Liesel Meminger gains power, through virtues of anger and disappointment, to heal Ilsa Hermann. First, Liesel heals Mrs. Hermann by asking questions about her son, who was in the first World War, by using compassion. Mrs. Hermann does not like to talk about her son and sits around her house in deep thought over him. When Liesel asks Mrs. Hermann about her son, this is how she responds, “The woman’s face did not alter, yet somehow she managed to speak. ‘He is nothing now in this world,’ she explained. ‘He was my…’” (145) Mrs. Hermann goes on to say that her son died during WWI. To make herself feel better, Mrs. Hermann believes that he froze to death. This part of the story shows how Mrs. Hermann is

The quote by Aristotle “The greatest virtues are those which are most useful to other persons” connects to the world and to The Book Thief. Liesel used her virtues to grow other people. Those in the real world can do that too, whether you are living in a place with a lot of war and sickness, or you are in a place where good is happening. Virtues are very powerful, are you using your virtues for