Why Is Words So Important In The Book Thief

Yehuda Berg, a best-selling author, once said, “If we were handling a bomb which could go off at any minute as a result of our actions, we would mind ourselves and be delicate. Our words have the same power, yet we wield them around as though they were powerless and insignificant.” Words are one of the most powerful means of influence on Earth. Some people choose not to acknowledge the effects that their words may have on others. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak is a unique story that takes place in Nazi Germany. It focuses mainly on a young german girl named Liesel Meminger, and those whose lives are intertwined with hers. Liesel’s mother had to leave her. As a result, Liesel had to go to a foster family-- Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Throughout

In The Book Thief, Rosa did the washing and ironing for many households in Molching. Eventually, Rosa enlisted Liesel’s assistance for this task, and Liesel got very good at at. One of Rosa’s customers was the mayor and his wife. Liesel developed a sort of friendship with the mayor’s wife, as she allowed Liesel to read in her library. Eventually, times grew harder and many of Rosa’s customers could no longer afford her services. However, Liesel thought that she could depend on the mayor’s wife. When the time came that the mayor and his wife could no longer afford to pay Rosa for the washing, Liesel was livid. She berated the mayor’s wife with her words. In the novel Death states, “Blood leaked from her nose and licked at her lips. Her eyes had blackened. Cuts had opened up and a series of wounds were rising to the surface of her skin. All from the words. From Liesel’s words” (Zusak 263). This quote is significant because even though Liesel did not physically harm the mayor’s wife, her words had achieved a similar effect. Through Death’s description of the mayor’s wife, we can clearly see that Liesel’s words wounded her. These wounds may not be obvious or even visible, but they are there. Liesel used the power of words to hurt the mayor’s wife emotionally. The power of words can be used in many ways. These ways include hurting

We see this purpose in many places throughout the novel. An instance of this is when Liesel uses her words to abuse the mayor’s wife’s feelings. Furthermore, this purpose appears when Liesel comforts the people in the air raid shelter by reading to them. Lastly, this purpose is shown when Max and Liesel bond over newspapers and the recount of their nightmares. These events show the variety of ways that we can use our words to affect others. As Siddhartha Gautama-- more commonly known as Buddha-- once said, “Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.” In short, we should choose our words carefully because we never know what kind of an effect they may have on the