Why The Gravedigger's Handbook Is Important?

The wedding ring on her finger, the stack of letters in the corner of their room, the last flower he placed on her grave… all have meaning, all have a long, drawn out story that could bring tears to the bearer’s eyes; yet no one would know. A glance couldn’t explain the simple, yet complex reasoning of why objects mean so much to people. A glance or a long stare would never be able to tell the strong sentimental value that one person had to an object. It’s only for that person to keep, tucked away in the vast network of their mind. Objects, no matter how silly just tug at one heart. It might have saved them, helped them, or killed them. In short, objects hold a lot. To paint what is said above, Markus Zusak once wrote a book named The Book

The book is called The Gravedigger’s Handbook, and it means a lot to her. But here’s the point, why is Liesel emotionally attached to a book about digging graves? It would make no sense if no one knew about why she loves it, right? To give some insight, The Gravedigger’s Handbook seems to be the last tangible memory Liesel has left of her mother and her brother. The Gravedigger’s Handbook seems to symbolize sorrow, loss, abandonment, yet also marks new beginnings of her life. “On her first night with the Hubermann’s, she had hidden her last link to him [her brother],- The Gravedigger’s Handbook- under her mattress, and occasionally she would pull it out and hold it….it didn’t matter what the book was about. It was what it meant that was more important… 1. The last time she saw her brother. 2. The last time she saw her mother, (Zusak, 38).” This quote is important to the topic sentence because it shows what the book means to Liesel, yet an unknowing eye would never be able to suspect so, and this seems to be one of the reasons why. Throughout, Nazi Germany many objects were left behind, particularly in concentration camps. Within the most infamous concentration camp, Auschwitz, many objects were left behind. However, one that sticks out the most is all the shoes left within the camp. In fact, during The Oprah

Max is Jewish, and is trying to hide from the Nazis. He has to travel to the Hubermann's house, and an unlikely object helped him succeed. Not only is the object that saves him unlikely, but it is ironic as well. Due to the risk of being caught by the Nazis, Max needs to hide somewhere. But to get to a safe spot, Max needed to look German, or a non-Jewish German that is. One of the ways to do so was to carry Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf, around until he reached his destination. “For most of the journey, he made his way through the book, trying to never look up…. Strangely, as he turned the pages and progressed through the chapter, it was only two words he ever tasted. Mein Kampf. My struggle- The title over and over again, as the train prattled on, from one German town to the next. Mein Kampf. Of all the things to save him, (Zusak, 160).” To explain even further, Mein Kampf talks about how Jewish people are a disgrace to the human race (amongst other things). Max should feel disgusted and not see the book the way he does. Yet, he values Mein Kampf because without it, he would not gotten to take shelter at the Hubermann’s. Zusak wanted to make the reader understand the importance of objects, even if they’re as infamous as Mein Kampf. He also wanted to make a point that Mein Kampf in particular has a different meaning to Max than everyone else; Max should not see Mein Kampf in the light he does.