The Book Thief Essay 2f2a23

Shaheed Awati Ms.Pindar ENG2D April 17, 2015

The Book Thief Essay The Book Thief written by Mark Zusak, which is narrated by Death who is also a character in the story. Death states, “It’s just a small story really, about, among things: A small girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery” (Zusak 5). Humans are capable of both great comion and great evil based on their experiences that shape them. The author demonstrates the theme using conflicts like person versus society, “The Word Shaker” written by Max Vandenburg, and the power of words. Person versus society conflicts in The Book Thief are implemented to characters who are capable of great comion and great evil. Characters who demonstrate comion and evil are Hans Hubermann; Liesel’s stepfather and an accordionist, Max Vandenburg; the Jewish fist fighter and the secret lodger in the Hubermann’s house, Liesel Meminger; the protagonist of the story and the book thief. Hans versus the Nazis is an example of person versus society conflict, where Hans is the protagonist and the antagonist is the Nazis. One day the Nazis decided to walk the Jewish prisoners down the road and Hans decided to give a piece of bread to one of the Jews. “[…] Hans Hubermann held his hand out and presented a piece of bread […]”, stated Death (Zusak 394). Feeding Jewish prisoners on their way to Dachau is considered a crime to the Nazi guards so Hans was punished for his act. It might seem like a small thing, but to the Jewish people who saw it as an act of true comion. Hans’s past experience of Erik Vandenburg; a

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German Jew, who had volunteered Hans to stay behind writing letters and Erik had to go fight in the war. This occurred when Hans was a soldier during World War 2 and reminded him that a Jew saved his life, which he could never forget. Another example of a person versus society in The Book Thief is Max Vandenburg versus Hitler/. In this conflict, Max is the protagonist and Hitler/ is the antagonist. This is a person versus society conflict because Max is fighting against the outside world. On the night of November 9, 1939, Nazi soldiers stormed the streets of , breaking windows and looting Jewish businesses in a nationwide attack that would be known as Kristallnacht (“the night of broken glass”). During that night Max was told by his best friend, Walter Kugler, he had to leave his home immediately to escape arrest. This is a past experience of Max which led to him leaving the Hubermann’s house because he did not want them being caught helping a Jew. This act of Max leaving the Hubermann’s house demonstrates how comionate Max is to the Hubermann family and he does not want to experience another family get punished because of his religion which Max has already experienced with his own family. Liesel Meminger versus Hitler/ is an example of person versus society conflict where Liesel is the protagonist and Hitler/ is the antagonist. Liesel is dealing with hiding a Jew in her basement. She and the Hubermann’s know that Hitler is very strict about hiding Jews. If they are caught then the result will be punishment or persecution. As Liesel grows as a character in the story, she understands that because of Hitler she lost her parents. This past experience of Liesel leads her to say, “I hate the Fuhrer. […] I hate him” (Zusak 115). The Fuhrer has shown his great evil by persecuting Jews and any biased Germans. Person versus society conflicts in The Book Thief are implemented to characters who show outcomes of great comion and great evil.

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“The Word Shaker” is an important symbol in The Book Thief, which is written by Max for Liesel. Max, who understands the effect of Hitler’s propaganda has had on his religion, helps him impart this lesson through his allegorical story “The Word Shaker”, where Zusak depicts the power of words for great comion and great evil. Max illustrates how Hitler decides to rule the world by using words. Hitler plants trees, which have words that symbolize hate against Jews. Max educates Liesel about Hitler’s propaganda and the reason for him to hide from the Nazis. This is an act of comion from Max who provides knowledge to Liesel about Hitler to be aware that she does not do anything that is against Hitler. Max’s past experience of losing his family due to the Nazis which were commanded by Hitler’s propaganda builds his knowledge about Hitler. “The Word Shaker” written by Max shows how one small girl can have such a major impact and can stand up against Hitler and save a Jew who is despised by his entire country. Max states in his book, “The best word shakers are the ones who understood the true power of words […]” (Zusak 446). Liesel is the skinny girl in the story who was once without words, so she understands better than most just how much power they truly have. One day she meets a man who is hated by his home country, and they become friends. When the man gets sick, the word shaker lets a tear fall on his face. The tear becomes a seed, and the girl plants it and tends to it. Soon it becomes the tallest tree in the forest. It is only the word shakers who live outside the propaganda system, as they understand the power of language. These could be artists and writers, but also people like Hitler – they can use the power of words for good or evil. It is Liesel's great comion that grows the tallest word-tree, which falls on top of Hitler’s trees and the other hateful word shakers. Liesel’s past experience of losing her mother because of Hitler’s propaganda is what led her to stop Hitler’s propaganda in “The Word Shaker”. “The Word Shaker” written by Max illustrates the comion he receives from Liesel. One day a new ax

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man appears, but instead of an ax, he has a hammer, and he drives nails into the tree trunk and uses them to climb up to the top. The two talk and look around at the forest and then they climb down together. As soon as their feet touch the ground, the tree falls, destroying much of the forest. Max is the only one able to climb the tree, implying that Liesel let him into her refuge both physically and mentally, and he found safety from Hitler not only in her home but also in her words. Liesel portrays herself as a comionate character in “The Word Shaker” by providing Max with shelter and safety from Hitler. In Max’s past experience, Walter Kugler had helped him escape “the night of broken glass” and without him Max would have never survived that terrible night. Max uses his past memories and implements it into “The Word Shaker”, but using Liesel and current complications he faces in Molching. This act also shows how evil Hitler was during World War 2. Hitler uses propaganda to persuade Germans to hate and discriminate Jews through his hateful words. “The Word Shaker” illustrates the great comion and great evil that humans portray in it. The power of words is a motif in The Book Thief that shows humans using words are capable of both great comion and great evil. Liesel uses words to comfort others during the air raids, which brought tension to people in the Fielders’ basement. Liesel reads “The Whistler” out loud to comfort herself, but everyone falls silent and starts listening to her. Liesel realizes that reading out loud is like having and playing her own accordion. Even after the sirens signal that the raid is over, people stayed to hear the rest of the chapter, and they thanked Liesel as they left. This is a very important moment for Liesel, and shows how much she has grown. The same girl who failed her reading test is now reading to a silent gathering of adults. She no longer needs Hans to comfort her with reading – now she is comforting others. Liesel shows an act of comion giving people in the shelter a reprieve from the fear with her words. Liesel’s past 4

experience of when Hans plays the accordion to comfort her, which teaches Liesel to comfort others, using words. Mein Kamp is a book written by Hitler about his life and filled with antiSemitism that reveals his evil mind. Max reads this book while he was on the train to Munich, which his friend Walter Kugler had gotten him with the train tickets and a key inside. He reads this book so he can avoid suspicion, recognizing the irony that Hitler’s book would save him. However, the book is filled with hatred and discrimination of Jews, which is against Max because he is a Jew. This is an act of great evil by Hitler because he uses words to convey hatful meanings that persuade Germans to be anti-Semitic. Before coming to Munich Max had already faced hatred and discrimination where his family was to taken away from him and sent to concentration camps due to Hitler’s propaganda. Isla Hermann is the mayor’s wife who sees Liesel steal “The Shoulder Shrug” from the bonfire during Hitler’s party in Molching. Ilsa invites Liesel into her library and wishes to share her books with Liesel, giving Liesel one of the best gifts she's ever known. She leaves the window open for Liesel so that she can come in and take books as she wishes and also leaves other gifts — cookies and a dictionary. After Liesel develops her reading skills, Ilsa gives her a blank book and encourages her to write, and not live the rest of her life in despair. This gave Liesel a chance to write her own book called “The Book Thief”. This book is also the reason why Liesel is in the basement during the bombing, and it saves her life in the same sense that Max feels he was saved by Mein Kampf. Liesel states, "I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right"(Zusak 528). The Book Thief written by Mark Zusak, which is narrated by Death who is soul carrier and the narrator of this book. Death states, “I am haunted by humans” (Zusak 550). Humans are capable of both great comion and great evil, based on thief experiences that shape them. Person versus society conflicts that have occurred throughout The Book Thief, demonstrate the 5

great comion and great evil through use of characters, “The Word Shaker written by Max conveys the message of comion and evil, and the powers of words can be used by characters to portray comion and evil.

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Works Cited 

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print.

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