The Book Thief Essay
Taylor Worthington
Mr. Dwyer
Honors English 3-4 Black
9 June 2014
Independent Novel Essay
Small literary devices create maximized results in the novel, The Book Thief by Markus
Zusak. Zusak’s novel is about a young girl, named Liesel Meminger, who after losing her brother was given away by her mother to a couple from Mochling, Germany, named Hans and
Rosa Hubermann. The Hubermann’s raise Liesel well, helping her through chaos she went through, as Liesel made friends, like her best friend and unknown lover, Rudy Steiner. As Liesel explores her love of books and her thrive to steal she is acquainted with a Jew, who comes to hide in the Hubermann basement. As World War II progress circumstances get dire and Max is forced to leave, later being captured, and Hans must rejoin the army. All seems fine until an enemy air raid blows up Liesel’s life by landing on Himmel Street, and killing her Mama, Papa,
Rudy, and others… This novel explores a unique method of narration by handing the point of view to Death itself. While enhancing the point of view, Death also contributes in his narration elements of foreshadowing and irony. In The Book Thief, the author explores the literary devices of foreshadow, irony, and point of view to make a more versatile novel.
An integral portion of the story relies on the literary device, point of view, which in this particular story, is rather unique. In using death as a narrator, the author created a highly versatile telling of the story, as the the tale can be told in several places at several times. For example, when an enemy air raider crashed near Himmel Street, death was there to answer.
Worthington 2!
Before anyone could intervene, “[Death] was reaching into the cockpit. He slowly extracted the pilot’s soul from his ruffled uniform and rescued him from the plane,” (Zusak 491) In this point of view, Death gives an imagery of being both an idea and a physical person. This evokes realism in the narrator. A second exemplar that
Mr. Dwyer
Honors English 3-4 Black
9 June 2014
Independent Novel Essay
Small literary devices create maximized results in the novel, The Book Thief by Markus
Zusak. Zusak’s novel is about a young girl, named Liesel Meminger, who after losing her brother was given away by her mother to a couple from Mochling, Germany, named Hans and
Rosa Hubermann. The Hubermann’s raise Liesel well, helping her through chaos she went through, as Liesel made friends, like her best friend and unknown lover, Rudy Steiner. As Liesel explores her love of books and her thrive to steal she is acquainted with a Jew, who comes to hide in the Hubermann basement. As World War II progress circumstances get dire and Max is forced to leave, later being captured, and Hans must rejoin the army. All seems fine until an enemy air raid blows up Liesel’s life by landing on Himmel Street, and killing her Mama, Papa,
Rudy, and others… This novel explores a unique method of narration by handing the point of view to Death itself. While enhancing the point of view, Death also contributes in his narration elements of foreshadowing and irony. In The Book Thief, the author explores the literary devices of foreshadow, irony, and point of view to make a more versatile novel.
An integral portion of the story relies on the literary device, point of view, which in this particular story, is rather unique. In using death as a narrator, the author created a highly versatile telling of the story, as the the tale can be told in several places at several times. For example, when an enemy air raider crashed near Himmel Street, death was there to answer.
Worthington 2!
Before anyone could intervene, “[Death] was reaching into the cockpit. He slowly extracted the pilot’s soul from his ruffled uniform and rescued him from the plane,” (Zusak 491) In this point of view, Death gives an imagery of being both an idea and a physical person. This evokes realism in the narrator. A second exemplar that