Preview

The Book Thief Worth Of Words

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
537 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Book Thief Worth Of Words
The Worth of Words

In the Historical Fiction novel, The Book Thief, author Markus Zusak illustrates the importance of words and friendship during the Nazi rule in Germany. The first spark of friendship between Hans and Liesel ignites when they learn to read and write together. Because of Liesel's ability to read, Max and Liesel become instant friends. The importance of words and the kinship that comes with proves relevant throughout the entire story. The author uses the relationship of Hans and Liesel to demonstrate how reading and writing can bloom into a thriving friendship and the relationship of Liesel and Max to demonstrate how words can provide the ability to survive in a crisis.

Upon Liesel’s arrival to Himmel Street, she has no desire to meet Hans: her new Papa. Hans notices her stolen copy of The Gravedigger's Handbook and offers to teach her how to read and write. From then on, a lively friendship presents itself as “Liesel made her way down to the basement.
…show more content…
The two relationships depend on each other because without Hans teaching Liesel how to read, Liesel would not be able to become friends with Max, and without Max’s relationship with Hans, Max would never meet Liesel. Together, Max, Hans, and Liesel bonded in the cold basement and they “could not contain the small snatches of laughter… They were only humans, playing in the snow.” (312). The friendships make Max feel at home, gives Liesel a sense of belonging, and eases the anxiety of Hans caused by the hiding Jew.

The relationship of Hans and Liesel blooms into a thriving friendship, and the relationship of Liesel and Max provides the ability to survive in a crisis. Without words, there would be little connection between Max, Liesel, and Hans. The novel ultimately proves the saving power of words and of reading and is the story of friendship, love, survival, grief, and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Diction In The Book Thief

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak, the narrator, Death, tells the life story of a young girl named Liesel Meminger during World War II. He explains the events and challenges Liesel experiences due to Hitler’s words and influence. In this passage, the author uses diction, imagery, and details to help the reader imagine and have a deeper understanding of the events taking place and the character’s thoughts and feelings.…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The effectiveness of words is more impressive than we tend to understand. Words are just different combinations of the same letters, but without their existence, life would have no direction. We often take for granted our ability to share and comprehend ideas. Throughout The Book Thief, however, Liesel slowly realizes just how powerful her own words can be. Taking into consideration the stolen novels, the German autobiography, and the two stories written by Max, it is safe to say that each of these books contributes to the theme of The Book Thief.…

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Grief and a sense of the tenderness of death assimilates itself throughout the tale of Liesel Meminger and hearkens us to what will one day be the fate of all. In conclusion, death possesses an omnipresent outlook within this novel and exemplifies the tragic unfolding of the life of Liesel…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One can receive words as direction while others use them in negative ways. Words are highly influential on Liesel’s life in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. When Liesel stole her first book, it was “the beginning of an illustrious career” (29). Liesel’s obsession with stealing books is ironic because she was in act of seeking revenge while she could not read or write.…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Those two questions play a very important part in the novel on the terms of new relationships starting within the household. Between, Max and Hans it’s almost like a father and son relationship begins to develop from that point on and even when they say their farewells at the bridge later on in the novel. Max and Liesel form a unique friendship and…

    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This passage makes me feel sad because of the sudden death of Liesel. As a result, this prompts me into realizing that one of theme of this book is about how life is unpredictable. An example of this is when Liesel dies without warning. I can relate to this theme because a friend of mine from elementary has committed suicide and none of her friends knew until her parents posted a post on Facebook declaring that she has died. Therefore, I've learned that cherishing the people around me is important as they might die without warning, like…

    • 98 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When everyone starts to hear Liesel, read the Whistler out loud, everyone starts to calm down .The children in the basement stop crying, the basement is in silent, and Liesel continues to read. She does not stop reading, as her voice soothes them, and as well as she does not wish to see the scared faces hanging on her words. Therefore, proving my claim that literature, words are the greatest weapon of all, that have the ability to make a situation right. Furthermore, this quotation displays that although Liesel was reading for herself, for her benefit, in the beginning, she now begins to realize that words also indeed have the power to manipulate a person to help them. She soothes the neighbors in the basement by reading out a story, and for the first time, she learns that words can be used to do good as well. Even though Hitler used the words to negatively manipulate people, Liesel uses them for good purposes. Liesel continues to read, as she realizes that people hearing the Whistler, have made them forgot about their worries. The reason everyone quiets down to hear her story is because her voices caried away their foreboding worries of being killed by the bomb. Liesel’s actions of using the words positively emphasize how a good hearted person she is. This quote is important to the plot, as it makes the character of book thief realize a very important thing. Hitler used the power of words to manipulate people for his own use/benefit, while she used the power of words for other’s benefit. In addition, The Hitler used the power of words to make people agitated and wrathful, while she used it to soothe and pacify others. Once again, proven that literature is a great weapon as it had helped the citizens survive in the basement during the times of horrors. In addition, this…

    • 1692 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Liesel's Strangeness

    • 256 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In Chapter One, Liesel is introduced as a nine-year-old girl soon to be ten, when her younger brother dies and, she is fostered away by her mother to live with the following characters Hans and Rosa Hubermann. The readers learn that Liesel is uneducated, “She hadn’t learned to speak too well or even to read, as she had rarely frequented school.” (Zusak 21 ). Further down in the novel, the readers learn that Liesel deals with anxiety and she is closed-minded due to her horrendous past. Although Liesel suffers from anxiety and being close minded; there is a small part of her that is open to the purity and kindness of Hans Hubermann heart. “Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father’s eyes. They were made of kindness and silver.” ( Zusak…

    • 256 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Red. Book. Family. Coward. Jew. Death. One may say that they are just words, but is that really all they are? Throughout The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, words bring joy and comfort as well as rage and heartbreak. Liesel Meminger is devastated by the loss of her brother and feels that nothing will relieve her of her agony, until she picks up a book that was left in the graveyard by a gravedigger. This is just the beginning of words playing a major part in Liesel’s life. Words have more power than one could ever imagine.…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The act of theft is predominantly considered worldwide to be one of the most corrupt acts one can commit, it is even written in the Bible as the eighth commandment that one “shall not steal”. So it is particularly interesting when the act of theft is not used in a narrative not to show how iniquitous the villain is but rather to make a point about the protagonist of the story. Such is the case for Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. In the book thief Zusak uses the motif of thievery to as an act of empowerment for Liesel. It is representative of how Lisel is trying to take control back of her life in a time where she feels she has lost all control of the world around her. The act of stealing books is also significant as this can represent her taking knowledge back from her oppressors who wish to destroy it. The act of stealing is never in the novel portrayed as a crime of any sort, rather the act of theft flourishes into an act of liberation for Liesel.…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Liesel’s fascination for reading and ability to articulate literature exposed her to greater issues draped across Germany as well as the emotions and struggles of those surrounding her. From this, she was able to identify the result of her words and their impact, along with the words of others. However even when under dreadful circumstances, The Book Thief was able to bring comfort and ease to those around, distracting many from their worries. The words of Himmel street is what brought inspired Liesel Meminger and platformed her journey with literature as an important…

    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Liesel changes from innocent to rebellious in her first few years on Himmel Street. She has grown up a lot; she is no longer a scared little girl not willing to leave behind her old life. She is now a daring teenager. However her new personality gets her into trouble. She begins to do things like steel books and food. “Perhaps the woman hadn’t seen me steal the book.” People like Rudy and Rosa have influenced her bad behavior and new self. Another influence is Max. Max is a Jewish man hiding from Nazis in her basement. According to the UDHR “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.” However Liesel grew up watching the…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Because of this relationship, Hans taught Lesiel how to read and Lesiel grew fond of words. This relationship will also kick off Lesiel’s profession of stealing books as a weapon against people who took loved ones from her. This book mainly focuses on how words transformed her from an illiterate girl to a book thief and without this relationship, Lesiel would never become a book thief. And Death, the narrator, would never get to know her and narrate her story . The reader will be unable to read the sotry from Death’s point of view and the story will not stand out among the other war…

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    the book thief character

    • 1182 Words
    • 4 Pages

    b) Liesel understands the power of words. She says that “I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right”. Liesal changes from an angry and distrusting character to one who is kind-hearted and deeply loves her family and friends. By the end, she develops a strong personal moral code.…

    • 1182 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    3. Allows Liesel to hate Hitler at home, giving her freedom of speech and opinion. P.g. 116…

    • 108 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays