Liesel Change In The Book Thief

There is a part where we watch as humans are so ugly that it is hard for us to imagine that what they had done is possible. Liesel is playing soccer in the park and all of a sudden all the kids stop because of a noise they hear coming down the street. They think it could be a herd of cattle, but that not what it is. It is a group of Jewish people being led, or forced, to the death camps by German soldiers. On there way we watch a man die “He was dead. The man was dead. Just give him five minutes and he would surely fall into the German gutter and die. They would all let him, and they would all watch”(Zusak 393). This is talking about how when a Jewish person would die, the Germans wouldn’t do anything. They wouldn’t care that a man died right in front of them. While the Jews are walking Hans, Liesel adopted father, gives them bread. While Hans is giving this man bread a German soldier notices what is going on. He walks over to the man and, “The Jew was whipped six times. On his back, his heart, and

Liesel’s adopted father, Hans Hubermann, made many decisions throughout The Book Thief that changed the course of the plot. For example, he painted windows of people who could not pay him but needed to hide during the blackouts. He also went to war for Germany as an LSE. These decisions are often contradictory of each other. While the reader gets a sense that he is naturally a good person with a kind personality who does right by those around him, it is also hard not to question the morality of a registered Nazi who fought in the war for the Germans. It debated whether his good deeds and kindness excuse that he was part of the Nazi party.

Both Elie and Liesel change throughout their respective books. In Night, Elie begins as a Jewish youth, almost thirteen, who wants to study the Kabbalah and delve into the secrets of mysticism. As his life progresses, he witnesses the ugly side of human nature. He loses his faith in God, for His mercy is nowhere to be found. On the other hand, in the beginning of The Book Thief, Liesel, a girl not even ten years of age, is placed in a foster home after being traumatized by the death of her brother. There, she experiences love and loss, joy and pain. She discovers the power of words, and how, just like life, they are both

In the beginning of the memoir, Wiesel uses visual imagery to expose the reader to an agitated mood. Elie and his sisters had always been

The Book Thief, is a Death narrated novel by Markus Zusak. The story takes place in Nazi Germany, 1939, where Liesel Meminger arrives on Himmel Street to start a new life with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. She lives to a very old age and when Death finally comes to take her away, he wants to tell Liesel about beauty and brutality. But what could he tell her about beauty and brutality that she didn’t know, the Book Thief had lived through it all. The time she saw Max marching to Dachau, the time Rudy went into the Amper River to save The Whistler, and the final moments she spent with Mama. Liesel Meminger’s life had always represent beauty in the wake of brutality.

Liesel is characterized as a girl full of courage and her unwillingness to back down. An example of her courageous mentality is when Ludwig Schmeikl bullies her because of her inability to read. The narrator explains, “(Liesel) stood up and took the book from him... she threw it away and kicked him as hard as she could” (82). This scene shows that Liesel is not afraid of standing up for herself and does not back down from Ludwig. Instead she retaliates back against him, bringing him to the floor. While she may be

The author writes about his loss of innocence after having a horror experience during the holocaust. The entire population of Jewish at his town were deported to Auschwitz concentration camp after the Nazis attacked his hometown. In the camp the author began to lose his innocence when his family was separated. The author states that “In a fraction of second I could see my mother, my sisters, move to the right. I saw them walking farther and farther away” (29). Wiesel did not know if he would see his mother and sisters again. Instead he held his father’s hand because he knew that was all he had after the loss of more than half of his family.

He knew Liesel couldn’t read and when he found the grave digger’s book under her mattress, he decided to teach her how to. Slowly she feels more at home but she still feels the emptiness inside. Therefore she tries to get revenge on Hitler by trying to save the books he attempts to burn, “When she snatched a book from beneath a steaming pile of ashes, Liesel was a girl made of darkness.

According to Markus Zusak, the world is full of unexpected events. Throughout this book Liesel had to face many challenges like the death of her brother, hiding a Jew in her basement, losing Max, being abandoned by her mom, etc. However the hardest challenge she faced was when she woke up one morning and her life had changed. Liesel was blindsided by devastation when she realized her whole world had been turned upside down. “’What’s happened?’ Liesel asked. “Is this still Himmel Street?” “Yes.” The man had disappointed eyes. What had he seen these past few years? ‘This is Himmel. You got bombed, my girl. Es tut mir leid, Schatzi. I’m sorry, darling.’” Through this conversation she knew her neighborhood and house had been atom bombed.

What shocking realisation met Liesel when she listened to the speaker at the bonfire? They held the bonfire to get rid of anything that was in literature books and objects that outdated Hitler and the Nazi party. Liesel had realized that her dad and mother had been persecuted because they were both communist’s. Why did Papa Hubermann slap Liesel?

While at first there was very minimal contact between them, it didn’t take long until a deep bond between Liesel and Max formed. The Standover Man was given to Liesel as a late gift for her birthday and was a very short picture book about Max’s struggles, his strong connection with Liesel, and how much he appreciates all he feels she has done for him. The bond they already had before the making of this book was powerful enough as it was, but as a gift it had a similar effect as The Grave Digger’s Handbook in that it allowed for Liesel to comfortably add someone new into her family. This larger attachment to Max that was largely solidified through the gift of The Standover Man can be clearly seen through how Death, and by extension Zusak, described how guilty Liesel felt over the coma Max went through and how worried she was about his health. Aside from bonding them together, The Standover Man served to represent Liesel’s rebellious nature farther that just stealing a book as it was with The Shoulder Shrug, but by actually loving a Jew as family, strictly against the narrative that was being pushed by Hitler and that he proposed in his autobiography, Mein Kampf. This was done by painting over ripped pages of the Mein Kampf and using those pages as a sketchbook for Max in which he would paint things much as The Standover Man, which served as a token of gratitude from the Jewish Max to the German Liesel for her strong friendship, almost as a spit in Hitler’s and the Nazi’s face. Although The Word Shaker was written on painted pages of the Mein Kampf, Zusak didn’t make the pages visible as he did with The Standover Man because in this case the act of rebellion and main focus wasn’t the rejection of what the Mein

We’re faced with some of his works like teaching children and adults of the Nazi ways, killing millions of jews, and torturing the disobedient. Although Death didn’t focus on the civilians (unfortunately), he did see the Nazi impact on Liesel and her web of family, friends, and enemies. Starting off with number 1, we have the teaching of children the Nazi ways. Throughout the story, it speaks about the Hitler Youth Group Liesel is forced into. As to expect from a Youth Group centered around Hitler, it was in fact focused on him.

Liesel showed courage by helping calm Max down during the hardship of the Holocaust. She also cared for him by staying with him and reading books to him while he was sick. Her foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann, also cared for him and let him stay in their basement. When Max left, Liesel assumed he had been caught and she looked for him in the long lines of Jewish that passed through their town. When she found him, she gave him and hug, even though she knew she’d get whipped for doing so. Liesel and her family showed impressive bravery and courage by helping Max, even just by letting him stay in their

Through the eyes of Death, Liesel Meminger’s story is told. Young Liesel and her brother, escorted by their mother, are travelling by train to live with their new foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann. During this trip, Werner, her brother, dies a mysterious death. During his burial, Liesel snags a book from the gravedigger. This was the first of many books to be stolen. When Liesel and her mother arrive in Molching, Germany, Liesel is reluctant to leave. Hans coaxes her inside and becomes the fatherly figure she never had. Liesel adjusts to her new life, but is tormented by nightmares of her brothers death. Hans helps her cope by teaching her to read. She soon learns the value of words and steals another book at the book burning held to celebrate Hitler’s birthday. She also begins to steal books from Ilsa Hermann, a former customer of their laundry business. While attending school, Liesel meets Rudy Steiner, who happens to be her neighbor. Rudy is obsessed with Jesse Owens, for he went as far as to paint himself with charcoal when practicing his sprints. Despite this incident, Liesel still befriends him. Liesel also becomes good friends with Max, a Jew that Hans begins harboring in their house. However, after a while, Max’s safety is

German's love to burn things so it was no surprise that on Hitler's birthday they were burning books that were created by non-Aryans. Liesel is becoming a great reader and writing. Liesel rewarded with two books that Hans traded for eight cigarettes per book. Liesel next book stolen book was The Shoulder Shrug which came from the bottom of burning ashes during the burning of books for Hitler's birthday. Liesel decides to contact her mother and has lots of letters. She stole money from her foster mother to mail them. Liesel stole another book from the book bonfire but this time the book is still hot. Rudy has taken a liking to Liesel and becomes her friend. Liesel beats up Ludwig Schmeikl and Tommy Müeller. So the questions now to be asked