Examples Of Beauty And Brutality In The Book Thief

“The Book Thief,” is a No.1 International Best-selling novel by Markus Zusak. In the two chapters: “The Long walk to Dachau” and “Peace,” the themes of cruelty and kindness are strongly portrayed through many literary techniques and other ways. My analysis on this question is to see how and why these two themes are illustrated in the two chapters, and under what circumstances they chose to behave like that.

Upon arriving at the home of her foster parents, housepainter Hans Hubermann and his wife Rosa, Liesel finds it difficult to adjust. She is haunted by nightmares about her mother and dead brother. She eventually develops a bond with Hans, who comes to her every night and stays with her until she is able to fall sleep again, Hans, upon noticing “The Grave Digger's Handbook” tucked under Liesel's mattress, decides to take advantage of the sleepless hours he spends with Liesel each night by teaching her how to read and write. Rosa Hubermann, whose personality is much coarser than Hans', takes Liesel under her wing in her own way by having her help with her job of washing and delivering laundry for other households. Shortly after

Brutality and Beauty are both aspects of the human spirit and therefore are evident in society and have been through the ages. History can be examined to bring forth examples of both, often side by side, often in times of great destruction such as in times of war. In the novel, The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak explores and compares the juxtaposition between great brutality and beauty in the human spirit evident in the German town of Molching during WW2. The author demonstrates how the characters in the novel can overcome cruelty and ruthlessness with acts of extraordinary kindness and humaneness. This is shown through the novel with Max and Liesel’s friendship, when Hans gives one of the Jewish camp prisoners a piece of bread and when Rosa and Hans protect Max from the Nazis. Zusak illustrates that a human’s capacity for hope is difficult to destroy regardless of the circumstances.

Many factors contribute to shaping Liesel's personality, the most evident being all the suffering she had to see and go through as a child. It's known that one would experience emotional damage after a traumatizing event, or in Liesel's case, events. Despite that, she was one of the most caring characters in the novel. Liesel willingly read stories to calm

The next book she stole was The Whistler which symbolizes her friendship with Rudy. The Whistler was the first book that Liesel stole from Ilsa Hermann’s library, with Rudy by her side. Rudy also bravely recovered this book from the Amper river for Liesel after their enemy throws it in the freezing cold water, which shows Liesel and Rudy’s true friendship and trust. The fourth book Liesel stole was The Dream Carrier. This book portrays Liesel and Max and their common dreams, or nightmares, they had. Max also had many dreams of fighting the Fuhrer, or thoughts of the sky and colors. This book also symbolizes their friendship and how they came to discover that they are similar in many ways. The last and final book that Liesel stole was A Song in the Dark represents that such a small thing, like a song, is so great in its meaning, and how it shines even in something that can be so frightening like the night. It represents Liesel and her courage in her life and how even in the dark times her light shines and she is hopeful of the

Hans teaches her skills so that she can cope with life in her family, at school, and during the war. Hans also conveys love and commitment in Leisel’s everyday life. In comparison, Rudy also gives love and illustrates the importance of friendship. Rudy’s personality, athletic ability and entertaining ideas help to keep Leisel positive. Leisel realizes the love Rudy has for her when he constantly asks for a kiss. When Rudy dies, “she did not say goodbye. She was incapable.” (Zusak 536). The shock of Rudy’s death to Leisel is to much to comprehend. Leisel’s love and gratitude for Rudy continues for the rest of her life.

When times get tough, it is courage that helps one survive. In the story, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, Liesel Meminger must deal with the death of her younger brother and the painful abandonment of her mother while she tries to settle into her new life with her foster parents. Her new mama, Rosa, shows love in a harsh way, but she develops a deeply close relationship with her gentle, patient papa, Hans and her best friend, Rudy. After secretly stealing a book (24) and learning to read from Hans (64), she develops a love of books and the power of words. Liesel, Hans, and Rudy, show great courage while trying to manage everyday life in dangerous Nazi, Germany during World War II. They show the reader that

I chose to quote this part of the book because words can hurt you as much as physical punches and slaps, so this hit me very emotionally. When someone says something that hurts you, sometimes you have to hide that it hurt but you carry it forever. When Liesel said that to her, it ended up helping Ilsa in the future. It helped her to try to slowly pull herself out of the sadness that she had inside of her after her son died, even if she didn’t realize that herself. I think that Ilsa liked Liesel so much and could never be angry for long with her because she reminded her of her son. Most people would regret what they said later but Liesel felt guilty straight away and that’s what made her a whole and good person, even if she was a book thief by heart.

Two types of violence—Character violence and Narrative violence—Character violence is injury the author causes the character to have but narrative violence is used to enhance the plot

In The Book Thief, Markus Zusak uses his characters to demonstrate the theme that there is both beauty and brutality in human nature. The characters that are examples of the novel are Rosa Huberman, Hans Huberman and Max Vandenberg. Rosa exemplifies the theme through her language and her tolerance. Hans exemplifies the theme through his interactions with Liesel. Max shows both characteristics through the novel. Rosa, Hans and Max are prime example of how human nature can have both beauty and brutality.

The novel shows the degrees of people’s kindness and cruelty from the modest to the greatest examples. The small acts of kindness that occur in the Book Thief like Rudy putting the teddy bear on the pilot’s chest. “From the toolbox the boy took out, of all things, a teddy bear.He reached in through the torn windshield and placed it on the pilot's chest”.This is another example of the kindness displayed in the Book Thief small and large.Another example is Walter taking in Max into hiding and aiding Max to help him find Hans. “ Bring nothing,”Walter said.Just what you're wearing. I’ll give you the rest.” This is another act of kindness of Walter risking his life to help Max who was a Jew and we terminated throughout Germany. The Hubermanns commit an act of kindness by hiding and caring for Max. They keep him alive at great danger to themselves and always treat him with the highest respect.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to view life through the eyes of death? Markus Zusak effectively portrays this in his novel, The Book Thief. This is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young girl living at the peak of Nazi Germany. The narrator, Death, follows Liesel through her life and gives a different perspective on one of the most controversial time periods in history. With endearing characters and a timeless plotline, The Book Thief changed the way I perceive humanity.

The Book Thief is about the story of Liesel Meminger, as her story is narrated by death itself. (Creepy, right?) 1939, Liesel and her brother Werner, travel to a town called Molching, located outside of Munich, Germany. On their train ride, Werner dies of a mysterious illness with something to do with poverty, poor living condition, and poor medical attention. Before arriving to Molching, Liesel attends her poor brother’s funeral in a small snowy graveyard. While attending, a book falls from a young gravedigger’s coat titled The Grave Digger’s Handbook. The only problem is, Liesel doesn’t understand how to

Her brother had passed away in his sleep. She had to contain her emotions and not cry. Liesel and her mother had to wait on the train for two more stops till they could properly give the young boy a burial. Many things were going on in her head until she found the grave diggers hand book. Another form of survival that she had gone through was a mix of both physical and psychological survival.

The Book Thief is a historical fiction book that takes place in Molching, Germany. The book focuses on Liesel Meminger, a girl who had recently been shipped off to live with her foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann. While at her new home, Liesel begins to learn to read and write, which leads to her new hobby of stealing books. Liesel’s foster family hides a Jewish man in their basement, so they live in constant fear that he will be caught.The movie is attempting to show what it was like during World War II in Germany. It features Liesel and her friends in Hitler Youth Group meetings, and bombings from the Allied Powers.