Guilt In The Book Thief

Within every human being, through affirmation and recognition by others, one’s worth and value, a sense of belonging is formed. This concept is the main theme within the text, The Book Thief (2005) written by Markus Zusak. The main character, Liesel Meminger, is abandoned by her mother at the age of ten (10) she then spends the next few years finding where she belongs in the world. Throughout the novel Liesel's sense of belonging to the characters Hans Hubermann, Max Vandenburg and Adolf Hitler; the Fuhrer, result in shaping and influence her to view the world differently. This essay will be examining Liesel’s sense of belonging with each of these characters and their effect on her personality, views and ideas.

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

Do good deeds go unpunished? Normally, you are taught by your parents to be selfless, compassionate, as the common saying goes “no good deed goes unpunished.” In the Book Thief this saying is especially true. A majority of the time when a character in the book does a good deed, or a compassionate act they get punished for it.

“Why do I want to live? I shouldn’t want to but I do.” (Zusak 487) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is encircled with the idea of trying to find freedom from one’s guilt. Several characters’ in this novel such as Hans Hubermann, Max Vandenburg, as well as Ilsa Hermann all experience guilt throughout the story which slowly eats away at their lives and it’s up to them as to how they will deal with their guilt. Guilt came in to Hans Hubermann’s life when he escapes death in World War I. Hans friend Erik, saves Hans life and now, Hans carries the guilt of Erik’s death and promises to help Erik’s family. Little did Hans know, that in the near future he would save Erik’s son, Max Vandenburg from death. Previously, Max Vandenburg left his family

One character from the book thief that represents guilt is Liesel. Liesel feels like a burden living in the hubermann’s house due to the death of her mother, brother and incarceration of her father due to being a communist. She feels unwanted in the household because she knows that she is just another mouth to feed to due the lack of food supply in WWII. Liesel's feeling of guilt is overwhelming because she feel like she is unwanted in a household even though Mama and Papa love her. “You must get an allowance for the girl…” She berated Liesel’s naked chest as she scrubbed away. “You’re not worth that much, Saumensch, You're not making me rich you know” (Zusak 92). This quote is something that makes liesel feel unwanted because she felt that mama didn’t want her in the house and that she would only make their economic system even worse. This feeling

Guilt and shame can play important roles in both the creation and alleviation of conflict. In particular, shame can be an important factor in the development of conflicts. The nature of shame and the resulting tendencies to withdraw and lash out defensively can lead to escalation of an already tense situation. Max and Michael both suffer from guilt because of their desire to live and their abandonment of their family, both of them deal with this guilt by parting their relationship with their loved ones, when they feel this guilt it makes them enclosed and only talk to people who make them forget about this burden.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, shows the theme statement of surviver's guilt can be dealt with through kindness and friendship, and is proven in how characters manage the guilt by assisting the living. To start, Hans' life is

The Book Thief’s plot is character driven in the beginning. Characters choose to make their own decisions and consequently feel the effects of later on. For example, Liesel and Rudy intentionally make the decision to steal books from Ilsa Hermann’s library. The Hubermann and the Steiner families both make the subconscious decision to dislike the Nazis. Finally, Hans Hubermann makes the potentionally incriminating decision to harbor a Jew, Max, in his basement. These characters choose to go against their morals, yet their decisions work in their favor. Nearing the end of the book, the plot structure switches to plot driven; external forces disturbing the characters more than their own decisions and actions do. This novel is centered around the Holocaust and the war was taking place, and without this, many of the major events would not have happened, resulting in a different outcome for the characters. The bombs set off due to the war also influenced the characters by a great deal, causing their panic and fear to control their

Guilt is like a disease that plagues your thoughts, until it gets to much too handle. Why did I do that? Why had I not done something? Why him, not me? Guilt is a theme in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, from important characters, like Liesl's guilt for not telling her foster mother Ilsa Hubermann, that she loved her, to minor characters, like Michael Holtzapfel hanging himself over the fact that he survived Stalingrad, but his brother didn’t. Guilt directly affects the characters, changed how the story goes, and the tone of the story and the mood reader.

Markus Zusak’s novel, The Book Thief, tells the heart-wrenching story of Liesel Meminger, a German girl, as she navigates adolescence in Nazi Germany. With his convincing depiction of the time, it could be said that Zusak worked within the conventions of realistic fiction were it not for his otherworldly narrator—Death. Death traditionally marks the end of a story, so Zusak’s decision to begin his novel with Death’s voice piqued my interest. This interest was intensified by Death’s unique characterization—he is personified, yet retains his inhuman features. This incongruity in conjunction with the aberrant choice in narrator raised the question:

Guilt plays a very big role in “The Book Thief”. It is one of the ways in which characters suffer. Guilt is a feeling of having done wrong or failed in an obligation. The feeling of guilt is inescapable and it constantly makes you “look behind your back”. Analyzing my observations, I concluded that there were two major characters that experience guilt: Hans Hubermann and Max Vandenburg. “Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then, think of doing it twenty-four hours a day.” (Zusak 211). This was a description of the feeling of guilt that Hans Hubermann was experiencing. He felt guilty because hiding a Jew. In Nazi Germany, this was very wrong. In fact, it was considered a crime. This feeling of guilt was eating him. Max Vandenburg was also being

Guilt, according to the Oxford dictionary, can be described as a feeling of responsibility and remorse for a crime committed or failure in an obligation. In Markus Zusak's novel, The book thief, there is an overwhelming amount of guilt experienced by the characters. Guilt is a powerful emotion which can cause one to become unhappy and despondent. Guilt can also be channelled positively to help others, although not all characters are capable of doing so. Analyzing the different characters in the book, Michael Holtzapfel, Hans Hubermann and Liesel Meminger, we will be able to ascertain how they were able to deal with the various forms of guilt that they felt.

The Book Thief Extended Paragraph When reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, you come across many examples of cruelty. Throughout the book Leisel has to overcome words that are used against her and the Jews. She has to learn to accept the power of words and turn them into something greater. Three examples of the “cruelty” that Liesel observes in The Book Thief are the book burning, when Liesel finds Max marching with the Jews, and when Himmel street is bombed.

For this reason, the way that Zusak uses characterization in The Book Thief shows how becoming consumed by guilt can immensely impact people. Hans Hubermann, Max Vandenberg, Liesel Meminger, and Michael Holtzhopfel are merely a few of the characters that suffer from contrition throughout the story. However, without the characterization of these select few, the message that Zusak is trying to convey would be almost completely unclear. Despite the fact that these characters are already living through a horrendous, war-ridden era that surely has an impact on them alone; the compunction that these characters go through is what ultimately affects them the most. In today’s world, many individuals still become distressed by guilt, despite living in a different time period. As shown, this often contrives to altered identity, self-hatred, depression, and even suicide: just as it did in The Book Thief. In conclusion, the way Markus Zusak conclusively characterizes Hans Hubermann, Max Vandenberg, Liesel Meminger, and Michael Holtzopfel is crucial to show how guilt, specifically by surviving when others do not, is a reoccurring emotion that tremendously alters people’s identities and

Markus Zusak’s compelling novel, The Book Thief, is a multilayered and intricately created text that embeds a multiplicity of meanings as it explores diverse ways of representing the complexities of trauma and the human nature. The incorporation of trauma into literature has enabled an enhanced explication of the power and complexity of the relationships among cataclysmic historical events. Zusak’s exploration into trauma and the various coping mechanisms employed by individuals is a poignant reflection upon the human condition and furthers our understanding of the German community within Hitler’s rule. Zusak’s novel demonstrates the presence of all the major concepts in trauma theory, most predominantly intergenerational transmission of trauma.