Similarities Between Max And Liesel

Max and Liesel were scared of each other at the beginning of the novel because they didn’t know what was going on. Throughout the book they both become very close friends and start to give presents to each other. “As it turned out, the gift was delivered on paper, just over a week later. He would bring it to her in the early hours of the morning, before retreating down the concrete steps to what he now liked to call home” (pg.222). Max has been hiding in the basement for many weeks now and he makes a book called The Standover Man. This is the book Max is delivering to Liesel so they can have a closer relationship and become like family. This is the first item that Max gives to Liesel and Liesel will give lots more because her love for Max is very strong and cannot be broken. A quote from this novel that explains their unbreakable relationship would be when Liesel sees Max walking to a concentration camp. “‘You have to let go of me, Liesel.’ After a long line of steps, the first soldier noticed. He pointed his whip. ‘Get out of there.’ When she ignored him completely, the soldier used his arm to separate the stickiness of people. The soldier took her. ‘I said get out!’ he ordered her, and now he dragged the girl to the side and flung her into the wall of onlooking Germans. She reentered” (pg.511). This passage shows the unbreakable relationship of Max and Liesel. Even though the soldier pushes

“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.”“The book thief has struck for the first time – the beginning of an illustrious career.”“Then they discovered she couldn't read or write.”“Unofficially, it was called the midnight class, even though it commenced at around two in the morning. ““The last time I saw her was red. The sky was like soup, boiling and stirring. In some places it was burned. There were black crumbs and pepper, streaked across the redness.”“That was one war started. Liesel would soon be in another.”“In fact, on April 20 – the Führer's birthday – when she snatched a book from beneath a steaming pile of ashes, Liesel was a girl

Some people perceive kindness in different ways as what they might think seems nice, could be harmful to others. When Liesel tries to communicate with Max, she does not pause to think that such an action would put her and Max in danger. On page 513, the book narrates “He cried as the soldiers came and a small collection…Standing, he was whipped”. It was Max who was the one whipped by the soldiers because they saw Liesel hugging and talking to him. Max’s life was placed in danger because Liesel thought she was being kind by talking to him. It is understandable that she wanted to communicate with Max after a long time of not seeing him, but the manner in which she conveyed her emotions to him was too obvious to the soldiers watching. Had Rudy not been quick on his feet to go and help her, she would’ve been punished more for speaking with Max. In addition to the immediate damage done, other people who witnessed the situation would think that Liesel’s family was sympathetic to Jews, something not considered good at that time. The long term consequences of Liesel’s stubbornness to speak with Max set an even deeper impression to when Hans gave the bread to the Jews and therefore puts her and her family in more danger. This is another example of Liesel’s stubbornness, or perceived kindness, which place her and others’ lives in danger.

When readers first meet Liesel Meminger, she is a young girl standing quietly with her mother and brother on the train. At this time, she seems confused and a little bit afraid. She doesn’t know exactly

Even though they have two different family backgrounds and reactions with regard to the struggles they face, both of them strive to fit into the Nazi regime to avoid incarceration and death. Therefore, they are haunted by the guilt of leaving their families for survival through having nightmares. While Max shows his defiance against the Nazi regime through daydreaming about boxing with Hitler, Liesel publicly defied the Nazi regime through stealing a banned book, and helping Jews in order to protect the basic morals of humanity. Liesel believes if humans lose humanity, they would become “cold-blooded” and lose the true meaning of

In a way, Liesel and Max give each other purpose. Max needs Liesel to brighten his life with stories from the outside world and to bring him the energy of youth. Liesel benefits from Max because she learns a lot about suffering and he is someone with whom she identifies. They both rely on each other for comfort, friendship, and trust. They quickly become good friends. They share their nightmares because they are the only ones that can relate to one another,. Max has left his family and Liesel has lost her brother. Sharing their misfortunes the two become connected through sharing their souls and the printed word. Liesel teaches Max that he can express his scrappy personality through words "I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I

During this time period, Germany and Russia were in a horrific war. There was constant bombings and raids in cities including Himmel Street in Molching, Germany. This kept everyone on their toes just in case they were bombed in this area. They needed to get out of the area as soon as possible so they didn’t die. In the book during the second raid, people scared out of their mind sat around, “That was still an immutable fact, but at least they were distracted now, by the girl and her book” (Zusak 382). Liesel read to the scared people to try and comfort them. In this dark time, Liesel gave people comfort and she was able to make the situation slightly better and not as scary for many people. Sometimes, the right words can make the situation a lot better. Words can be comforting and make everything feel better. For example, “For at least 20 minutes,s he handed out the story. The youngest kids were soothed by her voice” (Zusak 381). Even though it is a dark situation, it made it better. Comfort during this dark time is what these people needed. Being calm in a situation like this had a positive effect on everyone around Liesel. Next, when Max, a Jew and the son of Hans Hubermann’ s friend, moved into the Hubermann household, it put the family in a very risky and life threatening situation. If they had gotten caught with a Jew in their basement, there would have been horrible consequences for all of them. But, the more time that Max

Liesel Meminger, who was a very sympathetic young girl which her words were used from her warm heart towards people. Frau Holtzapfel had lost both of her sons, so for her to be happy, Liesel would read to her a lot, which also made Frau Holtzapfel feel comforted. Also when Max was taken in by the Hubermann’s, he was a Jew, which meant he wasn’t allowed to see the outside world. Liesel would go outside and tell Max the

The book 's importance is explained through Death where ‘“The books meaning 1. The last time she saw her brother. 2. The last time she saw her mother.” Despite Liesel being illiterate, the Gravedigger’s handbook holds significant meaning for the character. Liesel has an overwhelming feeling of loss of control and acts out in rebellion to steal the book that lay beside her brothers grave. By stealing the book, she has a reminder of her small family and it stops her feeling defeated by her ever changing life, which she has no control over. This idea is then reinforced with another action of the character. Liesel then finds out that Hitler was the cause of the suffering and loss of freedom of the people she loved and knew in her life.This second act of rebellion takes place while Liesel visits a Nazi book burning. Liesel soon understands that the Nazi’s burnt books to brainwash citizens of Germany(_____). As a result of this Lisel then understands the importance and power words have, causing her to again acts rebelliously in a protest. “And it was anger and dark hatred that had fueled her desire to steal it.” This passage from the novel shows the emotions of Liesel. As a character who is unable to express herself verbally, her actions speak for her. Liesel 's desire to understand words begins to grow, with her understanding that Nazis burn books in fear of what they may do to society.

1. “Max and Liesel were held together by the quiet gathering of words.” Explain. It symbolizes the bond and connection between Max and Liesel through crosswords. They held many similarities and experiences together.

When faced with these moments of isolation, Max, Liesel, and Hans try to escape it, sometimes leading them into dangerous situations, to no longer feel alone. In Liesel’s case, one of these attempts was to start stealing books. Liesel stole books like “The Shoulder Shrug” and “The Whistler” and enjoyed reading them. She read these books so she could “escape” her isolation and enter different worlds. While stealing these books, she also bonded with many people (mainly with Rudy), helping her to slowly strengthen her relationships and move away from her loneliness. Max, another character

Hans took Liesel into his home; he showed her compassion and grace from the minute she stepped out of the car. He realized that she was nervous and scared about moving, he was the only one that tried to sit down and help her. “‘Leave her alone.’ Hans Hubermann entered the fray. His gentle voice made its way in, as if slipping through a crowd. ‘Leave her to me.’” (33) Hans recognized that Liesel was having a hard time with moving, he wanted to help. Hans channeled his guilt into acceptance for a girl that was broken and just needed a home. He accepted her as one of his own and helped her through a time of need. Hans felt the need to return the favor the Erik had given him by helping others out.

Liesel and Rudy deal with bullies very similarly. When Liesel's teacher bullied her because she couldn't read, Liesel resented her. Rudy also resented his Hitler Youth Leader when he made him do extra exercises for standing up for Tommy. Also, they both worked hard to prove their bullies wrong. After being made fun of, Liesel worked very hard to learn how to read. Eventually, Liesel learned how to read and proved that she could do it. Rudy practiced hard for several weeks for the running events at the Hitler Youth Carnival. Rudy did this so he could show his former leader that he was stronger then he used to be.

After losing her mother and her brother, Liesel’s life and identity is changed drastically many times. It is through books that she discovers and becomes comfortable with this change. When she first meets Hans and Rosa Hubermann, her new foster parents, she does not wish to speak with them or get to know them. However, once Hans discovers Liesel with the book she stole when her brother was buried, The Gravedigger’s Manual, they bond over Hans teaching Liesel to read. Liesle describes the first time her and Hans have a lesson in the middle of the night: “She had done this at school, in the kindergarten class, but this time was better. … It was nice to watch Papa’s hand as he wrote the words and slowly constructed the primitive sketches” (Zusak

Hans is a passionate, caring man who earns his living as a house painter by day and an accordion player by night. Liesel believes his eyes show kindness, and is closer to him from the beginning than to her foster mother. He is one of a few in their village who is not a registered member of the Nazi party, which comes to have serious repercussions on the family as the book progresses. Rosa Hubermann is a stern, strong woman who looks like a “wardrobe with a coat thrown over it” and would be “cute,” but appears perpetually annoyed. She peppers her language with epithets like “Saumensch” and “Saukerl” and “Arschloch”. “Sau” refers to “pig” and mensch is girl and kerl is man, arschloch sounds pretty close to its English equivalent. From the beginning Liesel is “saumensch,” which at first refers to Rosa’s annoyance at taking this girl in, even though it does mean more money for the family. But by the end, it has become a term of true endearment. Liesel’s best friend in the village is a little boy named Rudy, “the boy next door who was obsessed with the black American athlete Jesse Owens.” Rudy is in love with Liesel and always pesters her for a kiss, which he does finally receive, after some pretty serious turns in the story. He is a simple, almost naïve boy, and would do almost anything for her, including jumping into a nearly