The Book Thief Essay

The Book Thief Marxist Analysis
By viewing the beginning of Markus Zusak's The Book Thief through the Marxist Literary lense
the readers can decipher the power struggle that Max Vandenburg suffers from, which exhibits the
theme of entrapment. The Marxist Literary theory suggests that the power struggle between social
classes is a major force in history. These social classes are determined by The Great Chain of Being
because everything in the universe had a hierarchical order. In The Book Thief, the narrator, Death,
is explaining Liesel's experiences in Nazi Germany. Liesel Meminger, a main character, was at a
book burning meant to destroy the Jewish influence, when Death describes what she hears from a
Nazi leader. Before the fire is lit, he says "'...we also stop our enemies [the Jews]...show more
content...
As a Jewish man living in Germany during the late 1930s and early 1940s, Max Vandenburg was
persecuted by the Nazi regime for his religion. Since the Nazis were higher on the Great Chain of
Being than Max, he had no control over the Nazis dehumanizing him and other Jews, as well as any
other atrocities the Jews faced during the Holocaust. When viewing the novel through the Marxist
Literary lense the reader can see that there is a separation of social classes which represent levels
of power. For example, Max is experiencing a power struggle because of his default social class.
By noticing the power struggle in the beginning of The Book Thief, it shows how Max has
limited power within society, so he has less say. Now readers realize how Max was confined in
society which reveals the theme of entrapment. For the Jews, there was no escaping authority in
Nazi Germany. Max could not leave the country, let alone walk down the streets of Molching,
where he was hiding in a basement. Max suffered from a power struggle until him and all the Jews
were liberated. Like Death said, not everything goes your way in Nazi Germany, therefore displaying
the theme of entrapment in The Book
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The Book Thief
The Book Thief was an excellent book. The beginning started out with Death explaining all of the
times where he encountered the book thief. The first time Death encountered the Book Thief
(A.K.A. Liesel Meminger) was on a train with her brother and her mother. Her brother died when
on the train, and at her brother's funeral she stole her first book called " The Grave Digger's
Handbook." After her brother died, her mother sent her to a foster home and left her there. She
stayed with Hans Hubermann and Rosa Hubermann in which she learns to love them. Hans is very
good at the accordion and teaches Liesel the joy in rolling cigarettes. Rosa is very strict and
constantly swears. She becomes friends with a boy named Rudy Steiner who loves to run.

The Book Thief
My name Nina Pandya, and I am a freshman at St. Andrew's Priory. In my English class, we read
the Book Thief for a summer assignment. At school, we made a KWL (Know, Want to Know,
Learned) chart about you and your life. I found answers to the questions I had, but I still have
some unanswered questions that I would like you to answer. Our job now, is to write a letter to
you, in hope for an answer. I have three questions for you that hopefully you are able to answer. My
first question is how did your environment influence your writing? I want to know what kind of
environment you were in that prompted you to publish this book. My next question is what did you
take into consideration when writing The Book Thief? I want to know what sort of things

The Book Thief: A Short Story
This drawing represent the part where Ethan got kidnapped by someone he didn't know. Ethan got
kidnapped while he was in the cemetery. He was put into a car that drove off out of the city. The
man took Ethan into the woods. Ethan recognized that he was the men who pointed him in the alley
days before. The men wanted Ethan cameras and Ethan didn't know why he wanted his camera but
the grabbed Ethan's camera of his bag and destroyed. Ethan was terrified his hands were tied, he
couldn't do anything, he continued on crying. Moments after Ethan untied his hands by cutting the
rope in a sharp rock. Ethan grabbed a shovel and hit the men on his head while he was trying to get
his gun out his car. Ethan grabbed the gun and keys from him and throw

Review Of 'The Book Thief' Essays
Review of: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
It seems sometimes like the market for young adult literature is written down to the readers,
almost in a condescending manner. That is why a book like The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is
so refreshing in this sea of cookie cutter romances and fantasies. While classified as a young adult
novel, it deals with very serious themes. The book's cover comes printed with this label: "It is
1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will
become busier still." It is a dark allusion to what is to come. But Zusak makes this story more
accessible to the audience he is writing to and does this by creating identifiable characters, by
bringing humor into...show more content...
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
naГЇve boy, and would do almost anything for her, including jumping into a nearly

Literary Analysis Of The Book Thief
The Book Thief Literary Analysis A poet named Rumi once said that "Grief can be the garden of
compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest
ally in your life's search for love and wisdom"(Rumi). In Markus Zusak The Book Thief, the
theme that even though people are surrounded by hatred, compassion from others can transform
the hatred into love is shown when Hans protects Max and hides in the basement, and Ilsa
Hermann's sharing of the books in the library, and when rudy jumped in the river for Liesel's
book. In this novel, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, a girl named Liesel overcome the
powerful dictatorship of hitler, through her papa's help, and many friends. The Hubermann
household helps with many of the Jews persecuted by Hitler. The Hubermann family gets through
the hardest times together. Liesel and the Hubermann family show compassion for others when
the Hubermann family hides Max in their basement to prevent him from getting killed. "Please,
God, please let Max survive. Please, God, please..."(Zusak 400). In this quote, the gestapo was
searching the basement to see if it was eligible to be shelter in case of a bombing occurred. The
Hubermann family risked everything, if they found Max in the basement then, Max and the
whole Hubermann household would be killed or punished very harshly. This really shows how
even though Hitler and others hate Jews, compassion from Liesel, Hans, and Rosa helped try to
save Max's life by risking all of their lives for him. This also represents how the compassion from
Hans, taking Max in, eventually leads to the whole family loving him dearly. "Max, at that
moment, knew that only a child could have given him a weather report like that."(Zusak 249).
This quote also shows how Liesel shows compassion by telling Max a very described description
of the weather outside, since he couldn't go outside and see for himself. Liesel accepted Max in her
house, but she also could have not accepted him, and treated Max poorly. Max shows in the book
that he appreciates the place to hideout very much. Next, characters like Ilsa Hermann show
compassion through the sharing of the books to Liesel. "As it turned out, Ilsa Hermann not only gave

The Book Thief
The Book Thief The book I will be discussing is The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. This historical
fiction novel's central question is about how humans can do both the most beautiful and the most
appalling things. Therefore, this central question is, what are humans capable of? How are they
capable of such great things, as well, as such horrible things? In this essay, I argue that The Book
Thief has more than one important theme and all of them helped to advance the plot and influence
the story. The Book Thief is the story, Narrated by Death, of Liesel Meminger, a nine–year–old
German girl who is surrendered by her mom to live with...show more content...
The small demonstrations of kindness we see when Ilsa Hermann welcomes Liesel into her
library, and Rudy gives the teddy bear to the dying pilot. Then, we see comparative
demonstrations of creulty, for example, Viktor Chemmel's and Franz Deutcher's treatment of
Rudy. We also see significantly more extreme examples of each. The Hubermanns demonstrate an
extraordinary example of kindess by looking after Max. They keep him alive at extraordinary
danger to themselves and treat him with the most extreme sweetness and openess. Not only that,
they care for him physically by giving nourishment and care as well as inwardly, making him feel
like a part of their family. Liesel specifically is caring to Max, and the two create a strong bond.
Given the political setting of the time, with disdain and savagery against Jews being common, Max
obviously considers Liesel's kindess to be remarkable. In the mean time, the inhumane
imprisonments for Jews sit inconspicuously out of sight of the book as the most compelling
illustration of

The Book Thief: Film Analysis
The Book Thief is a film directed by Brian Percival, narrated by death, the film is about a nine
year old girl called Liesel who is the protagonist of the story she went from being a character that's
angry to a character that deeply loves her family and friends. Hans Hubermann which is Liesel's
foster father he is described as being patient and gentle with Liesel and he was the first person to
win her trust, Liesel's foster known as Rosa Hubermann came across as cold and impatient after
she fostered Liesel and Max she became kind and caring. Max Vandenberg went to hide in the
Hubermann's house he was cautious and introverted; when he grew stronger, he had a rage for Hitler
which motivated him to stay alive. He understood Liesel's experience...show more content...
It was displayed early on with Liesel's younger brother dying it also is shown throughout the entire
film at times like war and bombs It's something that none of the characters could escape from as it's
narrated by death. Quote by the narrator "I guess I should introduce myself properly, but then
again you'll meet me soon enough not before your time, of course I make it a policy to avoid the
living" which obviously means that he is going to be showing death in the film. Liesel's younger
brother dies and a lot more other character he also states that he avoids the living which he did in
the film by people dying. They used a voice over technique in the beginning when the narrator
(death) was talking the film technique was used so the audience can understand it easier and also
the feelings and thoughts of the narrator. Death was also shown when Liesel's younger brother
died. They used film techniques by having close ups of Liesel's younger brother to show detail and
also loud sound effects to draw the audience in. The next scene went straight to the burial of her
brother which showed loud sound effects leading up to the burial which was to shift the mood and
get the audience to have a sense of worry or fear and draw them in. These film techniques were used
to entertain, communicate meaning and to produce a particular emotion to an

The Book Thief Trauma Essay
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.

The Book Thief
In the Book Thief, Markus Zusak makes it easy to picture the soul crushing era of the holocaust, and
all its horrors. The Book Thief is a delicate, painful, and intricately structured piece of writing
narrated by Death itself and takes place in Nazi Germany. Throughout the story Zusak makes it clear
that the power of words and relationships impact people's lives, and those surrounding them. The
story itself falls under historical and dramatic writing, making it nonfiction for anyone interested
those genres. A difficult topic for young adults or teenagers to grasp is the narrator being a concept
such as death. The personality that is given to Death is a caring, kind, and sympathetic which might
contradict the readers initial thought about the

Essay On The Book Thief
The book I read was "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. The title is called "The Book Thief"
because the main character named Liesel does not know how to read so she steals books and her
best friend Rudy calls her a book Theif in chapter 42. The book "The Book Thief" is a story
narrated by death. It is about a girl named Liesel who is nine years old and German. She was
given up to Rosa and Hans Hubermann who live in Molching, Germany. The story is taken place
in 1939 right after World War II. While Liesel was on the train to Molching she lost her younger
brother, this event was very traumatizing for Liesel and scarred her emotionally. In Molching she
meets Rudy who falls in love with her. Rosa and Hans house a Jew named Max, but then he...show
more content...
Max's father saved Hans life in World War I. It was the Hubermanns job to return the favor by
letting Max take hostage in there basement. Liesel liked Max because they had a lot in common.
The setting is taken place during the holocaust in fictional town Molching, Germany. "The Book
Thief" is taken place 1939–1942 under Nazi rule, right after World War II. When the book is taken
place Hitler is currently the furor. It's taken place in a very depressing time period, where jobs
and food are very hard to find. Flippant(page 82):Disrespectful, shallow, or lacking in seriousness.
Ostracism(page 183):Exclusion from a society or group. "You could argue that Liesel Meminger
had it easy. She did have it easy compared to Max Vandenburg. Certainly, her brother had practically
died in her arms. Her mother abandoned her. But anything was better than being a Jew"–(Zusak,161)
"I guess humans like to watch a little destruction. Sand castles, houses of cards, that's where they
begin. Their great skill is their capacity to escalate."–(Zusak,109) I think the author's message of
"The Book Thief" is that and anyone can be loving and resilient no matter what they are going
through. throughout the book the characters are faced with huge obstacles which the characters are
able to overcome and they still manage to keep compassion towards others. I would rate this 19 out
of 20 books stolen. This means it was a very good book. The

Book Review : The Book Thief
William Rissing
Ms. Hinko
CP English 10– P5 13 October 2017 The Book Thief Summer Reading Essay In The Book Thief
,by Markus Zusak, Death explores the world of Liesel Meminger and how she interprets the
troubles of her time. In the book Death roams around Germany and is intrigued by Liesel's story.
Liesel is a young girl from Germany with a passion of reading books, and she has just moved and
is getting used to her new town. Death is a caring character that shows his affection for people, he
shows an opinion on the pain of war and killing, and also shows an opinion on the change of
children in Germany. Although Death is not the most pleasant name in the book he cares for
people, he is never happy to take a body. Whenever Death is taking asoul he tells a story of why he
does not enjoy to take souls. Or what he feels when he is taking a soul from it's body "When their
fingernails had scratched at the wood and in some cases were nailed into the sheer force of
desperation, their spirits came toward me, into my arms, and we climbed out of those shower
facilities, onto the roof and up, into eternity's certain breadth." (Zusak 349). This show's Deaths
thoughts to the reader. He is able to show what he is feeling as he swoops the souls out of the
people's body's. Having Death as the narrator gives you much more knowledge on the other problem
happening in Germany other than Liesel and her family hiding a jew. Also having Death

Expository Essay On The Book Thief
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, is the story of a young girl named Liesel who after her little
brother dies is sent to live with her new foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. As she adjusts
to her new life she meets a boy named Rudy Steiner who she will become close friends with in the
future. Hans realizes that Liesel can not read so he teaches her start with a book that liesel stole
from her brother's burial. Her life gets simpler until her foster family takes in a Jew to hide him
from the Nazis. He eventually leaves because of the suspicion that Hans drew to himself by
giving a prisoner on his way to an internment camp some bread. Liesel keeps stealing books along
with Rudy, and the air raids occurring in her town begin to occur. One night a group of planes
bombed Liesel's street and killed her parents, Rudy, and everyone else on her street. "You
wouldn't think it, she wrote, but it was not so much the schooling who helped me to read. It was
Papa. People think he's not so smart, and it's true that he doesn't read too fast, but I would soon
learn that words and writing actually saved his life once. Or at least, words and a man who taught
him the accordion..." In this passage it is Liesel's thoughts written down. Before this passage Liesel
wet her bed during her daily nightmare. While Hans was removing her sheets to clean them he
found The Grave Digger's Manual, the book that Liesel had stolen when her brother died. Hans
asked her if she wanted to read it and then

The Book Thief Theme Essay
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a compelling novel set in the late 1930s that explores a variety
of themes, for instance war, courage, words, hate, love, innocence and death.
For the purpose of this seminar, I will be further discussing the ideas of love and the innocence of
people at the moment of their impending death in relation to The Book Thief, The Fault in Our Stars
(John Green) and The Bible.
The main character of the book is a curious young girl by the name of Liesel Meminger. Often
referred to throughout the novel as 'the book thief' (hence the title), Liesel is a strong–willed
character with her own moral compass that just so happens to clash with the one being forced upon
other children her age by the Nazi regime. As she enters...show more content...
John 3:16 states "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son". Jesus had a platonic love
for everyone from his twelve disciples to people that he hadn't even met. This journey of love is
similar to the love journey Max and Liesel embarked on in The Book Thief.
Furthermore, in The Fault in Our Stars a strong bond is formed between Hazel Grace and Augustus.
Prior to their romantic relationship they came to love each other's thoughts and ideas on the
universe, life and death. Their initial friendship is once again quite remarkable, as in the beginning
of the story, Hazel cared for very little, and kept most of her thoughts to herself; but when Augustus
comes into her life, she feels compelled to share her ideas and start to wonder about what she could
leave for the world after she is dead and gone.
Death is a big part of The Book Thief. In fact I think it'd be safe to say that Death is what makes
the book. Despite Death being personified and given a personality by the author, I would not
necessarily consider him a main character – or even a character at all. Death is the narrator of the
story of Liesel Meminger and the people she associated with, and the only time he interacts with
said story is when the souls of her friends, and eventually her, are carried away by him; Which
brings me to my next point of how everyone is innocent in the moment of impending

Theme Of Death In The Book Thief
What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word death? In most cases, people fear
death but as the narrator in Markus Zusak's novel, The Book Thief, Death is a compassionate and
honorable character. Throughout The Book Thief, death is portrayed as someone with a delicate
side. "Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched on your shoulder. I will carry you gently
away." (Zusak 4) Death is gentle with the souls that he carries. " I picked up each soul that day as
if it were newly born. I even kissed a few weary, poisoned cheeks. I listened to their last, gasping
cries. Their vanishing words. I watched their love visions and feed them from their fear." (Zusak
350) During this chapter, death is...show more content...
I deliberately seek out the colors to keep my mind off them but now and then I witness the ones
who are left behind, crumbling among the jigsaw puzzle of realization, despair, and surprise.
They have punctured hearts. They have beaten lungs." (Zusak 5) He watches the leftover humans
and pities them. He is almost human. He feels, he sympathizes, and has a soul himself. " Usually
my curiosity leads to the dreaded witnessing of some kind of human outcry, but on this occasion, I
have to say that it although it broke my heart, I was, and still am, glad I was there." (Zusak 533)
At this point of the story, the bombings have come and gone. Liesel Meminger's family and
friends have died and she is alone. Death watches her and is said to have had a broken heart. He is
broken hearted for Liesel, because she has lost everything. Contrary to popular belief, Markus
Zusak paints death as a sympathetic character. No matter what kind of person, death treats all of
them with care. One particular person is Rudy Steiner. Rudy Steiner is the boy next door,
physically and mentally. In one chapter, death foreshadows Rudy's death. "...about Rudy Steiner. He
didn't deserve to die the way he did." (Zusak 241) "On many accounts, taking a boy like Rudy was
robbery – so much life, so much to live for – yet somehow, I'm certain he would have loved to see..."
Death feels bad for Rudy Steiner and the way he died. Throughout the book, Rudy is constantly

The Book Thief Friendship Essay
The Book Thief is a story written by Markus Zusak and set in nazi–Germany, 1939–1943. Markus
Zusak mostly writes fiction. He has won 4 major prices with The Book Thief, like Kathleen Mitchell
Award (2006) and the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (2009). The theme that is most present in the
novel is love and friendship. The theme is really well written and definitely makes up most of the
story's success.
The narrator of the story is Death. He tells about Liesel, a girl whose brother died on the train to
Molching. On the funeral of Liesels brother, she steals her first book, The Gravedigger's
Handbook. She also lost her mother once she arrived at her foster parents, Hans and Rosa
Hubermann. They are poor Germans who can barely afford housing...show more content...
He's called Max Vandenburg. Hans got the accordion from the father of Max who rescued his life
during the First World War, and promised that if his family ever needed help, he would help them out.
Max lives in the basement. He and Liesel become better friends over time. Eventually Max writes a
book for Liesel called The Standover Man, which is made over the white–painted pages of Mein
Kampf.
The theme friendship can be found through the whole story, like how Max and Liesel become good
friends and how Liesel becomes friends with Rudy, which contains signs that their relationship can
turn in more then just friends.
The theme love can be seen in a lot of different ways, like love for your family, being in love with
someone, and loving a certain object. All these ways of love are discussed in the book. For example,
Liesel first found Rudy filthy, but later in the book she kisses him. Also, Rosa swears a lot to
Liesel, but when Liesel puts herself in serious danger, she tells her to be careful, which shows she
really does love Liesel. Love for objects is also present. A big example of this are the books that
Liesel steals or receives. These book cheer her up when she feels down, and give her comfort in
times that she needs it. These books give her her own viewpoint on Germany and form her

The Book Thief Essay
Death states that, "I'm always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their
beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both" (Zusak 491). This book shows us human
doing things that weren't even imaginable before this point. Many people give into ideas that
were lies. But, we also watch a few people go out of their way and sacrifice everything for a man
they barely even know. They do everything they can to keep him safe and alive. They work harder,
the get another job, and they even steal. In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, death examines the
ugliness and the beauty of humans. During Markus Zusak's book we observe the beauty of humans
at many times. One of the most beautiful things a human does is when Max, the jew...show more
content...
"Close your eyes," she'd said. "Hold out your hands" (Zusak 312). This is the start of one of the
greatest days of Liesel's life. After bringing down a little snow she decides that Max deserves
more. She brings down pots filled with snow and they make a snowman right there in their
basement just for Max. He loves it and Leisel feels good for doing it. There are also times where
Liesel and other people in the book do things that were so magnificent. 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

The Book Thief
The book I selected is the Book Thief, a fictional 3rd person narrated story about an orphaned
German girl name Liesel, and her life a few years before, and during WW2. When the story
begins, she is with her brother and mother on a train car traveling to a fictional town called
Mulching, a town near Munich. On the way, her brother suffered from an unknown illness, and
coughs blood up and dies. When they dumped him out and dug his grave, she found her first book
about digging graves. She later arrived at Mulching, and her mother left her to a new family, Rosa
and Hans. The reason why she was given away was because her father and likely her mother were
communists, which wasn't allowed in Nazi Germany during the time. Her adoptive father, Hans

Daniel Martinez
Period 3
The Book Thief In the Book Thief we are introduced to an interesting character named Rudy. Rudy
was a "bony legged, sharp teethed,blue eyed boy with blonde hair." In chapter eight we are
introduced to the character when Liesel plays soccer with the Himmel Street children. Since that
part of the book we got to witness the ten year old boy grow and go through significant problems
that eventually tore apart his life. Within the book we witness the characteristics of Rudy slowly
change over time. When we first see the young boy we witness a young, full headed young boy
with big dreams about being a sprinter like Jessie owen; all the way to the point where his
demeanor completely changed and he awaits for death. Rudy's story all starts within chapter eight
when we were introduced to the kids on Himmel Street. Liesel becomes great friends with Rudy
and we got to connect with Rudy and we knew him as a spirited young child that was interested in
Leisel. In the following chapter we got to know about his interest in Leisel a little better as we
learned about the "Jesse Owens incident." In the book Rudy says, "I'll bet you a kiss I can beat
you," this quote opens up to Rudy and his crush towards leisel. At this point in the book we know
that Rudy is happy and energetic because he has a Leisel, and all he wants to do is spend more and
more time with her because she makes him happy. Rudy was feeling that wonderful, scary feeling of
liking somebody and

The Book Thief: A Literary Analysis
Books can sate, motivate, and inspire a reader without standing the test of time. There are a
multitude of books released today that can change a reader's life without making their mark on
history. Markus Zusak's The Book Thief is a prime example of this. Most critics agree that The
Book Thief is a quality read, but there is no telling whether it will last throughout the ages of
literature. Charlotte BrontГ«'s Jane Eyre is a novel that has lasted since its release in the nineteenth
century, and critics continue to praise it. Jane Eyre shares similarities to The Book Thief; however,
The Book Thief will not stand the test of time because of its lack of completely original themes and
ideas.
Before The Book Thief can be compared to Jane Eyre,...show more content...
General complexity of both novels is seen. Every detail in Jane Eyre plays a relevance to the story,
whether it be a theme, a mood, or a tone. Complexity is also seen in The Book Thief– however, it is
a unique complexity, with Zusak's characterization and balance of themes creating a brilliant
novel (Smith 46). Zusak uses characters to reveal themes of his work, an example already
revealed with the narrator, Death. In the beginning, Death says, "Still, it's possible that you might
be asking, why does he even need a vacation? What does he need distraction from? Which brings
me to my next point. It's the leftover humans. The survivors. They're the ones I can't stand to look
at, although on many occasions I still fail... I witness the ones who are left behind, crumbling
among the jigsaw puzzle of realization, despair, and surprise" (Zusak 5). Most of the characters
in The Book Thief can be classified as "survivors", but they are not winners. Even when it seems
that a character is doing well in the moment, Zusak quickly reminds us that nothing is truly set in
stone, reinforcing a theme of mortality and major contrasts in ideas like good and evil. Like Jane
Eyre, every detail plays relevance to the story. For example, at Rudy's Jesse Owens incident, he felt
his most alive– this reflects throughout the whole book, especially at the end, when Liesel tells the
now–dead Rudy she loves him

The Book Thief Essay

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