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How does this book compare to others you have read?
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2. No text-talk: writing style counts.
3. DON'T YELL WITH CAPITALS!
4. Stay on topic: our purpose is to discuss literature.
Contributors
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Hey!
ReplyDeleteDannyG here, so I am wondering, if colours may also be directly related with the themes weve so far experienced reading part of the book.
From the point of view of "Death" (as a person)
would you guys say/think that colours play a VERY important roll in the novel, or is it just adidng suspense to it?
I personally think that the colours play a very important role in the novel, and at the same time they add suspense to the novel because it makes the readers intensely eager, to find out what the point of each colour is because which might lead to the theme or themes of the book. I just haven't read enough to know why they are important? and what role they play in the novel? but they perhaps have something to do with Liesle (the book thief) because on page 14 the narrator talks about the colours: red white, and black and how he is often reminded of her I don't fully understand it but I have a feeling that this has something to do with one of the themes of the book in one way or another.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you. The colours, to me make the book SO much more interesting to read. It keeps me hanging on the edge. I am so eager to find out what they mean but I believe that they play a huge role in the book. I like how the colours leave you clueless. They make you really think about what they mean but I could never truley understand what they meant. By having this theme in the book it makes it a whole lot better to read. The colours has to be one of the great themes in this incredible novel.
ReplyDeleteI believe that one of the themes in this novel has to do with the relationship between good and bad. I think that Zusak is trying to show that not everyone is pure evil or purely angelic and by using the German perspective it really adds to this theme. Due to the nature of this story good and bad seems like an evident theme to me, but with the use of the yellow tear and Hans Huberman's character a different take on this theme is becoming apparent. Usually the Nazis and the Germans were seen as purely evil in this time period but this story is beginning to prove otherwise for me.
ReplyDeleteOne of the themes that this novel has is acceptance, because the author represented that theme from the very beginning of the novel when the Hans and Rosa Habermann accepted Liesle into their home and she too accepted them as her family, and the theme was brought back again when at some point in the novel (page 196) the Hubermanns accepted Max Vandenburg into their home knowing what the risks of hiding a Jew in their basement were at that time. I believe that Markus Zusak represented the theme acceptance effectively well.
ReplyDeleteI think there are many themes showing in this novel. To me, it seems the main theme is going to revolve around the story that Max Vandenburg wrote "The Standover Man". It is a very interesting story about his life in short. It talks about the fears he has had, how he liked to fight, his dreams, and his connections with Liesel. His connection with Liesel is very interesting. They have a lot in common about how they dream and their views. The theme may be about their connection and how their relationship may grow. I think Max will be like a brother to Liesel eventhough he is Jewish and she is German. The theme will be about connection and seeing through peoples differences.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to Danny G's question, I think that colours play an important part in the novel but I don't think they are directly connected to the theme. Death uses colours to express emotions and moods. It plays an important role in the techincal aspect of the novel, but not as much in the story as a whole, the big picture, the plot.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the main themes in this novel is power and specifically the power of words. When we look at this novel historically Hitler's words, as well as his actions, were what caused World War II. His beliefs about certain people had so much power over the world; they divided people into supporters and non-believers. He made people believe that the Jews were to blame for Germany's problems. He did all this through words put into sentences and those sentences sent out an idea, a suggestion almost that persuaded many to agree.
ReplyDeleteWords also have a power over Leisel and in turn give her a sense of power. She craves books so much that she steals them or spends hours in the mayor's library despite the oddness of his wife. In turn the words give her the power of pride when she understands them.
So we see how words have the power to be negative and positive and how easily people can be persuaded by the right combination.
From first reading this book, a big theme that comes to me is abandonment. Liesel faced abandonment of her brother and mother recently and is left with foster parents and new people to meet and try to replace what she once had. Though as I keep reading this book it seems each day abandonment becomes less of an issue, for the reason of her relationship with Hans Hubermann. In the book it didn't have reference (that i've read)to Liesel's father. So, Liesel hasn't had a male role model in her life and i think having Hans as one let's her relationship with him to become strong. Also, Rosa Hubermann and Rudy also may make her feel less abandoned. Rosa does love and care for Liesel and like i said in another thread, just in a different way. Rudy and Liesel become close friends, so this is someone Liesel can depend on to tell things to. Though, I think Liesel will always have some sense of abandonment all her life because she can't just forget her real family, even though she makes has a new caring family, it doesn't compare to what she once had. Also, another thing that points out the theme of abandonment is the books she steals. I think because of the lose of her family books are the reminder of them. One in particular is the Grave Digger's Handbook, this book definitely has a connection to her brother, therefore this book is also a reminder that she was abandoned.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have read so far in the book, I think that two themes that come to my mind are acceptance and trust. Hans and Rosa Habermann accepted Liesel into their home when Liesel was going through a rough time(death of her brother). Both Hans and Liesel accepted one another for who they were and let eachother into their personal lives and help eachother out. Liesel accepted Hans and Rosa as her new family and got used to the new life she was going to be living.
ReplyDeleteTrust was built in many ways between Hans, Rosa and Liesel. At first Rosa trusted Liesel enough to let her collect the laundry money and to return home without spending it. Liesel may have done this based on fear of what would happen to her if she didn't but whatever. Hans and Rosa trusted Liesel with the secret that Max (a jew) was living in their basement when they were in serious danger if they were to be caught. Finally Max was able to trust Hans, Rosa and Liesel in a short amount of time. He trusted them enough to allow him to stay in their basement, when he had no where else to go. He is trusting them to not kick him out when things get a bit more serious. These are some examples of what I have read so far.
In regards to Danny G's question I would have to say that colours play an important role in the novel. They kept making me wonder, what do the colours exactly mean? Then it hit me I think the colours have to do with Liesel's memories. I also researched the colours and found out that they are on the Nazi Flag. I found there is also another theme which is overcoming adversity. In the novel Liesel has to overcome a lot of adversity. First of all she has to overcome the adversity of her parents and brother dieing. Then when she goes to her knew house she doesn’t know how to read and write and she gets better at that by reading The Grave Digger's Book and circling the words she doesn't know. Hans helps her a lot with that and has a major role in her improvement.
ReplyDeleteI think that the theme of this book might be feelings, and the colours being a way to show how they're feeling. For example on page 100 when death says that yellow tears are coming out of her eyes, could be the happiness pouring out of her.
ReplyDeleteBright Colours = Happiness
Darker Colours = Unhappiness
A theme that i have recently come accross is good vs. evil stereotypes. Normally when you learn about the World War and Germany you right away think mean nazis. From having this book set in Germany at the time of the War being told from the German side shatters this stereotype. This German family is kind, loving, and caring. Most people think that Germans at this time were all evil but to me, this family whipes away that stereotype.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I read the book, I found that one of the themes in the novel is humane gratitude. I witnessed the uncovering of this theme when I read the chapters about Huns Hubermann’s past. I learned that Hans had overcame the World War 1 and the reason for his survival he relates only to his good Jewish friend Erik Vandenburg, who had a courage of nominating Hans as a person with immaculate handwriting when their Sergeant was demanding someone with this ability. Huns stayed inside that day while others went to the battle field – their last life journey. After that Hens felt obligated to do anything he is ever capable of doing for the Erik’s family, who lost a husband and a father. In future his offer had became the little rope for survival for Erik’s son, Max Vandendurg, whose life was left hanging over the big precipice created by evil, racist Nazis. Hans carried his gratitude through his life, not letting anything change his attitude towards Jewish people and his firm beliefs in fairness and justice. Huns’ act shows that there are no regimes, rules or any political ideologies that can withstand the real humane feelings of gratitude that come from the bottom of the human’s heart and can go a very long way.
ReplyDelete“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
Source: unknown
In my opinion Strength is a theme that is very brought out in the book. The whole war had lots to do with strength and power. Liesel strength she watched her brother die. Left her mom in the same day, not knowing if she will ever see her mom again. Went to live with people she doesn't know. To me that shows wicked strength. Hans Hubermann also show strength not only has he survived war. He stands his ground for what he beleives in, even thought almost everyone is being mean towards the Germans Hans respects them and helps out. Even if it means that his income is suffering for it. Max shows strength when he takes the risk to follow the map to Hans house. And Death has great strength in his job seeing all the people die and helping there soles move forward.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have read so far another theme I picked out from this novel is companionship.
ReplyDeleteThe reason why I believe that this is one of the themes from this book is because at the very beginning of the book Liesle had lost her only brother and friend she ever had and her mother gave her away to foster care, and that was very devastating for her (as should be) and evidently she wasn't very happy with her new life because there was sense of loneliness remaining inside of her like something had been taken away from her which was true. But as she got to know her foster parents she started to like them especially her foster Dad Hans, who is also like her best friend he was there for her through the bad and good for instance when she had nightmares at night he was there to reassure her (page 36). Than when she met Rudy who became her best friend everything that was terrible started to become less terrible because when you know you have friends or people that care about everything that is so bad doesn't seem so bad for instance she played soccer with Rudy and the kids on Himmel street, and when she had to pick up the washings from rich people that her foster mother worked for Rudy accompanied her (page 130). Another reason why I think that friendship or companionship is one of the themes in this novel is because when Max Vandenburg (the Jew staying in the Hubermann's basement) first came he was reasonably unhappy but once his friendship with Liesle started to develop more he wasn't that unhappy in fact seeing Liesle was the highlight of his day because as it is in really life a friendly face can cheer anybody up, and Max trusted Liesle for instance he asked her cut his hair for him (page 245).
As I keep reading I find that one of the most important themes in the novel is influence, and mainly the influence of Adolf Hitler on ordinary citizens through his words and actions. Influence is not an easy thing to earn, because everybody is different with their own ideas and beliefs, but if you know the right way, as Adolf Hitler did, then you obtain a huge power in your hands, making everybody helpless marionettes of your personal goals. That is what happened when Adolf Hitler came to power. He was able to influence on people through words, generating the patriotism in hearts in of German citizens. He made them believe that they are the most superior nation in the world; that they originate from pure blooded and divine Arian race; that all other people in contrast to them are dirty creatures who do not deserve to be even juxtaposed to Germans. This idea was one of the sources of Anti-Semitism, whose influence negatively affected lives of many people. From the story we know that Liesel and her family are one of those people. Nevertheless single words are not enough to make sure that people really believed you, that’s why Hitler also took actions. One of those actions was the book burning. Since books were full of information and various ideas which might had contradicted the policies and ideologies expressed by Hitler, allowing people to have different perspective on things, they had to be destroyed. Of course not all of them were, only those that posed a danger to the freedom of thought at the time.
ReplyDeleteEven though I find this theme important, I must say that it does not really relate to the plot of the novel, but it is very connected to the background of the story, where all the beginnings take place.
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” T.S. Eliot
ReplyDeleteI find this quote directly connected to one of themes in the story which is risk. To be honest as far as I read the book, I can say that risk is present in almost every aspect of Hubermann family’s life. Maybe the reason for that is because they are not very big supporters of Nazi party, which by itself is a very dangerous risk to take at the time of Hitler’s rule. If you are with Nazis, you live, if you against them, you die. This fact was well-known in 1939 in Nazi Germany. Nevertheless having this danger on their backs, Hubermanns kept taking even more risks. For example, Hans Hubermann put himself in a great danger when he repainted the door of one of the Jewish shops after it was painted with slur. He took even greater risk when he decided to help Max Vandenburg. He increased not only for himself but for his whole family after accepting him in their house. Liesel also took risks when she stole the book from the fire, knowing that anyone might see her, or when she and Rudy were stealing apples from the farm. You might say that these people are criminals, but I personally don’t consider them being ones. I think that crime is an act of a normal person in abnormal country, which I think Germany was at that time. As well as that Hubermanns did not take risks because they needed or wanted to; it was their personal decisions based on their firm and sincere beliefs in justice and fairness of humanity. Even though they had a 50-50% chance of being caught, at least they stayed loyal to their values and principles, and I think that is more important than anything else.
I think a theme in this novel so far has been guilt. Many characters have been affected in some way by guilt, and it has changed their lives. For example, Hans Huberman's life was spared in the war when his friend Erik Vandenburg went out to fight instead of him. This guesture caused Hans to feel guilty when his friend died, because it could have been him in his friend's place. Another example of guilt, is when Liesel steals her first book. But she has alteriour motives than to just steal something, she wants to remember her dead brother. Max Vandenburg is another character who feels guilt throughout the time he has been present in the novel. He felt guilty for leaving his family, who helped him in his time of need, to go hide for his life. And even when Max arrives on Himmel street, and the Huberman's take him in, he is again overcome with the guilt of causing them so much trouble. Even Rosa Huberman feels guilty, when she gives Liesel such a severe watchen (beating), when Liesel mails her letters with the wash money.
ReplyDeleteGuilt is constantly re-occuring in this novel, and it changes the characters in some way each time. Sometimes the guilt is for the better (because Liesel would have never learned to read if she had not stolen her first book), but usually it causes the characters great difficulties, emotionally and physically.
One I the themes I have found in the novel is Equality. Equality is treating everyone equal no matter your differences or similarities.
ReplyDeleteThe Jews were not equal to all German's and all German's were not equal to a Nazi. We see this with Max who is not given equality by the government and has many of his rights and freedoms stripped from him which sent him into hiding. One of the basic rights is that all humans should have the right to enough food and safe water. Max does not have that or even a safe place to stay.
In the case of Hans Huberman, he was not treated equal and was discriminated against because of his refusal to join the Nazi party and his mannerism towards the Jewish People.
Even Leisel faces some equality issues when she is not up to the same reading level as the other children. She is ridiculed by her inability to read even simple things and therefore treated differently, not only by the other students but by the teacher as well.
In Germany leading up to and during World War II being different was not accepted and equality was not granted to everyone.
Another theme I believe is in the novel is Respect whish goes hand in hand with the theme equality.
ReplyDeleteWithout respect nothing positive happens in the world. If we lived in a world of no respect today, I believe it would greatly resemble Germany during events such as Kristallnacht and ultimately the Holocaust. Hitler did not respect the Jewish people therefore allowing the equality in Germany to diminish under his directions. People lost respect for the Jewish people after propaganda put them to blame for all over Germany’s problems. No one ever seems to respect the 'screw-ups'.
On the other side of the spectrum there is respect. Hans continuously gives Leisel respect, teaching her to read and never commenting on her lack of literacy or bed-wetting problem. As well Hans also respects the Jews. He continues to paint their houses and converse with them despite the increasing negative feelings towards them. He is a prime example of a respectful person; he treats everyone as he would like to be treated. He even respects the Nazi party with things such as his attendance to bonfires and the raising of the German flag on Hitler's birthday, despite the fact that we know he does not agree of support the Nazis.
The lack of respect during this time period is what fueled the Holocaust giving more victims and more people willing to fight to get that respect and equality back.
I agree with Elvina when she says that influence is a major theme. To have influence, you need power, which could be considered another important theme. When we regard the actions and consequences in the holocaust, they're pretty disgusting. Thousands of people being thrown into crematoriums in concentration camps, the right to live stripped away, people and their property being attacked without consequences, it's hard to understand why anyone would do this. I think the answer is influence. With Hitler's power, he was able to convince everyone that what they were doing was right, and they were simply defending their country. Before Hitler came to power Jews and Germans were friends with each other, and I'm almost certain it never crossed their minds that one day the Germans (or some of them) would become Nazis and throw their friends into fires. The things Hitler and the Nazi party came to do throughout the Holocaust would never have occured if not for power and influence.
ReplyDeleteOne theme that I think plays an important role is the idea of forbidden knowledge and its effect on your thoughts and actions. One of the reasons that Hitler and the Nazi party were so successful is because they knew how to make changes in such a way that people wouldn't realize how far they were being manipulated, and once they did figure it out, the Nazi party was so powerful and influential they were nearly impossible to stop.
ReplyDeleteOne of the important scenes in this novel is the book burning. This is one of the changes the Nazis made that had a huge impact. By burning books that they didn't want people to read they were able to limit the knowledge that people could access. When Liesel stole the books she began to break the barrier to the forbidden ideas and she was able to befriend a Jew even when she was surrounded by people who would try to influence her otherwise.
I am certain that one of the themes in this book is taking risks and seeing where they take you. This theme is directed mainly to the Hubermann's family, Leisel. It is directed towards the Hubermann's such as Rosa and Hans because they are risking their lives by taking Max into their home and presenting hospitality. Leisel is taking risks with herself by visiting the mayor and wife and stealing food with rudy and the others. She is a good girl but has a rebelious side to her that we can see throughout the novel.
ReplyDeleteA theme that revolves around the book is the theme of friendship. Though a very simple theme, this has quite some significance in the book. Throughout the book so far Liesel has made a few friendships. First, the friendship with her foster dad Hans Hubermann, then with Rudy Steiner and with Max Vandenburg. I think the friendship between Liesel and her foster dad is one of strongest and loving. This friendship was built when Liesel would have nightmares of her brother and wake up screaming. Then Hans every night would come, comfort her and spends hours beside her. Also, Hans teaches Liesel how to read and write, which meant a lot to Liesel. Though, this may be more of love, there is still a sense of friendship between the two. Second Rudy Steiner is a friend whom she likes to play soccer with and talk about different stuff that she normally couldn’t talk about with her foster parents. Their friendship becomes stronger as they steal fruit together and spend more time with each other. Lastly, Max Vandenburg is the Jew who’s staying in the Hubermann’s basement and at first Liesel didn’t want anything to do with him. This was until she could really relate to some of the problems he was having to her own. For example, the nightmares they both have. Some nights they would both wake up from having a nightmare and talk about what they dreamt about. Though, I think as I keep reading their friendship will become very close. The theme of friendship definitely has some connection into the changing of Liesel. From being abandoned to feeling like she’s actually loved again, friendship has some reason for it.
ReplyDeleteI believe another one of the themes has to do with our narrator, Death, more specifically the will to survive.
ReplyDeleteOn page 174 and 175 Death says, "I've seen so many young men over the years who think they're running at other men. They are not. They’re running at me." This quote is in reference to young men on the battle field during war. In accordance to the novel, this theme can be alluding to different things.
It can be about how people , like Max when he was younger and some soldiers, are living life to the fullest and doing everything they can to keep fighting for it. A young Max said that he would never allow himself to be at peace with Death; he would always be fighting for his life right up until he reached his end and was taken by Death, who he would then punch in the face. These people would rather die fighting for themselves or their country, than waste away to some disease or old age.
On the other side of the spectrum where life is so hard that death has become the better option, the quote can also be related. I believe in the case of the Jewish their will to survive has diminished as the constant hiding and running has made it less painful for them to just die. During World War II the life quality of the Jewish people most likely was worse then what they imagined their hell to be, making death one of their few options. They had to live, if you could even call it that, in constant fear due to the rules and then actions of the Nazis.
The soldiers of World War I and the young Max ran at Death with attempts at evading him; the Jewish and other peoples victimized by the Nazis ran at him with open arms.
I think one of the themes of the novel is hate. German's are stereotyped to hate Jewish people during this time period but there are a few German's who are not prejudiced to Jew's like the Hubermann's. They are taking a huge risk to having Max stay in their house but since they are caring people they are letting him stay with them. Since German's are "supposed" to hate Jews according to Hitler, the Hubermann's are doing what they feel and not just following the crowd, hating on the Jews. I think they are very strong people by not following the others and this can be a very meaningful subject to be one of the books purposes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone there are so many themes in this novel. Two that really stood out to me in the past 10 chapters were friendship and abandonment. For friendship we all know that Rudy and Liesel are best of friends they do everything together. Such as collecting and delivering laundry, soccer, and stealing food from farms and other people. Liesel and her foster father, Hans share a very unique friendship. They share a different kind of friendship it’s mostly about books, reading, and writing. Things associated with literature. They read all the books that Liesel steals or gets and they circle words that she doesn't understand after that they write them on the cement in the basement and go over them. The new friendship in this novel is of Liesel and Max. They share common interests which they can reflect to each other about. They both have nightmares and they were both involved in fights. They slowly start talking to each other and that's the friendship to look out for in the rest of the novel. The other theme is abandonment. They both have nightmares: one where Liesel was abandoned when her mother and brother who die another when Max "abandons" his family. They aren't deliberate abandonment's but both of them feel sad and guilty. Germany's passion for war is the central cause to the novel's abandonment episodes. Max’s father dies in World War 1 and Hans' son has abandoned his father to fight in World War 2.
ReplyDeleteSurvivors, “… the ones who are left behind, crumbling among the jigsaw puzzle of realization, despair, and surprise. They punctured hearts. They have beaten lungs.” This quote brings me to the one of the most important themes in the novel, which is survival. The ability of a human spirit to overcome impossibly high barriers and difficulties and still maintain its humane feeling and values is portrayed in the novel through many ways. One of them is portrayed through Liesel’s hard childhood. To witness your little brother dying literally on your arms, to withstand the parting with you loved mother and to be clueless about the mysterious disappearance of you father is not something that many of us were destined to live through in the age of ten. In fact the majority of us can only imagine the 0.1 percent of the total feeling and pain that Liesel must have had to go through. Nevertheless Liesel found the strength in herself to deal with what fate had prepared for her. She did not lose the desire to live or gave up on everything, instead she tried to move on and start a new life no matter how hard and painful it was for her. Another vivid example of a survivor in the novel is Max Vandenburg, the man who lost everything he had; the man whose life was left hanging as most lives of the Jewish people were at that time; the man who had to have an enormous courage, patience and endurance to overcome the uneasy road to his survival; and the man who constantly feels guilty that he did survive, while others did not. But as it says in the book, “Living was living. The price was guilt and shame.”
ReplyDeleteThis is cruel and severe reality, with which unfortunately people had to deal with in the Second World War. How strong spirited and enduring they were! It amazes me; it me leaves with my mouth open and brain that tries to search for the right words to say, but always fails because it is truly indescribable. But there are always two feelings that overflow me with their strength at those moments, and they are pure respect and obeisance for these powerful people, for the survivors.
A theme that i have recently found is rebelion. Whenever Leisel takes a book she is breaking the rules and she should not be allowed to do that. She is sneaking behind Rosa Hubbermans back by going into the mayor's house and looking at all of the books. Leisel and Rudy also steal food from people in the town. Leisel has always been a sweet girl but she has a rebelious side to her lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteAnother very important theme I have discovered, is the power of words. All throughout the novel so far, the author has used interesting word choices, personification on words, and has given a simple thing like words a greater meaning. For example:
ReplyDelete'...the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like the rain.' (Zusak, 80)
and...
'The words landed on the table and positioned themselves in the middle. All three people looked at them.' (Zusak, 330)
and...
'The book saw only the mechanics of the words-their bodies stranded on the paper, beaten down for her to walk on.' (Zusak, 381)
This illustrates to us the importance of words in Liesel's life. Words are like an escape from all of the bad things happening in the war around her, and they are the thing that connects Liesel and Max. They have become great friends, all because they are two people fascinated with words. With the help of some words, a few books, and a never-wavering desire to learn, Liesel bonds with Max, her foster father Hans, and even the Mayor's lonely wife. They all share a love of reading, but each one deals with it in their own ways.
Liesel learns that the power of words is what gives her hope, and reminds her of the things she has lost (like her family) and what she must work for in life.
This theme of the power of words is very prominent throughout the novel, and I think it is one of the key concepts the author is trying to portray to the reader.
A obvious theme in the novel is friendship. From the very beginning of the book friendship is present between Liesel and Rudy. This friendship grows all the time through thick and thin. Also Hans Hubberman contributes to friendship when he excepts to let Max hide in the basement this not only proving friendship but loyalty as well. Due to Hans letting Max stay in their basement this allows the friendship of Liesel and Ma to be formed which in my opinion is probably the strongest of all.
ReplyDeleteOne of the themes I noted while reading this novel was taking chances. The reason why I think that taking chance is one of the themes in this book is because throughout the whole book Liesle took chances by stealing books for instance after her foster mother was fired from doing the mayors washings she went back to the mayor's house and stole books (page 288) the fact that Liesle went back to steal a book knowing the consequences she would face if she got caught was taking a chance. Rudy Liesle and a bunch of other poor kids took chances when the stole apples from someone else’s property to satisfy their hunger even though they knew that if they got caught they would be in so much trouble (page 152). When the Hubrmanns hid Max Vandenburg (a Jew) they were taking chances, as a matter of fact they were risking their lives because if the Nazi's ever caught them they would of taken them away (page 203). When Hans Hubermann decided to give food to a poor Jewish man he was taking a chance as a matter of fact he had to pay for his actions he got whipped by the Nazi, and people called him a “Jew lover” (pages 394-395) at the time it was an insult to be called that. Just to add this kind of reminds me of the book to kill a mocking bird when people called him a “Niger lover” Atticus was taking chances just like Hans did.
ReplyDeleteI think that part of the theme in this book is love. I know that that sounds like a bad cliché and a very basic theme but the type of love that I'm thinking of is not romantic love. I'm thinking more along the lines of love for humans in general. I think it stands out because there is a huge contrast between the hate that Hitler has for the rest of the world and the kindness and love of the main characters on Himmel street. You would think that there would be a lot more hostility and hate in a poor German community during the war. But instead there are people like Hans and Rosa who took Liesel in and automatically loved her. They're also hiding Max and they treat him like an equal. I've read other stories about Germans hiding Jews but the conditions in which they live are not much worse than a concentration camp. Also, often the Jewish people have an understandable hate for all Germans. But Max is becoming very close to Liesel and her family. We also can’t ignore the strong friendship between Rudy and Liesel. Rudy is extremely loyal to Tommy and Liesel as well. So in this story we see strong maternal and friendship love, as well as general love for human life.
ReplyDeleteOne theme that i see in this book is the feeling of being abandoned. Liesel at the beginning of the book gets abandoned by her mom at a random house an adopted agency sets up for her. No regard on where her mother is off to or what's going to happen to her. She also in a way got abandoned by her brother. He brother died right before they were suposed to go to live with their new foster parents but because he died she is there alone. Also Max abandoned his family. Didn't let his mother or cousins know where he was going. Walked out the door and didn't even have the courage to turn around and look at them and say goodbye.
ReplyDeleteI think that a theme which revolves around the story is exchanging, or repaying. What I mean by that is if somebody does something for you, you do something back for them. There are many examples of this in the book. The first one I'm thinking of is when Max writes The Standover Man. He considered Liesel's hug on her own birthday a present to himself, maybe just to know someone cares about him, and he wrote her the story to try and repay her. Another is a more general idea. Hitler cause Liesel much misfortune, at least she blamed it on him. Her brother's death and her mother's departure were both pinned on Hitler. To repay him, she stole a book from a fire in honor of his birthday, and later on she, along with her family, hides a Jew in her basement.
ReplyDeleteOne of other themes that I see emerging in the book is fate and especially the fact that you’re the one who is in control of it.
ReplyDeleteI often thought that before even a human is born his life is already destined for him. Like that he will become a doctor that he will be married on a beautiful woman that he will have 3 kids and he will die at the age of 78 because of cancer. No, it is not like that. If it were then you could have just sit on the sofa and wait for everything to come for you, but as we know nothing will happen if you’ll just sit there and wait, besides you getting fat because of the lack of movement. Everything in life has to be earned through hard work, patience and pains. You have to overcome a difficult road with barriers on it to reach something, and the choices that you make, and the risks that you take, and the directions that you choose to go in are the factors that lead you to your fate. Like Death said, “One Opportunity leads directly to another, just as risk leads to more risk, life to more life, and death to more death.” In the novel I can see this theme developing through many ways. In fact fate is the result of every decisions and choices made by characters. Like when Liesel chose to steal the book from pile of aches, she also chose to live with feeling of guilt and paranoia that someone might have seen her, like mayor’s wife did. As far as the book goes, we see that mayor’s wife did not anything about it, but due to the narrator’s love of foreshadowing we know that in future mayor’s wife’s silence might end bringing a lot of problems to Liesel’s wife and maybe even changing it completely. Also it was Liesel’s own decision to learn to read and write, through hard midnight reading sessions, classmate’s bullying and unending desire to reach her goal. Then in the case of Hans Hubermann, by choosing to hide the Jew in his house, he risks a lot and really puts his family in danger. He chose a different life path, where he chose to help and save person ‘life rather than saying “No” to the request and continuing his life as usual. It is hard to say right now which path would have brought him to a better ending, but it is certain that each one of those paths is different with its own benefits and consequences.
Still though, as I am writing about this theme and trying to bring evidences to support my argument, I can’t get rid of the feeling that sometimes people’s lives get really interconnected and affected by others, making it sometimes impossible to control you own fate. Like for example when person gets in a car accident because of the other drunk driver, or you get spontaneously bombed as you walk down the street. What about those people? I am sure they did not choose this fate. They are just victims of someone else’s choices; like all the Jewish people were at Hitler’s time. So, does it mean that sometimes you can’t control your fate? Does anyone have an answer? I don’t. I am confused.
At the moment, I feel like there are two big themes in this story. The first one I think is love and friendship. Liesel was sent away to live with people she didn’t know at all, who she had to grow and learn to love. I think that the strongest relationship of love is shared between Liesel and Hans Hubermann. They have become very close friends, and they bother have become to love each other very much. Another close friend she has is Rudy Steiner, her neighbour. He has defended her in school in front of people, and has encouraged her when she was having trouble, (page 77, he is encouraging her to read the story, even though she was having trouble reading the words).
ReplyDeleteThe other big theme that I see is discrimination, but this is to be expected from a story about the Holocaust. On page 110, a man in his Nazi uniform makes a speech about making Germany, and the world a better place by “stopping their enemies”, or “putting an end to the disease that has been spread through Germany”. In these cases, we know that the man is talking about putting an end to all Jews, because that’s what Hitler was about. Jews are also referred to as “garbage” by Hans Juniour, (page 105). I think that this theme will definitely continue to grow throughout the story.
What stood out to me when I was reading the comic that Max made for Liesel on her birthday(page 224) was the fact that he cut pages out of Hitler's book Mein Kampf. He painted those pages white, and drew something new over them; his own story. For me that symbolized that Max was trying to break through the wall that Hitler created between the jewish people, and almost everyone else. Max showed that he wanted to erase the false images and ideas that Hitler was putting into people's minds, and build his own story. I realized this when I saw the bits of Mein Kampf showing through the paint throughout the comic.
ReplyDeleteOn page 250, Max visualizes himself in a boxing ring with Hitler. It talks about them fighting, and no one in the crowd is on Max's side. This told me that Max must feel alone and maybe helpless. Being Jewish at that time would probably make you feel abandoned. As I was reading this part, I wondered why Max( a competative person who liked to fist fight) would envision himself getting beat up by probably his worst enemy. Then Max is down, but as he gets up, my hope in his faith in himself rises. He lets his contained anger out and releases it on Hitler. Then Hitler convinces the crowd that Jews would start to "takover" their lives. Hitler invites the audiences to enter the ring and fight a man who was a victim to lies. This really showed me what Max was feeling. He was feeling outnumbered, alone, betrayed, defencless, and powerless. It showed me he wanted to fight back, but the hatred in people was sometimes too strong.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry, but I have a typo in my blog about fate. When it says,”.. .brining a lot of problems to Liesel's wife.." , it is supposed to be Liesel's life.
ReplyDeleteSorry.
I think a theme to think about is the "value" of family/friendship. This is what truly keeps Liesel happy through out the book as well as many others. Liesel's love for her papa Hans Hubberman is present from the first night she stayed at the Hubberman's house, during the war she never stops thinking about him and to the very end of the book when Hans dies. Without the importance of friendship Max would never had been taken in by Hans and surely would have died. Without friendship Liesel would never have been able to obtain all the books she did due to Rudy her very best friend helping her.
ReplyDeleteI do think sometimes we take our families for granted as well as our friends. This is something that we have to stop because anything could happen at anytime and if it does and all that you ever did was fight or argue, that is all you have to remember someone by. Although we do not face the same treats as Liesel and the Hubbermans we should lead by example and treat everyone with the respect they deserve.
I think there is more than one theme in this book. One of them is relationships, there are many different types of relationships in this book. Such as between Liesel and Rudy, Lisel and Rosa, Liesel and Hans, and Hans and Rosa. These are only few of the many different ones. I find the relationship between Hans and Liesel is the best because i find Hans to be a great person. He is a great father to Lisel when shes not even his own daughter, he takes care of her and teaches her. Lisel looks up to him and uses him as support. She came into a family that she didn't now and they didn't now anything about her. Hans made sure that his foster daughter didn't feel like they weren't her own family. This is the main reason i believe one of the themes in the book is Relationships. There is so many different verity's of them in this book and its great to read about them.
ReplyDeleteI think strength is a large theme in book since most people have to face adversity. The most obvious being Liesel. Liesel has plenty of adversity that she could spread it around with the rest of the characters in the book and she would still be swamped with troubles. Her problems start very early in the book when her brother dies and then she is split from her mother. I feel that these are her biggest struggles to get over since she is trying to get over them throughout the whole story.
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