Shaheed Awati

Ms.Pindar
ENG2D
April 17, 2015

The Book Thief Essay

The Book Thief written by Mark Zusak, which is narrated by Death who is also a
character in the story. Death states, Its just a small story really, about, among things: A small
girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot
of thievery (Zusak 5). Humans are capable of both great compassion and great evil based on
their experiences that shape them. The author demonstrates the theme using conflicts like person
versus society, The Word Shaker written by Max Vandenburg, and the power of words.
Person versus society conflicts in The Book Thief are implemented to characters who are
capable of great compassion and great evil. Characters who demonstrate compassion and evil are
Hans Hubermann; Liesels stepfather and an accordionist, Max Vandenburg; the Jewish fist
fighter and the secret lodger in the Hubermanns house, Liesel Meminger; the protagonist of the
story and the book thief. Hans versus the Nazis is an example of person versus society conflict,
where Hans is the protagonist and the antagonist is the Nazis. One day the Nazis decided to walk
the Jewish prisoners down the road and Hans decided to give a piece of bread to one of the Jews.
[] Hans Hubermann held his hand out and presented a piece of bread [], stated Death
(Zusak 394). Feeding Jewish prisoners on their way to Dachau is considered a crime to the Nazi
guards so Hans was punished for his act. It might seem like a small thing, but to the Jewish
people who saw it as an act of true compassion. Hanss past experience of Erik Vandenburg; a

German Jew, who had volunteered Hans to stay behind writing letters and Erik had to go fight in
the war. This occurred when Hans was a soldier during World War 2 and reminded him that a
Jew saved his life, which he could never forget. Another example of a person versus society in
The Book Thief is Max Vandenburg versus Hitler/Germany. In this conflict, Max is the
protagonist and Hitler/Germany is the antagonist. This is a person versus society conflict because
Max is fighting against the outside world. On the night of November 9, 1939, Nazi soldiers
stormed the streets of Germany, breaking windows and looting Jewish businesses in a nationwide
attack that would be known as Kristallnacht (the night of broken glass). During that night Max
was told by his best friend, Walter Kugler, he had to leave his home immediately to escape arrest.
This is a past experience of Max which led to him leaving the Hubermanns house because he
did not want them being caught helping a Jew. This act of Max leaving the Hubermanns house
demonstrates how compassionate Max is to the Hubermann family and he does not want to
experience another family get punished because of his religion which Max has already
experienced with his own family. Liesel Meminger versus Hitler/Germany is an example of
person versus society conflict where Liesel is the protagonist and Hitler/Germany is the
antagonist. Liesel is dealing with hiding a Jew in her basement. She and the Hubermanns know
that Hitler is very strict about hiding Jews. If they are caught then the result will be punishment
or persecution. As Liesel grows as a character in the story, she understands that because of Hitler
she lost her parents. This past experience of Liesel leads her to say, I hate the Fuhrer. [] I hate
him (Zusak 115). The Fuhrer has shown his great evil by persecuting Jews and any biased
Germans. Person versus society conflicts in The Book Thief are implemented to characters who
show outcomes of great compassion and great evil.

The Word Shaker is an important symbol in The Book Thief, which is written by Max
for Liesel. Max, who understands the effect of Hitlers propaganda has had on his religion, helps
him impart this lesson through his allegorical story The Word Shaker, where Zusak depicts the
power of words for great compassion and great evil. Max illustrates how Hitler decides to rule
the world by using words. Hitler plants trees, which have words that symbolize hate against
Jews. Max educates Liesel about Hitlers propaganda and the reason for him to hide from the
Nazis. This is an act of compassion from Max who provides knowledge to Liesel about Hitler to
be aware that she does not do anything that is against Hitler. Maxs past experience of losing his
family due to the Nazis which were commanded by Hitlers propaganda builds his knowledge
about Hitler. The Word Shaker written by Max shows how one small girl can have such a
major impact and can stand up against Hitler and save a Jew who is despised by his entire
country. Max states in his book, The best word shakers are the ones who understood the true
power of words [] (Zusak 446). Liesel is the skinny girl in the story who was once without
words, so she understands better than most just how much power they truly have. One day she
meets a man who is hated by his home country, and they become friends. When the man gets
sick, the word shaker lets a tear fall on his face. The tear becomes a seed, and the girl plants it
and tends to it. Soon it becomes the tallest tree in the forest. It is only the word shakers who live
outside the propaganda system, as they understand the power of language. These could be artists
and writers, but also people like Hitler they can use the power of words for good or evil. It is
Liesel's great compassion that grows the tallest word-tree, which falls on top of Hitlers trees and
the other hateful word shakers. Liesels past experience of losing her mother because of Hitlers
propaganda is what led her to stop Hitlers propaganda in The Word Shaker. The Word
Shaker written by Max illustrates the compassion he receives from Liesel. One day a new ax

man appears, but instead of an ax, he has a hammer, and he drives nails into the tree trunk and
uses them to climb up to the top. The two talk and look around at the forest and then they climb
down together. As soon as their feet touch the ground, the tree falls, destroying much of the
forest. Max is the only one able to climb the tree, implying that Liesel let him into her refuge
both physically and mentally, and he found safety from Hitler not only in her home but also in
her words. Liesel portrays herself as a compassionate character in The Word Shaker by
providing Max with shelter and safety from Hitler. In Maxs past experience, Walter Kugler had
helped him escape the night of broken glass and without him Max would have never survived
that terrible night. Max uses his past memories and implements it into The Word Shaker, but
using Liesel and current complications he faces in Molching. This act also shows how evil Hitler
was during World War 2. Hitler uses propaganda to persuade Germans to hate and discriminate
Jews through his hateful words. The Word Shaker illustrates the great compassion and great
evil that humans portray in it.
The power of words is a motif in The Book Thief that shows humans using words are
capable of both great compassion and great evil. Liesel uses words to comfort others during the
air raids, which brought tension to people in the Fielders basement. Liesel reads The Whistler
out loud to comfort herself, but everyone falls silent and starts listening to her. Liesel realizes
that reading out loud is like having and playing her own accordion. Even after the sirens signal
that the raid is over, people stayed to hear the rest of the chapter, and they thanked Liesel as they
left. This is a very important moment for Liesel, and shows how much she has grown. The same
girl who failed her reading test is now reading to a silent gathering of adults. She no longer needs
Hans to comfort her with reading now she is comforting others. Liesel shows an act of
compassion giving people in the shelter a reprieve from the fear with her words. Liesels past
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experience of when Hans plays the accordion to comfort her, which teaches Liesel to comfort
others, using words. Mein Kamp is a book written by Hitler about his life and filled with antiSemitism that reveals his evil mind. Max reads this book while he was on the train to Munich,
which his friend Walter Kugler had gotten him with the train tickets and a key inside. He reads
this book so he can avoid suspicion, recognizing the irony that Hitlers book would save him.
However, the book is filled with hatred and discrimination of Jews, which is against Max
because he is a Jew. This is an act of great evil by Hitler because he uses words to convey hatful
meanings that persuade Germans to be anti-Semitic. Before coming to Munich Max had already
faced hatred and discrimination where his family was to taken away from him and sent to
concentration camps due to Hitlers propaganda. Isla Hermann is the mayors wife who sees
Liesel steal The Shoulder Shrug from the bonfire during Hitlers party in Molching. Ilsa invites
Liesel into her library and wishes to share her books with Liesel, giving Liesel one of the best
gifts she's ever known. She leaves the window open for Liesel so that she can come in and take
books as she wishes and also leaves other gifts cookies and a dictionary. After Liesel develops
her reading skills, Ilsa gives her a blank book and encourages her to write, and not live the rest of
her life in despair. This gave Liesel a chance to write her own book called The Book Thief.
This book is also the reason why Liesel is in the basement during the bombing, and it saves her
life in the same sense that Max feels he was saved by Mein Kampf. Liesel states, "I have hated
the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right"(Zusak 528).
The Book Thief written by Mark Zusak, which is narrated by Death who is soul carrier
and the narrator of this book. Death states, I am haunted by humans (Zusak 550). Humans are
capable of both great compassion and great evil, based on thief experiences that shape them.
Person versus society conflicts that have occurred throughout The Book Thief, demonstrate the
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great compassion and great evil through use of characters, The Word Shaker written by Max
conveys the message of compassion and evil, and the powers of words can be used by characters
to portray compassion and evil.

Works Cited

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print.