Amazon.ca describes this book as a "dark and powerfully absorbing novel, brilliantly executed". It's narrator calls it "just as small story, really." Jump in with both feet and surrender to one of the most gripping, unusual, hilarious books I've read in years. It's a book about books, about hate, about love, and about how words can be our most powerful weapons.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Themes
Remember, a theme is a big, universal idea the author wants to communicate to you. What themes do you see emerging as you read?
I see the theme of haunting emerging as I read.Both Leisel and Max have had events in their lives that will stick with them and haunt them forever in their nightmares, despite the fact that these events occured years ago.For Leisel it was her brother's death, a tragedy that has in a lot of ways defined her to be the person she is and her relationship with books. For Max, it was leaving his family without a final wave goodbye, making him feel like an animal just doing what he can to survive. It's like no matter what they do to try to escape the horrors of their pasts, they'll never be free of these experiences that have changed them and left a mark on them forever, and reoccur nightly in their nightmares. Hans Hubermann had a defining event in his life that haunts him as well; when Erik Vandenburg saved his life by nominating him to write letters, causing him to feel forever in debt to his family and ultimatly the cause of why Max is hiding in his basement. Having Max in his house, I beleive, is in many ways a good thing, but also a type of haunting- a reminder of the event that saved his life so many years ago. And now, because of that one event he was greatful for, he is haunted by the son of Erik and must put both his life and his family's life on the line to protect Max.
The theme of guilt emerged for me right away. A point where this happens is when Liesel first steals the book from the fire when shes with her new family, after the celebration. She knew people had seen her and if they reported her, she would be in a lot of trouble. Not knowing what was going to happen and the danger she could of put her family in made her feel even worse. Liesel also felt guilt when she yelled at the mayors wife. It was something that Liesel probably didnt expect to happen, and said things she might have not meant. Another situation with guilt is when Max comes to Hans,wanting to hide because he is Jewish, he feels a lot of guilt about hiding,and not being able to repay them. He knows what Hans and his family have done for him, and how dangerous it really is. I think more guilt will emerge throughout this specific point, on the Jewish presence in Germany, and the Nazi party.
Ally, I completely agree with that theme! Another piece of evidence that I thought I would mention from Kelsey's post that fit into here was Max leaving his family. He feels extremely guilty about leaving them for dead when the chance of life for him arose. Even though they wouldn't have let him stay, he still feels guilty that he didn't even say a final goodbye. He just walked out without a last look.
I see the theme of survival emerging the story. It is set during the time of the holocaust where many people died. It was not just the jews that were trying to survive though it was also the german people as well. Most common people did not have much money at all. For example Liesel's friend Rudy does not get much to eat at all and is very skinny. Also some of the kids in the neighbourhood resort to stealing apples to not be hungry anymore. Another example is how Liesel's mother had to send her away in the first place, she thought she would have a better life.
I agree with Ally. And also with what Kelsey H added. I feel like Liesel and Max both have a lot of guilt. But, for very different reasons. Liesel is doing something very wrong, and she knows that. And Liesel should feel guilty because she keeps doing it. What Max did was to survive which is not wrong at all. I think he shouldn't feel too guilty.
I am starting to see numerous themes developing throughout the story. One in particular is friendship. Their is clearly a strong bond between not only Rudy and Liesel but also between Liesel and Max. These two relationships couldn't be more different but they really help in developing a plot that can make the reader understand what people went through during this horrible time in our history. I definitely agree with Kelsey.M when she says that the theme of haunting is in this book. There are a lot of flashbacks involved in this book and they are all describing bad things that had happened in the character's past life such as Liesel's brother dying and her mother abandoning her. Those events are very difficult to forget about and I don't think they ever will be able to completely block them out of their minds.
I believe this book has multiple themes,but one of the many I have seen is deviance. The reason I see this theme is because of all the stealing and mischief Rudy Steiner and Liesel cause around the town. Not only is deviance being committed by the children but also the Nazi's with the killing of the Jews. The Hubermann's are also violating a crime by hiding a Jew from the Nazi's. These are all examples of deviance.
A theme i'm starting to see develop is courage. I have read up to only part 6 and see that it has become very prominent already. I find Liesel and her new family both courageous because she has had to move in with them, not really knowing who they are and the family has taken in a child. I think Hans and Rosa both are courageous for taking in Max, knowing the danger they have put everyone in because Max is Jewish. I find Max courageous as well because he is trying to save himself and find a safe place to hide from the nazi's. Throughout the book there has been many more courageous moments and there will most likely be more to show throughout the rest of the book.
I completely agree with Ally because the Hubermann's are very courageous in taking in a Jewish person. They have to hide him and if someone slips up it's their lives on the line. I also think that Max is courageous because it takes a lot of courage to be able to leave your family and never look back. And go somewhere and not know anything about them or if you are actually going to make it there alive, and also if you are going to be able to hide there without getting caught.
The theme that first came to my mind when i began reading was suffering. Right from the beginning many things such as Liesel's brother dying and her having to leave her mother's side showed the theme of suffering. Throughout the book other things develop this theme such as watching what Max has to suffer through because he is a jew. I really think the book is meant to show this theme especially because it is during the war.
A theme i'm starting to see is hope. Many parts of the novel have expressed hope. The part I can relate this to is when Max leaves and Liesel wants to make sure hes safe and well. There was hope when Max was living with the Hubbermanns, when the house was getting inspected and when Max became ill. The family cared so much for this person and they were always hoping for better. There are situations that represent hope throughout the whole novel, especially reacuring with characters like Liesel, Max and Hans.
I have seen the theme of fear making a presence in the book. When the Hubermann's were hiding the Jew (Max), there was constant fear of being caught. Also Max is in constant fear of being captured by the Nazi's. Liesel also shows the theme of fear through her night terrors that occur every night. Max has night terrors aswell to add to this theme of fear.
I think that one of the themes in this novel is family. The theme is family because throughout the story the families have to do things that could have them killed or have them sent off to war. An example is how Hans and Rosa are hiding a jew in their basement if anyone found out they would be punished. Since the Hubermanns like everyone and dont treat jews like their different then them they treat them like on of their own, like their family. The Hubermanns will do anything to make their family survive even with hiding a jew in their basement.
One major theme i see in this book is the theme of bravery. This was a very scary time in Germany for not only the jewish people but also the german people. I think that mostly all of the characters in the story have exhibited bravery in some way or another. Some examples are how hans tries to protect jewish people, and how Leisel steals the books from people or places. In all the situations they know if they are ever caught that the consequnces will be severe. Im sure that there were actually people like that during the Holocaust and that takes alot of bravery.
I agree with Riley that the theme of deviance has defiantly been developing in the novel. I also believe the theme of consequences becomes more developed as you get deeper into the book such as when Hans Hubermann tries to give the Jew in the street a piece of bread. He not only faces the consequences the Nazi's will give him but also that he now has to live with the fact that Max will have to leave because there will be lots of Suspicion of them hiding a Jew inside their house.
A theme I have seen developing is sympathy. There are multiple acts of sympathy shown, although I'm not finished the book yet. The first act I noticed was how Hans would sit with Liesel every night after she woke up from her nightmare. He sacrificed his sleep to make sure she was okay. Another example is Hans going to see Erik Vandenburg's family after he died, and leaving his name and address for them if they ever needed his help. Also, the fact that he kept that promise to the family 20 years later is a great display of sympathy. He's not the only character with this trait though. Liesel shows it time and time again, but the most prominent example from her in my mind is sympathy toward Max. She felt bad for him tucked away in the basement, so she would tell him stories, the weather, and how her day was. She also brought him multiple gifts from newspapers, to flattened soccer balls and toys, to descriptions of the sky. She also read to him two or three times a day while he was sick, so he wasn't lonely. Even the Nazi soldiers show sympathy to Liesel when she "hurts herself" in the soccer game. Although they aren't usually dipicted as friendly, one soldier bent down to make sure she was okay and looked after, and even checked back with her when he arrived at the Hubermann house later that afternoon. The book is full of kindness and acts of sympathy, even though all the characters are suffering their own hardships.
I agree with Kelsey that sympathy is a theme. Especially the way people seem to feel sympathy for Max. Even Rosa seems to feel sympathy towards him, she makes sure he has food to eat. Liesel has a lot of sympathy for Max because she knows how it feels to not have your family anymore and to lose people she loves. She spends a lot of time with him, and seems to enjoy having him in her life.
I agree with Ally. The first theme I thought of while reading this book was courage. The reasons I think this is because The Hubermann family risk their lives in order to save a jewish man from being a part of the holocaust. Hans Hubermann built up enough courage to feed a jewish man on the street infront of many people and nazi soldiers. Liesel moves into a family she does not know. Max risks his chance of being caught for living in a germans house because he looks out the window to see what it looks like outside. Max had to leave, and he walked and survivied alone in an area until someone found him and made him a part of the holocaust. There are many other things but those reasons are the main ones I thought of.
A theme that I found emerged in The Book Thief was that sometimes it is hard to distinguish between what is "right" and what is "wrong". Many times throughout the novel statements such as "The circumstances demanded it", or "It needed to be done" were written as explanations for the acts of thievery, trespassing, and other mischief that Rudy and Liesel committed to keep themselves well fed, happy, and busy during the war, and not once did I question the truth of these statements. It seemed completely morally right, even logical, to me, that Rudy and Liesel should steal to keep themselves happy during the difficult times of the war; an act that under other circumstances might have made me think less of them. It seemed almost backwards in the world of The Book Thief, the way that Rudy and Liesel had to sneak around to steal food for their health, drop stale bread on the road for dying Jews, steal books to keep them happy, and authorities would have found these acts terrible; meanwhile it was apparent every where that hundreds of thousands of Jewish people were being killed, tortured and treated poorly for no reason, and very few people in positions of authority cared or blinked an eye. It was like in Nazi Germany you were punished for doing what was right, and rewarded for doing wrong. It made for a very thick and blurry line between what's good and what's bad, with a lot of space on the line for Liesel and Rudy to get into some good-natured wrong-doing.
A theme I found was family. Throughout the book, Liesel becomes a member of the Hubberman family and is accepted right away. I really thought it was interesting how Hans and Rosa took her in and accepted so easily. They care about her like she is one of their own children and she looks at them to be her mother and father. When the men left to work during the war, the familys really came together and were very supportive. Family is a big thing for these people and supporting everyone is important.
The most obvious theme i believe is death. It surrounds the whole novel and is basically is the story line of the novel in my opinion. From the slaughter of the Nazi's all the way to the bombing of Himmel Street. Death is often reoccuring in the book.
(I'm not sure if my computer is just screwed up, but it's not showing any posts that I've done in the past 3 days, so sorry if I'm repeating myself) The theme that first emerged to me is sympathy. There have been many examples of sympathy in the book from many different characters, the most obvious being the Hubermanns' taking Max in when it was dangerous for them. They felt sorry for him, and Hans was keeping his promise. Another example from Hans is that he would sit for hours with Liesel when she was having bad dreams, sacrificing his own rest so that she would feel safe. Erik Vandenburg also showed great sympathy, maybe without even knowing how much he was giving, when he spoke up that Hans could write. Writing a letter instead of going out to fight that day saved his life. Liesel also showed huge amounts of sympathy towards Max. She felt sad for him while he was stuck in the basement, or sick in bed, so she gave him all sorts of love. She gave everything from tears, to newspapers, to old things she found on the ground or in the garbage, to descriptions of the weather. She would even sit and read to him 2 or 3 times a day while he was ill.
As I continued and finished reading the novel, I definitely agreed with Nicole's post about friendship being a theme. To me, it seems by the end of the book what really saved and kept all characters sane in the novel through the war were different kinds of bonds of friendship. From Liesel and Rudy's relationship full of innocent love, to Liesel and Max's friendship full of kindness, to Liesel and the Ilsa Hermann's relationship that helped heal both of them, to Frau Holtzapfel and Rosa Hubermann's relationship (although I'm not sure it could count as friendship, they definitely irked each other enough to distract one another from worse things going on), to Tommy Muller and Rudy's friendship which had plenty of loyalty, to Hans' gentle patience toward everyone. Without all these good people supporting one another and lightening the burden that war placed on their hearts with their friendships, they all would have become much more sour and unpleasant. Friendship was a necessary aspect of this novel.
I totally agree with Kelsey (Margraf)'s second last comment about a theme of distinguishing between 'right' and 'wrong'. When you're growing up, you learn about your morals and to follow your conscience, but I can't imagine how different it would be at the time of WWII. It seems like there were exceptions to many unspoken rules because, like you said, "the circumstances demanded it". I wonder how growing up with exceptions to most common rules and lessons that someone Liesel's age would learn would affect those who grew up in similar situations. Do they have different morals because they could always find an excuse and say that it 'needed to be done'?
I agree with Ally the theme of family is definately evident. I think that without family the will to live in many of the characters in this novel would be gone. I think the most evident person who shows this is Frau Holtzapfel. It is really evident with her because when she hears that one of her sons has died she loses much of the will to live and is barely able to make it to the bomb shelter. When her other son kills himself she truly loses all of the will to live and needs Hans Hubermann to comfort her while she cries in the middle of the street.
I agree with Ally about the theme courage. When I first started to read the book the first theme that was in my mind was courage. The Hubermann's risked their lives to save a jewish man from the holocaust. Liesel was brought to a family she did not know, and she had to live with them. Hans Hubermann built up enough courage to feed a jewish man in front of many people and nazi soldiers. As well as when Liesel did it with Rudy. There are many more reasons but here is what I found to be the main ones.
Another theme I thought of was bravery. Liesel was brave enough to steal books out of the same house everyday, even if it only was one book nothing seemed to stop her. Rudy and Liesel were brave enough to steal food out of a farmers yard to feed themselves.and Max was also brave to look out of the Hubermann's window when there were bombs going off, also having the risk of being caught by someone.
The main theme I was able to gather from The Book Thief was the power of words. This theme was demonstrated through Hitler, Max, and Liesel. Hitler used the power of words to get ninety percent of a nation to follow his political beliefs (Pg. 63). He wrote Mein Kampf to citizens his German ideals and he used persuasive speech to convince Germans during his political campaign. Max used the power of words through his own writing. He used ripped out and painted pieces of paper from Mein Kampf to write his own stories, the Standover Man and The Word Shaker. The first of the two is an autobiography of his life so far and, the second was a fairy tale for Liesel. Liesel used the power of words through reading and books. When she arrived in Molching she was unable to read but wanted to learn so that she could read The Grave Digger's handbook. After much practicing with Hans, she tried to read in front of her class at school, however did not succeed. This made her very determined to read and succeed. After learning how to read fairly well Liesel felt a bit better about herself, but after reading the few books she possessed multiple times, she became bored of them and needed some new motivation. She stole a book from the bottom of the fire on Hitler's birth day and that oddly gave Liesel a new boost of self assurance. This assurance did not last for long but Liesel knew just where to get some knew books from. She stole a couple of books from the Mayor's library to make her feel more powerful again.
A theme I see emerging in this novel is love. There are different types of love that are being dispayed. There is love of possesions, familiar love, platonic love and even romantic love. An example of love of possesions is Liesel's books and her father's accordion. These two object brought people together and created friendships. Families also show a lot of love towards each other. Familiar love united the Hubermanns and they were able to hide a Jew in their basement without anyone noticing. The love between Rudy and Liesel can be descibed as both platonic and romantic. They are there for each other, they protect each other and they trust each other. These are all examples of planotic love, but romantic love was there between them too. It just never got a chance to develop fully because Rudy died. Love works as a theme for this novel because all of the characters are learning how to love or already love something, whne there is a lot of hatred around them, because of the war.
Another theme in this book that is closely related to love is friednship. Max and Liesel show the strongest example of friendship. Both Max and Liesel have nightmares and they share what they dream about with each other and no one else. The reason why they are such a great example is because they are so different. Max is a Jewish man and Liesel is a German girl. Max is also about 10 years older than Liesel. Despite their differences Max an Liesel bond over books and become very fond of each other. Liesel was whipped by a soldierwhen she started walking next to Max in the Jewish parade. Max also took a beating for kissing Liesel's hand. Both Max and Liesel risked everything including their lives that day in order to be there for each other and to comfort each other. This is what makes their friendship so strong, they would do anything for each other.
I think a theme for The Book Thief could be thievery. In the time of the holocaust theievery was a common thing to do. It was difficult for poor families to get food, especially Liesel's and Rudy's families, considering how many times they had stolen foods. When they had joined the other "thieves" and shared their portions from the farms. Liesel also stole many books. Many from the Mayor's wife. Until she had found out and practically handed them to her through a tree.
I also think that another theme is courage or bravery because liesel is stealing books even though she knows the consequences. Hans is hiding max even though he knows if he gets caught he will either be killed or sent to concentration camps but they all do it because they're brave and courageous
I,m sure that many have mention how a big theme of the novel is the power of words. in many indirect ways even Hitler's words inspired many acts of cruelty. Really I don't understand how Hitler could have gathered such an immense group of powerful people to believe in him. Mostly I see him a middle aged guy with a weird mustache, like he doesn't seem very intimidating. But maybe it wasn't what he didn't or what he looked like was that made people agree with him but the way he had the people listen. This also applies to Liesel and her life. She learned to love and understand Himmel street. All this was possible for her through the authors choices of words as well as how he created Hans to teach her to read and write.
I see the theme of haunting emerging as I read.Both Leisel and Max have had events in their lives that will stick with them and haunt them forever in their nightmares, despite the fact that these events occured years ago.For Leisel it was her brother's death, a tragedy that has in a lot of ways defined her to be the person she is and her relationship with books. For Max, it was leaving his family without a final wave goodbye, making him feel like an animal just doing what he can to survive. It's like no matter what they do to try to escape the horrors of their pasts, they'll never be free of these experiences that have changed them and left a mark on them forever, and reoccur nightly in their nightmares. Hans Hubermann had a defining event in his life that haunts him as well; when Erik Vandenburg saved his life by nominating him to write letters, causing him to feel forever in debt to his family and ultimatly the cause of why Max is hiding in his basement. Having Max in his house, I beleive, is in many ways a good thing, but also a type of haunting- a reminder of the event that saved his life so many years ago. And now, because of that one event he was greatful for, he is haunted by the son of Erik and must put both his life and his family's life on the line to protect Max.
ReplyDeleteThe theme of guilt emerged for me right away. A point where this happens is when Liesel first steals the book from the fire when shes with her new family, after the celebration. She knew people had seen her and if they reported her, she would be in a lot of trouble. Not knowing what was going to happen and the danger she could of put her family in made her feel even worse. Liesel also felt guilt when she yelled at the mayors wife. It was something that Liesel probably didnt expect to happen, and said things she might have not meant. Another situation with guilt is when Max comes to Hans,wanting to hide because he is Jewish, he feels a lot of guilt about hiding,and not being able to repay them. He knows what Hans and his family have done for him, and how dangerous it really is. I think more guilt will emerge throughout this specific point, on the Jewish presence in Germany, and the Nazi party.
ReplyDeleteAlly, I completely agree with that theme! Another piece of evidence that I thought I would mention from Kelsey's post that fit into here was Max leaving his family. He feels extremely guilty about leaving them for dead when the chance of life for him arose. Even though they wouldn't have let him stay, he still feels guilty that he didn't even say a final goodbye. He just walked out without a last look.
ReplyDeleteI see the theme of survival emerging the story. It is set during the time of the holocaust where many people died. It was not just the jews that were trying to survive though it was also the german people as well. Most common people did not have much money at all. For example Liesel's friend Rudy does not get much to eat at all and is very skinny. Also some of the kids in the neighbourhood resort to stealing apples to not be hungry anymore. Another example is how Liesel's mother had to send her away in the first place, she thought she would have a better life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ally. And also with what Kelsey H added. I feel like Liesel and Max both have a lot of guilt. But, for very different reasons. Liesel is doing something very wrong, and she knows that. And Liesel should feel guilty because she keeps doing it. What Max did was to survive which is not wrong at all. I think he shouldn't feel too guilty.
ReplyDeleteI am starting to see numerous themes developing throughout the story. One in particular is friendship. Their is clearly a strong bond between not only Rudy and Liesel but also between Liesel and Max. These two relationships couldn't be more different but they really help in developing a plot that can make the reader understand what people went through during this horrible time in our history. I definitely agree with Kelsey.M when she says that the theme of haunting is in this book. There are a lot of flashbacks involved in this book and they are all describing bad things that had happened in the character's past life such as Liesel's brother dying and her mother abandoning her. Those events are very difficult to forget about and I don't think they ever will be able to completely block them out of their minds.
ReplyDeleteI believe this book has multiple themes,but one of the many I have seen is deviance. The reason I see this theme is because of all the stealing and mischief Rudy Steiner and Liesel cause around the town. Not only is deviance being committed by the children but also the Nazi's with the killing of the Jews. The Hubermann's are also violating a crime by hiding a Jew from the Nazi's. These are all examples of deviance.
ReplyDeleteA theme i'm starting to see develop is courage. I have read up to only part 6 and see that it has become very prominent already. I find Liesel and her new family both courageous because she has had to move in with them, not really knowing who they are and the family has taken in a child. I think Hans and Rosa both are courageous for taking in Max, knowing the danger they have put everyone in because Max is Jewish. I find Max courageous as well because he is trying to save himself and find a safe place to hide from the nazi's. Throughout the book there has been many more courageous moments and there will most likely be more to show throughout the rest of the book.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Ally because the Hubermann's are very courageous in taking in a Jewish person. They have to hide him and if someone slips up it's their lives on the line. I also think that Max is courageous because it takes a lot of courage to be able to leave your family and never look back. And go somewhere and not know anything about them or if you are actually going to make it there alive, and also if you are going to be able to hide there without getting caught.
ReplyDeleteThe theme that first came to my mind when i began reading was suffering. Right from the beginning many things such as Liesel's brother dying and her having to leave her mother's side showed the theme of suffering. Throughout the book other things develop this theme such as watching what Max has to suffer through because he is a jew. I really think the book is meant to show this theme especially because it is during the war.
ReplyDeleteA theme i'm starting to see is hope. Many parts of the novel have expressed hope. The part I can relate this to is when Max leaves and Liesel wants to make sure hes safe and well. There was hope when Max was living with the Hubbermanns, when the house was getting inspected and when Max became ill. The family cared so much for this person and they were always hoping for better. There are situations that represent hope throughout the whole novel, especially reacuring with characters like Liesel, Max and Hans.
ReplyDeleteI have seen the theme of fear making a presence in the book. When the Hubermann's were hiding the Jew (Max), there was constant fear of being caught. Also Max is in constant fear of being captured by the Nazi's. Liesel also shows the theme of fear through her night terrors that occur every night. Max has night terrors aswell to add to this theme of fear.
ReplyDeleteI think that one of the themes in this novel is family. The theme is family because throughout the story the families have to do things that could have them killed or have them sent off to war. An example is how Hans and Rosa are hiding a jew in their basement if anyone found out they would be punished. Since the Hubermanns like everyone and dont treat jews like their different then them they treat them like on of their own, like their family. The Hubermanns will do anything to make their family survive even with hiding a jew in their basement.
ReplyDeleteOne major theme i see in this book is the theme of bravery. This was a very scary time in Germany for not only the jewish people but also the german people. I think that mostly all of the characters in the story have exhibited bravery in some way or another. Some examples are how hans tries to protect jewish people, and how Leisel steals the books from people or places. In all the situations they know if they are ever caught that the consequnces will be severe. Im sure that there were actually people like that during the Holocaust and that takes alot of bravery.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Riley that the theme of deviance has defiantly been developing in the novel. I also believe the theme of consequences becomes more developed as you get deeper into the book such as when Hans Hubermann tries to give the Jew in the street a piece of bread. He not only faces the consequences the Nazi's will give him but also that he now has to live with the fact that Max will have to leave because there will be lots of Suspicion of them hiding a Jew inside their house.
ReplyDeleteA theme I have seen developing is sympathy. There are multiple acts of sympathy shown, although I'm not finished the book yet. The first act I noticed was how Hans would sit with Liesel every night after she woke up from her nightmare. He sacrificed his sleep to make sure she was okay. Another example is Hans going to see Erik Vandenburg's family after he died, and leaving his name and address for them if they ever needed his help. Also, the fact that he kept that promise to the family 20 years later is a great display of sympathy. He's not the only character with this trait though. Liesel shows it time and time again, but the most prominent example from her in my mind is sympathy toward Max. She felt bad for him tucked away in the basement, so she would tell him stories, the weather, and how her day was. She also brought him multiple gifts from newspapers, to flattened soccer balls and toys, to descriptions of the sky. She also read to him two or three times a day while he was sick, so he wasn't lonely. Even the Nazi soldiers show sympathy to Liesel when she "hurts herself" in the soccer game. Although they aren't usually dipicted as friendly, one soldier bent down to make sure she was okay and looked after, and even checked back with her when he arrived at the Hubermann house later that afternoon. The book is full of kindness and acts of sympathy, even though all the characters are suffering their own hardships.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kelsey that sympathy is a theme. Especially the way people seem to feel sympathy for Max. Even Rosa seems to feel sympathy towards him, she makes sure he has food to eat. Liesel has a lot of sympathy for Max because she knows how it feels to not have your family anymore and to lose people she loves. She spends a lot of time with him, and seems to enjoy having him in her life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ally. The first theme I thought of while reading this book was courage. The reasons I think this is because The Hubermann family risk their lives in order to save a jewish man from being a part of the holocaust. Hans Hubermann built up enough courage to feed a jewish man on the street infront of many people and nazi soldiers. Liesel moves into a family she does not know. Max risks his chance of being caught for living in a germans house because he looks out the window to see what it looks like outside. Max had to leave, and he walked and survivied alone in an area until someone found him and made him a part of the holocaust. There are many other things but those reasons are the main ones I thought of.
ReplyDeleteA theme that I found emerged in The Book Thief was that sometimes it is hard to distinguish between what is "right" and what is "wrong". Many times throughout the novel statements such as "The circumstances demanded it", or "It needed to be done" were written as explanations for the acts of thievery, trespassing, and other mischief that Rudy and Liesel committed to keep themselves well fed, happy, and busy during the war, and not once did I question the truth of these statements. It seemed completely morally right, even logical, to me, that Rudy and Liesel should steal to keep themselves happy during the difficult times of the war; an act that under other circumstances might have made me think less of them. It seemed almost backwards in the world of The Book Thief, the way that Rudy and Liesel had to sneak around to steal food for their health, drop stale bread on the road for dying Jews, steal books to keep them happy, and authorities would have found these acts terrible; meanwhile it was apparent every where that hundreds of thousands of Jewish people were being killed, tortured and treated poorly for no reason, and very few people in positions of authority cared or blinked an eye. It was like in Nazi Germany you were punished for doing what was right, and rewarded for doing wrong. It made for a very thick and blurry line between what's good and what's bad, with a lot of space on the line for Liesel and Rudy to get into some good-natured wrong-doing.
ReplyDeleteA theme I found was family. Throughout the book, Liesel becomes a member of the Hubberman family and is accepted right away. I really thought it was interesting how Hans and Rosa took her in and accepted so easily. They care about her like she is one of their own children and she looks at them to be her mother and father. When the men left to work during the war, the familys really came together and were very supportive. Family is a big thing for these people and supporting everyone is important.
ReplyDeleteThe most obvious theme i believe is death. It surrounds the whole novel and is basically is the story line of the novel in my opinion. From the slaughter of the Nazi's all the way to the bombing of Himmel Street. Death is often reoccuring in the book.
ReplyDelete(I'm not sure if my computer is just screwed up, but it's not showing any posts that I've done in the past 3 days, so sorry if I'm repeating myself) The theme that first emerged to me is sympathy. There have been many examples of sympathy in the book from many different characters, the most obvious being the Hubermanns' taking Max in when it was dangerous for them. They felt sorry for him, and Hans was keeping his promise. Another example from Hans is that he would sit for hours with Liesel when she was having bad dreams, sacrificing his own rest so that she would feel safe. Erik Vandenburg also showed great sympathy, maybe without even knowing how much he was giving, when he spoke up that Hans could write. Writing a letter instead of going out to fight that day saved his life. Liesel also showed huge amounts of sympathy towards Max. She felt sad for him while he was stuck in the basement, or sick in bed, so she gave him all sorts of love. She gave everything from tears, to newspapers, to old things she found on the ground or in the garbage, to descriptions of the weather. She would even sit and read to him 2 or 3 times a day while he was ill.
ReplyDeleteAs I continued and finished reading the novel, I definitely agreed with Nicole's post about friendship being a theme. To me, it seems by the end of the book what really saved and kept all characters sane in the novel through the war were different kinds of bonds of friendship. From Liesel and Rudy's relationship full of innocent love, to Liesel and Max's friendship full of kindness, to Liesel and the Ilsa Hermann's relationship that helped heal both of them, to Frau Holtzapfel and Rosa Hubermann's relationship (although I'm not sure it could count as friendship, they definitely irked each other enough to distract one another from worse things going on), to Tommy Muller and Rudy's friendship which had plenty of loyalty, to Hans' gentle patience toward everyone. Without all these good people supporting one another and lightening the burden that war placed on their hearts with their friendships, they all would have become much more sour and unpleasant. Friendship was a necessary aspect of this novel.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Kelsey (Margraf)'s second last comment about a theme of distinguishing between 'right' and 'wrong'. When you're growing up, you learn about your morals and to follow your conscience, but I can't imagine how different it would be at the time of WWII. It seems like there were exceptions to many unspoken rules because, like you said, "the circumstances demanded it". I wonder how growing up with exceptions to most common rules and lessons that someone Liesel's age would learn would affect those who grew up in similar situations. Do they have different morals because they could always find an excuse and say that it 'needed to be done'?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ally the theme of family is definately evident. I think that without family the will to live in many of the characters in this novel would be gone. I think the most evident person who shows this is Frau Holtzapfel. It is really evident with her because when she hears that one of her sons has died she loses much of the will to live and is barely able to make it to the bomb shelter. When her other son kills himself she truly loses all of the will to live and needs Hans Hubermann to comfort her while she cries in the middle of the street.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ally about the theme courage. When I first started to read the book the first theme that was in my mind was courage. The Hubermann's risked their lives to save a jewish man from the holocaust. Liesel was brought to a family she did not know, and she had to live with them. Hans Hubermann built up enough courage to feed a jewish man in front of many people and nazi soldiers. As well as when Liesel did it with Rudy. There are many more reasons but here is what I found to be the main ones.
ReplyDeleteAnother theme I thought of was bravery. Liesel was brave enough to steal books out of the same house everyday, even if it only was one book nothing seemed to stop her. Rudy and Liesel were brave enough to steal food out of a farmers yard to feed themselves.and Max was also brave to look out of the Hubermann's window when there were bombs going off, also having the risk of being caught by someone.
ReplyDeleteThe main theme I was able to gather from The Book Thief was the power of words. This theme was demonstrated through Hitler, Max, and Liesel. Hitler used the power of words to get ninety percent of a nation to follow his political beliefs (Pg. 63). He wrote Mein Kampf to citizens his German ideals and he used persuasive speech to convince Germans during his political campaign. Max used the power of words through his own writing. He used ripped out and painted pieces of paper from Mein Kampf to write his own stories, the Standover Man and The Word Shaker. The first of the two is an autobiography of his life so far and, the second was a fairy tale for Liesel. Liesel used the power of words through reading and books. When she arrived in Molching she was unable to read but wanted to learn so that she could read The Grave Digger's handbook. After much practicing with Hans, she tried to read in front of her class at school, however did not succeed. This made her very determined to read and succeed. After learning how to read fairly well Liesel felt a bit better about herself, but after reading the few books she possessed multiple times, she became bored of them and needed some new motivation. She stole a book from the bottom of the fire on Hitler's birth day and that oddly gave Liesel a new boost of self assurance. This assurance did not last for long but Liesel knew just where to get some knew books from. She stole a couple of books from the Mayor's library to make her feel more powerful again.
ReplyDeleteA theme I see emerging in this novel is love. There are different types of love that are being dispayed. There is love of possesions, familiar love, platonic love and even romantic love. An example of love of possesions is Liesel's books and her father's accordion. These two object brought people together and created friendships. Families also show a lot of love towards each other. Familiar love united the Hubermanns and they were able to hide a Jew in their basement without anyone noticing. The love between Rudy and Liesel can be descibed as both platonic and romantic. They are there for each other, they protect each other and they trust each other. These are all examples of planotic love, but romantic love was there between them too. It just never got a chance to develop fully because Rudy died. Love works as a theme for this novel because all of the characters are learning how to love or already love something, whne there is a lot of hatred around them, because of the war.
ReplyDeleteAnother theme in this book that is closely related to love is friednship. Max and Liesel show the strongest example of friendship. Both Max and Liesel have nightmares and they share what they dream about with each other and no one else. The reason why they are such a great example is because they are so different. Max is a Jewish man and Liesel is a German girl. Max is also about 10 years older than Liesel. Despite their differences Max an Liesel bond over books and become very fond of each other. Liesel was whipped by a soldierwhen she started walking next to Max in the Jewish parade. Max also took a beating for kissing Liesel's hand. Both Max and Liesel risked everything including their lives that day in order to be there for each other and to comfort each other. This is what makes their friendship so strong, they would do anything for each other.
ReplyDeleteI think a theme for The Book Thief could be thievery. In the time of the holocaust theievery was a common thing to do. It was difficult for poor families to get food, especially Liesel's and Rudy's families, considering how many times they had stolen foods. When they had joined the other "thieves" and shared their portions from the farms. Liesel also stole many books. Many from the Mayor's wife. Until she had found out and practically handed them to her through a tree.
ReplyDeleteI also think that another theme is courage or bravery because liesel is stealing books even though she knows the consequences. Hans is hiding max even though he knows if he gets caught he will either be killed or sent to concentration camps but they all do it because they're brave and courageous
ReplyDeleteI,m sure that many have mention how a big theme of the novel is the power of words. in many indirect ways even Hitler's words inspired many acts of cruelty. Really I don't understand how Hitler could have gathered such an immense group of powerful people to believe in him. Mostly I see him a middle aged guy with a weird mustache, like he doesn't seem very intimidating. But maybe it wasn't what he didn't or what he looked like was that made people agree with him but the way he had the people listen. This also applies to Liesel and her life. She learned to love and understand Himmel street. All this was possible for her through the authors choices of words as well as how he created Hans to teach her to read and write.
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