Fixing the Unfixable

Post 5: How is some of the harm the characters experience repaired in your novel?

The harm that Liesel and the other main characters of “The Book Thief” experienced is far from repaired. “The Book Thief” pretty much ends with the town where all of the main characters lived, being bombed. This results in most of the characters dying other than Liesel and Max. The two are reunited eventually but the harm that they’ve both experiences in unfixable. Liesel’s foster father, Hans Huberman was looking forward to a normal life with Liesel but that would never happen. The book leaves you with a sad ending, repairing almost nothing.

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The End?

Post 6: Is the ending of your novel satisfying? Why or why not?

The ending of “The Book Thief” was quite a surprise to me and far from satisfying. I understood that they were all going to die from the start because of Death’s comments. However, I did not like how the ending felt and it could have been made better. The ending felt very rushed to me compared to the rest of the book (originally “The Book Thief” was meant to be around one hundred pages so I think the author realized the length of the book and wanted to end it quickly). I also found the relationship of Liesel and Rudy and how it ended extremely frustrating. They obviously loved each other but because of the situartions and their age, they never really showed it. It is easy to predict something would have happened between the two if their relationship had not be cut short. I wish the ending could have been better, (or at least some others survived) but it clearly shows the reality of this world and how cruel it can be.

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PMI Chart

Pluses

The narrator is Death and he has an amazing way of explaining things.

The characters are believeable and developped well.

The story is set in a different way from war stories.

An interesting take on a sad story.

The setting is realistic.

Develops the plot well with a lot of detail.

Minuses

I don’t enjoy war stories.

There is a lot of uneeded detail in some places.

Can be slow at times.

A long read.

Can be boring at times.

Death can spoil critical parts at times.

Interesting Facts

Max’s drawings.

Death’s comments/jokes/facts.

The little story(ies) that are written within the book.

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Dealing With Our Problems

Post 3: Do you think the characters are coping well with their problems?

     How we cope with our problems always differs from person to person. A person’s life experiences, upbrings and ideals changes how we cope. Most of the time, we wil conform with society so that we won’t feel out of place. In “The Book Thief”, the characters all cope differently with their problems and the issues of injustice. A good example of this would be how Hans Huberman deals with anti-semitism compare to the average man. The average person, even if they did not like the ideals of the Nazi Party would conform so that they were not at the bottom of society and were not in any trouble with the goverment. Hans Huberman on the other hand did not accept the Nazi party’s ideals at all and tried to help wherever he could.

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The Pain We All Feel

Post Two: How are characters reacting differently to experiences of injustice?

     In “The Book Thief”, many of the character react differently to every situation. Most of he time, they cope well in a way. This makes the story more believeable because not one person is the same. Most of the characters in “The Book Thief” differ in age, upbringing, and personal knowledge. This will lead one charater to a different reaction or solution than another. For example, Liesel is incredibly naive about the world and what’s going on. This is because she is young and has not experienced much life first hand. But her foster father, Hans understands the situation fully and what will happen to those who oppose the Nazi party. Most of the characters reactions in “The Book Thief” are negative towards the Nazi party and the issue of injustice, which is anti-semitism. The reactions differ but usually the characters are afraid for their lives and conform with the Nazi party. Only a few people in the story, oppose the Nazi party and it doesn’t always go well for them.

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Anti-Semitism

Post One: What is the issue of injustice in your novel?

Social injustice is a concept of claimed unfairness in a society. Whether it be race, religion, social status, or any number of reasons that differ us from each other. In “The Book Thief”, the issue of social injustice is anti-semitism. It is quite obvious and is shown constantly throughout the story. The main example of this in the book would be how the Jews were treated and how people acted around them. The story is placed during World War Two when Hitler was in power and is centred around a young girl named Liesel. Anti-semitism affects Liesel on a daily basis, changing her lifestyle and the people she grows up with (or how she interacts with them). The issue of anti-semitism and how the people of the Jewish religion were treated during World War Two, was probably one of the biggest issues of social injustice in the world’s history. “The Book Thief” explains this injustice in a new found perspective.

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