Post #5 How Some of the Harm is Repaired

          A lot of the harm in The Book Thief is inflicted by Anti-Semitism and the second world war, making repairing the harm difficult for the author. In the end of The Book Thief everyone but Liesel and two other main characters die, making the harm irreversible, much like in The Kite Runner where due the war in Afghanistan, many of the title characters are killed. The authors of these novels in their own way, create peace for the title characters though not all of the harm could be repaired, they tied off all the loose ends to create closure instead. Liesel in The Book Thief finds out that Max lived through the concentration camp and was released at the end of the war. Amir in The Kite Runner also finds inner peace with his memories of Hassan by saving Hassan’s son. “Come. There is a way to be good again” (Hosseini, 247) This quote from The Kite Runner sums up what Liesel and Amir try to do after the harm is inflicted, how they try to repair it or to come to terms with it. Liesel never steals again putting, that part of her life behind her and lives her new life with Max and Rudy’s father as a new beginning. Liesel is much like Amir who puts his old life behind him by saving Sohrab and coming to terms with the fact he can’t change the past but only, learn from it. In both novels Liesel and Amir find their own way to be good again in their lives, and finally move on from the past repairing the self harm they inflicted on themselves.

By: Sydney

“What at first may appear to be an ending, is often a new beginning”

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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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Plus: – based around an actual historical event, World War II, therefore realistic
– plenty of different characters to portray different experiences to the injustice and events
– well written, beautiful language and nearly poetic word choice
– strongly developed plot, with attention to detail
– omniscient point of view, helps understand what is happening with all characters

Minus: – definitely not a short read, few slow parts that are a good idea to skim through
– a few characters who barely contribute to the outcome or plot of the story
– somewhat necessary to have background knowledge on antisemitism and WWII, without it may references would be confusing and connections lost
– death’s comments can be very revealing and spoil the plot, some readers may enjoy the foreshadowing but takes away from piecing together the puzzle

Interesting: – use of German words, gives a genuine feel the background of the characters
– narrated by death, small comments throughout the book, gives it a unique twist
– sketches from Max around the middle of the book, unlike most other novels; helps break up the long read

Ruth

Post #3

The characters in The Book Thief make the necessary choices to deal with their problems and support their morals and those they love. To start, Hans hides Max in his basement, which shows that he is following through on his promise to Eric’s family. Even though Hans knows that keeping a Jew in his house causes potential danger, he helps Max because he knows it is the right thing to do. As well, Hans eventually conforms to the Nazi Party because he is aware that it is necessary to do so if he wants to protect his family and loved ones, even though he does not support the Nazi beliefs. Another way that the characters are dealing well with their problems is portrayed through Liesel, who tries to ignore the injustice in her world. Instead of putting herself in harm’s way, she busies herself in overcoming her illiteracy and her problem with wetting the bed. In general, the Hubermanns save themselves from definite danger by pretending that nothing (or no one) suspicious is in their house. “Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day. That was the business of hiding a Jew.” (Zusak, 211). Max deals with his problems by keeping an illustrated diary to release his emotions. Also, Max saves the Hubermann family from danger when he leaves the Hubermann’s basement to ensure that the Nazis would not punish them for helping out a Jew. However, there are a couple of characters who poorly deal with their problems. Rosa bottles up her true feelings and lives through disciplining Liesel. Rudy avoids confronting Liesel about the love he has for her, and ignores what is going on around him.

Ruth

Post #2

Throughout The Book Thief, the characters have different reactions to the antisemitism they face. Being only an innocent child, Liesel Hubermann does as she is told and follows Hitler, until she grows older and develops her own opinion, which leads her to let go of that support. Liesel mostly ignores the injustice around her and engulfs herself in reading and books. Hans Hubermann originally stayed away from the Nazis, but later on in the book he joins their party to protect his family. However, Hans still does not support the Nazi beliefs, as you can tell through his decision to shelter a Jew in his basement. Similarly to Liesel, Rudy obeys the rules of the adults in his life and supports Hitler, although he mostly focuses on playing soccer and trying to kiss Liesel. In The Book Thief, there are also some characters who strongly support the Nazi Party such as Hans Junior and the shopkeeper who only sells to people who heil Hitler. Then there are some characters in the middle of the two sides, like Rudy’s father. He conforms to the Nazi Party to protect his family, even though he doesn’t agree the Nazi’s actions and ideas. Lastly, there are the reactions of the Jewish characters, such as Max. Since Max is a Jew and considered “imperfect” by the Nazis, Max is forced to protect himself by hiding in the Hubermann’s basement, cutting off all interaction with the outside world. Overall, there are many different kinds of reactions to the antisemitism in The Book Thief.

Ruth

Post #1

The main type of social injustice in The Book Thief is antisemitism. This book is set in Germany during WWII, so the plot revolves aroud the hatred toward Jewish people by the Nazi Party. The main character in The Book Thief is Liesel Meminger, a young girl who lives with her foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann because her communist mother was killed by Nazis when Liesel was young. As the author describes Liesel being raised by the Hubermann’s, who are not Jewish nor Nazis, you learn about the antisemitism that Liesel and the other characters face throughout their lives. Max Vandeburg, a Jew who the Hubermann’s are hiding from the Nazis in their basement is at risk of being sent to a concentration camp simply because he has different, “inferior” beliefs than the Nazis. As well, during this time period, Hitler’s followers would burn anything that portrayed the Jewish as acceptable people, such as books with Jewish protagonists. Since Hans is opposed to the beliefs that many people in his country share, he has trouble finding work as a painter. “In 1933, 90 percent of Germans showed unflinching support for Adolf Hitler. That leaves 10 percent who didn’t. Hans Hubermann belonged to the 10 percent.” (Zusak, 63). Almost all of Hans customers were Jews and have been taken away, and many businesses will not sell to or work with anyone who does not heil Hitler.

Ruth

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.

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.

Coping with your Problems

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

I think that the character coping best with his problems is Hans. He is facing incredibly hard times due to the german economy and lack of work. Hans is coping with his problem by not getting worked up and just being himself. Hans continues to spend his time teaching Liesel to read and write, getting by on what little work there is and keeping Max company down in the basement. Hans has always been extremely calm which I feel is the main reason why he has been able to keep his wits about him. I feel that Hans was best at coping with everything because he was able to stay calm. As for Max, his way of coping was to workout. Max would start with a few sets push-ups and then some sets of sit-ups. His most unorthidox way of coping was to imagine himself boxing Hitler. Even though it was a little strange, I think it really helped him to feel like even during the second world war, a jew had power over Hitler. Although Max was not able to cope as quickly or as easily as Hans but I think he did a great job. So overall, I feel like my characters are doing a great job coping with their problems.

Trevor

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Pluses

– All the characters are believable. They react and change in the way one would think they would.

– The writing is well done. The author uses poetic, witty and heart-wrenching language to draw the reader in.

– The message being conveyed by the book is very strong and one that should be learned by everyone.

– The story has ties with an event that actually happened; World War II.

Minuses

– The book may be a little too long for some.

– Some characters contributed almost nothing to the overall plot.

– The ending may come off as cheap to the reader.

– Liesel’s and Rudy’s relationship may be frustrating, due to the fact it culminates to nothing.

– Death spoils things for the reader.

Interesting

– Death is the narrator and provides little comments throughout the book.

– A language bonus for those who know German, as some Germans words are used in the book.

– There are sections in the book that have pictures drawn by Max in them.