Markus zusaks the book thief, set in germany during world war ii, follows young liesel meminger as she struggles with the loss of her mother and brother and must go to live with foster parents, hans and rosa hubermann. Markus zusak was born in 1975 in sydney, australia, the youngest of. How harsh the life can be and this is one of the three times that death saw the book thief. During the bombing of a german town, he sees the girl kneeling in the street amid the devastation, holding a book to her chest. You see, death cant keep a secret, and he tends to be a plotspoiler. Death is the sympathetic narrator of liesels story. Hed say extremely creepy things and delight in all the souls he was. The character of death in the book thief from litcharts.
Death as omniscient narrator is one of the most recognizable and distinctive aspects of the book thief. For one thing, death aint the bad guy that would be hitler. It is also used to keep the reader focused on the how the characters meet their ends. Secondary characters listed in alphabetical order by last name klaus behrig is a neighborhood boy. He goes about describing his work as doable, yet not pleasant or nice. The book thief reflection danielle waters portfolio. Get free homework help on markus zusaks the book thief. The first time he saw her was on a train where he had come to. Instant downloads of all 1288 litchart pdfs including the book thief. Odd narrator of a girls story nprs john ydstie interviews markus zusak, author of the book thief, a novel set in world war ii germany with death himself as the narrator. Readers do not know why the book thief fascinates death, but they will find out. The novel has shown the development of liesel as a citizen in germany who has a cloudy understanding of death and the power of words in the. The character of death in the book thief from litcharts the.
Get an answer for what is the authors message in the book thief. Then i thought what if death is more like thinking, well. He is not perfect but is very compassionate and can be trusted as a narrator. In the opening of the book when liesel steals her first book, the gravediggers handbook, this event can be thought of as the first of many turning points for her. Having death as the narrator fit well too, as it was like death was following liesel. The reader can learn a lot about death through his narration. Thank you to the chicago public library for partnering on the content of this article. The use of foreshadowing, irony, and symbolism in the book thief 981 words 4 pages. What was the purpose of choosing death as the narrator. Death tells the story of liesel, an ordinary german girl living in germany during world war two. The book thief movie clip almost twelve 20 geoffrey rush movie hd duration. The book liesel dropped because he is infatuated with the girl. Published in 2005, the book thief became an international bestseller and was translated into 63 languages and sold 16 million copies.
Jul 02, 2017 death, in the book thief, is majorly the narrator of the story. What is the purpose of having death serve as a narrator in. Exploring markus zusaks use of death as a narrator in the book thief. The simple answer is that i thought of the expression that war and death are like best friends, so who better to tell a story set during world war ii.
He lurks from place to place with the relatively menial duty of carrying away the souls of the recently deceased, bluntly just taking them out of the rotation. This newsletter was created with smore, an online tool for creating beautiful newsletters for educators, nonprofits, businesses and more. Do you feel like you can trust death as a narrator. And i also think it makes the book even more tragic to have death talking about all the people that he has to carry. The narrator, which is the voice that tells a story, is death in the book thief. Sep 17, 20 since the book thief does take place in nazi germany and death was rampant during that time with the concentration camps, battle fields, disease, and starvation, having a narrator that is death makes the cold cruelty an underscore to the setting which the reader cannot forget. Well, i thought im writing a book about war, and theres that old adage that war and death are best friends, but once you start with that idea, then i thought, well, what if its not quite like that.
He remembers the book thief in colors, primarily in red, white, and black. It gets thrown into a garbage truck, and death takes it. Every reader of the book has their own version of death and its voice in my case, death speaks in an australian accent. The narrator, death, explains that he has a fair and sympathetic nature, and he carries away souls as gently as he can. Narrated by death, who over the course of the book. Teach your students to analyze literature like litcharts does. Markus zusak carefully develops the character of death through subtle references in the text. The book thief cliffsnotes study guides book summaries. Arthur berg is the leader of a group of young thieves who steal food. The book thief has a prologue and an epilogue, both of which have titlesall listed in lowercase lettersand four named chapters each. Book thief is the girl because death mentions her first. How did the point of view in the book thief affect.
Above just being a love letter to books, i believe that the book thief is about the importance of stories, words, and language in general. That night, liesel meminger truly became the book thief. A last note from your narrator i am haunted by humans zusak 550. The use of foreshadowing, irony, and symbolism in the book thief 41714 in the book thief, by markus zusak, the narrator uses foreshadowing, irony, and symbolism.
Another prevalent theme is the overall idea of the inevitability of death. What type of reader were you thinking of when you were. The book thief questions set 2 alexandra zip book 41416 thief questions set 2. Death introduces himself as the narrator of the book. He tries to notice colors before he takes away a human soul usually the colors of the sky. I was in down in tasmania and there was water everywhere around me. Deaths point of view is very engaging for a modern audience. The book thief is narrated by an extremely overworked being who identifies himself as death. What is the importance of deaths role as a narrator.
From the outset, this choice makes clear that death will play a significant role in the. I went from death as narrator to liesel telling the story herself to even trying third person. First person omniscience in the book thief, part one. Having a narrator like never before proved to be the bo. In this lesson, well look more closely at the narrator, death, through some of his interesting. Youre still scratching your head in confusion, arent you. When liesel drops her newly completed memoir, the book thief, after learning that all those she knows and loves on himmel street have died from bomb blasts, death steals the book from a trash truck. He lists the main elements of the story to come, and reveals that he has seen the main character, the book thief, three times.
Liesel meminger cannot read when she arrives at her new home, but finds herself drawn to books. The book thief questions alexandra zip due 4 by ally. Jun 12, 2015 the authors own words on why death was chosen as narrator. For another, death is in some ways pretty humanespecially considering how inhumane a lot of the homo sapiens running around in the book thief are. Liesel runs into him on purpose during a game of soccer. Author markus zusak talks about writing the book thief, i am the messenger and the writing life.
Interview with author of the book thief steppenwolf theatre. Set against the backdrop of world war ii germany, the book thief is a compelling and moving story about a young girl sophie nelisse who is taken in by foster parents geoffrey rush and emily watson. Death, in the book thief, is majorly the narrator of the story. How is death personified in the book thief, the book thief is a successful book due to its original plot and unique writing techniques. But, for liesels story to make sense to us, death needs to tell us about whats going on in other parts of germany, poland, and russia during world war ii, to. His favorite is a chocolatecolored sky, but he notices thousands of shades over the course of even an hour, while most humans only notice the sky at dawn and dusk. It is the first of many breaks in the narrative that give the reader a direct dialogue with the narrator, death.
Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on litcharts. The novel has shown the development of liesel as a citizen in germany who has a cloudy understanding of death and the power of words in the beginning to a much more. Interview with markus zusakauthor of the book thief. Also, she stole a book on how to dig a grave, so maybe thats why death would follow her. He describes his work and his preference for a chocolate brown sky when he collects peoples souls. Its just a small story really, about among other things. He is fascinated by humans and the colors of the world, but he struggles throughout the novel to decipher how humans are capable of so much ugliness and so much beauty. The prologue jumps through the book thiefs story, or the three times death sees lieselone from its beginning, one later on, and one from its endthus foreshadowing three significant events in her life. The book thief is a historical novel by australian author markus zusak and is his most popular work. Check out zusak had to say about why he chose death as the narrator for the book thief. Normally, when you read a book about the holocaust, it tends to focus on bad germans, concentration camps, jews dying or in hiding but death as the narrator allows you to get a different viewpoint. Despite the book thief being a powerful, suspenseful novel, death isnt exactly the most skilled storyteller sometimes.
The book thief what was the purpose of choosing death as the narrator. In what way does using death as the narrator affect the. How did you decide to make death th e narrator of th e book. Death is impersonal, so details are given without much sympathy or preference. What was the authors purpose behind choosing death as a narrator. Aug 24, 2009 a dramatic novel would be told from her pov, but by having it from the perspective of death, it gives an entirely new book. This might be the second paragraph on the opening page of the book thief, but it is definitely the first thing that gets your attention. The book thief features innovative stylistic techniques. The choice of having death narrate the story has been praised and criticized, but i believe that zusaks death is the perfect vessel to tell a story about the importance of stories, as death is a character. Interview with markus zusak, author of the book thief. My favorite line in this book is the very last line when death concludes his tale of liesel hubermann by saying, i said it to the book thief and i say it now to you. The book thief discussion questions chicago public library. Book thief is the girl because death mentions her first she is also quick and cunning. Foreshadowing is constantly used in deaths side notes which are scattered throughout the book in boldface text.
Having death as the narrator and having as a central protagonist a young girl in nazi germany make the book thief by markus zusak stand out from the crowd of books about europe during world war ii. In this story, much of what death relates to us falls into the second category. Get an answer for how did the point of view in the book thief affect the story. The book thief the book thief is just a small story really, about, among other things. First person limited the book thief is narrated by an extremely overworked being who identifies himself as death. What types of characters and relationships are you expecting to see in bridge of clay. Deaths point of view is very engaging for a modern audience because he provides his own insights and. The novel is then divided into 10 named parts, each of which has eight named chapters. Examples of foreshadowing in the book thief 729 words. The book thief was released in australia for an adult audience, but in the u. Although markus zusak could have simply used a third person narrative without including death, this idea seems more attractive. Foreshadowing, spoiling, illustrated, a bookwithina bookwithinabook. He takes an interest in liesel and her story, and he believes that liesels story is one of a handful of beautiful. But dont go cowering under the covers on his account.
Select quotations in the text that reveal important information about the narrator death. Deaths duty is to carry the souls of the dead away. As were both aware, shed stolen books previously, but in late october 1941, it became official. In the book thief, death, the narrator of the story, uses foreshadowing in many different situations to give the reader a sense of what is coming up. Even in parts of the novel where the worries of the war and conflict. A better explanation of the first encounter with the book thief. After all, death was everywhere during that time sources. It is a story about a young orphan during the second world war and. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. In this study guide, chapters within each part are grouped by fours for the purpose of summary and analysis.
Every reader of the book has their own version of death and its voice. Since the book thief does take place in nazi germany and death was rampant during that time with the concentration camps, battle fields, disease, and starvation, having a narrator that is death makes the cold cruelty an underscore to the setting which the reader cannot forget. Exploring markus zusaks use of death as a narrator in the. In what way does using death as the narrator affect the readers experience of the book thief. The book thief prologue chapters 1 3 summary course hero. How does death see things that a human narrator might not. A dramatic novel would be told from her pov, but by having it from the perspective of death, it gives an entirely new book. Markus zusak makes a daring choice by creating the character of death to narrate his novelthe book thief. The choice of having death narrate the story has been praised and criticized, but i believe that zusaks death is the perfect vessel to tell a story about the importance of stories, as death is a character who sees nothing but the stories of people, for all eternity. It was adapted into a 20 feature film of the same name. The character development in the book thief is truly remarkableliesel and max jump off the page. The most obvious innovation which some readers love and others cant stand is narrator deaths use of boldface text to.
The real breakthrough was when i thought of the last line of the book. This book, oddly enough, is written in the first person view of death. While of course the overall theme and storyline of the book thief is very serious and tragic, most of the book is lighthearted, joyous, and a tale of the overpowering love for the written language. It was a very unique and brave choice to use death as the narrator, but it fi perfectly and i love the book. Because as the title of the post suggests, mark zusak in the book thief uses a rare combination of viewpoints. May 01, 2009 interview with markus zusak, author of the book thief. It was the first time liesel had been branded with her title, and she couldnt hide the fact that she liked it very much. Analysis essay the book thief in the book thief 2005, markus zusak, illustrates many different themes but there are two themes that are consistent throughout the book, death and the power of words. The authors own words on why death was chosen as narrator. Markus zusak needed a narrator who could provide liesels point of view, but also provide information that liesel, as a young girl in a relatively isolated town, wouldnt know about.