The Book Theif Report
General Information
Title of Book: The Book Thief
Genre: Historical fiction. Although some parts were based on events his parents lived through, the characters were all created by Zusak.
Author: Markus Zusak
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Copyright Date: 2005
Number of pages: 552
Setting(s): Molching, Germany during WWII.
Main Characters
- Liesel Meminger: The main character. She was sent to the Hubermann home on Himmel street with her brother for protection from persecution of her parents who were communists. Although she does not know how to read at first, she soon learns and it becomes her passion. She is a shy girl at first, but later forms into her own woman.
- Rudy Steiner: Neighbor to the Hubermann home, he is considered strange after painting his whole body black with coal to imitate his hero, Jesse Owens. He becomes a slight love interest to Liesel and dreams of one day kissing her. He even goes as far to help her in her book thievery. He listens to nobody if he doesn’t care for what they are saying and is very quick on his feet.
- Max Vandenburg: A young, Jewish man in his early twenties on the run from the Gestapo. He is the son of a man Hans Hubermann knew from the army in WWI, after which he promised the family he would do anything they needed. The family took him up on this offer years later by sending Max to hide with them. A short time after his arrival, he and Liesel become close friends.
- Hans Hubermann: A kind, warm hearted father of three, and foster father of Liesel. He is kind to everyone, even Jewish people, which is rare in the heart of Nazi territory. He works as a painter, often accepting kind favors as a form of payment and loves to play to accordion. Though he did sign up to be a part of the Nazi party, he has no interest in what they stand for. He is easily a strong role model for Liesel.
- Rosa Hubermann: A strong, independent, sometimes cruel mother of three and foster mother of Liesel. She launders for the neighborhood to provide cash for her family and runs the household. Though she can be strong willed and gladly dishes out punishments, deep down she is as warm hearted as her husband.
Summary : During the rise of Hitler in Nazi Germany during WWII, Liesel Meminger and her younger brother are sent to the Hubermann home. On the train ride over to the city of Molching, her brother unfortunately dies. After this shock and witnessing his burial, she steals her first book. The book was called The Gravedigger’s Handbook. Even though she did not know how to read yet, she held on to this book as a reminder of her brother.
When she first sees the Hubermann home, she is reluctant to enter. She soon finds out she had no need to worry as her foster father is a kind and loving man. Over the first few weeks she learned the rules of the house from Rosa, her foster mother, and soon was beginning her lessons in reading taught by Hans, her foster father.
As time went on she made friends with kids around the block, the mayor’s wife, and her best being Rudy Steiner. Together Liesel and Rudy were attracted mischief, shown when they stole fruit from farmers and books from their mayor. As time went on, times got tough. Her foster mother lost her clients and her foster father later lost painting opportunities. If it wasn’t bad enough they had to feed three, the family soon had to feed four as a young Jewish man (Max) was sent to their doorstep in need of hiding. Even through hard times, Liesel could find the joy in her life whether it was reading in a basement during raids, stealing books and fruit with Rudy, listening to Hans play his accordion, or even just talking with Max. Little did she know she would face tragedy when her whole new life was taken from her by the last raid.
Point of View: The story is told by death himself as he travels through Germany collecting the souls of Jews, Germans, and even Liesel new family. This great,y sets the story by showing the life of a young girl through the eyes or an old soul. He connects her life with the lives of others and really describes her in a thoughtful way.
Application questions
What is the most important event in the book? Why is it the most important? When does this event take place in the book (page numbers)?
- The Most important event in this book would be the last event. Liesel faces the shock of seeing her whole neighborhood demolished by a series of bombs hitting her street, killing everyone she loved. This has to be the most important because it is the most life changing event that happened to her since her first arrival to Himmel street. This is shown from pages 526-539.
Choose one character – Give a more detailed description of their role in the book, and then compare them to someone you know personally today. Use two quotes from the book to help illustrate your description – cite page numbers where the quotes are found.
-Rosa Hubermann is as described more than just a hard faced woman who knew how to use a wooden spoon. She took the role of Liesel’s mother, when her biological mother sent her away. Even though it was not obvious, her love was shown for Liesel through her discipline and strong nature. Rosa most reminds me of my grandma. My grandma is a strong, independent woman who needs no man to control how she runs her life. She doesn’t believe in beating children as a form of punishment, but she has been known to slap someone if they well deserve it. Rosa often says things like “‘Saumensch, du dreckiges – it’s about time!” (34) when Liesel takes her first bath, or “‘STOP THAT NOISE SAUKERL!’” (37) which are some things that my grandma would say (in a loving way).
Use two quotes from the book to show new things you have learned about this time period in history. Explain what each quote helped you to better know or understand – cite page numbers.
-I learned that the German culture back then could be considered similar to American culture in regards to swearing in a regular fashion. “Every second word was either Saumensh or Saukerl or Arschloch,” (32) meaning pig (one for women and one for men) and a**hole. Another thing I learned was their were “parades” of Jews down public streets on their way to concentration camp. Soldiers would march the starving people to the camps. In this book it was shown when they marched from train cars to Dachau. “‘And it’s perfect weather for a parade, don’t you think?’” (300), “More people appeared on the streets, where a collection of Jews and other criminals had already been shoved past,” (301). These last quotes depicted the first of four marches to Dachau. In this one, Hans had offered one Jewish man a piece of bread and was ridiculed and beaten for it. This showed how hostile these people were against the Jewish culture and even those who decided to help.
How might our world be different today if the historical events in your book had turned out differently? Use two different examples to explain your answer.
-From the holocaust in World War Two, we as a people discovered what true monsters we can be. Not only the Germans but their allies and supporters as well, tried to destroy a culture and took so many lives away. From this, the United Nations decided to create laws against this sort of treatment during a war. We as a people have grown to include people more and accept one another more than we had before, some countries more than others. If this never happened, the nations of the world may never have truly recognized how much we as people had ridiculed the minority and maybe would never have put laws in place against it. America probably never would have seen what we were doing in our own country with black people and the LGBTQ community.
What are three life lessons that can be learned from this book – how does each apply to your life?
- People can do crazy things in times of struggle, you never know how long you have with a friend or loved one, and there is always hope for the future. With these lessons, I can recognize that I just need to keep going when things are tough. When it feels like I’m not doing anything right or can’t catch a break, I can focus on the future and try my best to get through the present. I must also try my best to show my feelings toward the people around me. Even if they annoy me or I don’t want to speak with them at that moment, they could be gone at any minute. I should realize I won’t feel that way forever and cherish the time I still have with them.
If you were to give this book an alternate title, what would it be? Explain why.
-Himmel street. Although I do like the title as it is, Himmel street would fit perfectly because Liesel’s whole new life started when she entered the Hubermann home. She met all of her friends and grew to love each of them on this street. Also, the book ends when this whole street is demolished by the enemy bombs. It would be sort of poetic if the book ends when the street dies.
Explain in about 50 words why you would or would not recommend this book to your classmates.
-I recommend reading this book because it was different. Usually books about the holocaust are from a Jewish man’s perspective, or are memoirs. This one centered around the life of a young, blonde, German girl who had no reason to feel threatened or feel sympathy, yet she did. Books are also told by the main character or an unknown narrator, while this one was told by death himself. It fits perfectly when you consider how much death occurred in the setting and time the book is portrayed in and I have never read a book written in this way. And death wasn’t a dark and aminos figure, he was a kind spirit who saved people from their suffering and cradle led them in his arms. I just enjoyed that depiction of the Grim Reaper.
Cite any sources beyond the book that you used to complete this project.