The Book Thief #2

What is something you do or feel that is like the main character in the story?

In "The Book Thief" Liesel is trying to learn to read and write on the same level as her peers. Because she only had the knowledge of a child when it came to school work, she was very behind in school. She was in the fourth grade, but had the comprehension level of a student in first grade. She stayed up late with her Papa every night reading her favorite book she kept from home called, "The Grave Digger's Handbook". Every night they would read a passage from the book and then circle every word or phrase she didn’t understand and then she would go over it with him the next day, little by little, day by day, getting better at reading and writing and understanding. This really shows how determined she is to become a better writer, reader, and overall a better student. This reminded me of myself because like Liesel, when I don’t understand something I’m interested in, I will spend a great amount of time trying to figure it out and push myself to become better. Liesel’s determination is shown especially the night she and Papa finish “Grave Digger’s Handbook”. “They read through the early hours of morning, circling and writing the words she did not comprehend and turning the pages toward daylight. A few times, Papa nearly slept, succumbing to the itchy fatigue in his eyes and the wilting of his head. Liesel caught him out on each occasion, but she had neither the selflessness to allow him to sleep nor the hide to be offended. She was a girl with a mountain to climb.” This shows how passionate she is about learning, that she is willing to stay up until the early morning working on reading and writing. I also identified with Liesel when she read to her class. That day in class all of the other students had to do a reading assessment, where they read to the entire class, a passage from their books. When it was Liesel’s turn to read, she was skipped by the nun because she felt she wasn’t adequate enough to read the passage. When Liesel’s best friend Rudy questioned the nun as to why Liesel wasn’t going to read, she replied, “No. I’m afraid Liesel cannot do it Rudy.” So instead of sitting down, Liesel stood up on her desk and started to resite a passage she had memorized from the “Grave Digger’s Handbook” in front of the entire class. I could tell by this moment in the book that Liesel was someone who stood up for herself and what she believed in. I too like to think I am like that as well. She knew what she was capable and thought she at least deserved a chance to prove herself. And with that, she recited each word perfectly.

Write a poem about the main characters or an event that happened in the story:

Reading and writing
Early into the morning
I can and I will 

The Book Thief (post #1)

In what genre does your book belong? Give reasons and examples.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is about a young girl named Liesel Meminger who is living during world war two in Nazi invaded Germany. She has suffered the death of her brother, the loss of her mother, and is adopted by a couple who reside in a small town. Here, Liesel has to adjust to her new life, friends, and family. This novel is historical fiction. You can clearly notice the historical evidence throughout the novel. The first example of this, is when Liesel dreams about Führer giving a speech before she wakes up on the train before her brother dies. It is also evident once she attends her new school. Because she is ten years old, she is considered a part of the “Hitler Youth” which requires her to wear a small brown uniform, and to enroll in the Bund Deutscher Mädel, which is the league of German girls. In this time period in Germany, children in school were forced to salute to Adolf Hitler, and become a part of the Hitler Youth where they were taught to obey Hitler’s rules and motives. In the book, Liesel describes the teachings as being “taught to march straight, roll bandages, and sew up clothes.” The effect of Hitler’s rule is also evident when Liesel and her best friend Rudy later visit a corner shop on the end of their street, called, Frau Diller’s. Rudy tells Liesel, that if you walked into her shop and didn’t say “Heil Hitler,” you wouldn’t be served. Rudy also mentions, “She was known to sell certain hard-to-get items under the counter to donate money to the Nazi Party.” From this, the reader can easily determine the effect Hitler and the Nazi party had on the people of Germany at the time, he was so powerful that if you were to not respect him, you would be declined services and goods. When walking in the town later that day, Liesel and Rudy discover “the road of yellow stars”. It was described as “A place nobody wanted to stay and look at, but almost everyone did. Shaped like a long, broken arm, the road contained several houses with lacerated windows and bruised walls. The star of David was painted on their doors. Those houses were almost like lepers. At the very least, they were infected sores on the injured German terrain.” These were the homes and shops of the Jewish living in Germany at the time. In this time period Jewish people had to make it known that they were Jewish under the rule of Adolf Hitler. The horrible treatment they were under was made known on their homes, clothes, and shops. If you were Jewish at this time, that is all you were seen as. When Liesel describes the road of yellow stars as “infected sores on the injured German terrain.” She means that the conditions of living were so poor for these people, that out of all of Germany, it was like an ache or injury. It was unsightly and sad, but because of the dictatorship of Hitler, is was something that was unavoidable.