So far, I have seen many themes emerge throughout the text. One theme I see is that when times are hard there can still be joy. I saw this when Liesel was celebrating her birthday with her parents and Max. Since, Liesel’s parents are not the richest people in the world; they couldn’t afford to buy her any presents for her birthday. Some kids might get angry and throw a fit but, Liesel was calm and happy. She realized that even when life isn’t so good, you can still be happy.
I have not yet completed the first week or two's reading but I have seen one thing stand out. It is that no matter what she has gone through, Liesel still manages to find something to make her happy. Such as when Hitler launches WWII and she is absolutely delighted to learn to read and write.
In the Book Thief, many themes have arisen from the text and from characters’ actions throughout the novel. Some themes that I have found to be extremely important have been themes of cowardice, abandonment and the pure power of the written word. Abandonment was an extremely important subject from the book because at the beginning of the novel we learn of Liesel and her family’s dire situation. Her mother was trying to take her and her little brother to a foster home to be cared for because she was extremely sick and couldn’t care for Liesel or her brother anymore. On the train ride there though, Liesel’s brother dies unexpectedly and Liesel ends up having to go to her new home on Himmel Street alone. Upon her arrival Liesel feels lost and alone, her mother has left her and her brother is dead. She feels like there is no one in the world who cares for her (27-29). Another important theme in the novel was cowardice. Cowardice is shown when Liesel’s foster parent’s son, Hans Jr. comes for a visit over the holidays. Hans, her foster dad and Hans Jr. go into the subject of politics and the current state of the Nazi Party and modern Germany’s rise to power across the continent. Hans had been trying to apply for a membership to the Nazi Party for years, as that is what all respectable German citizens are doing. Hans doesn’t really support the Nazi beliefs though, where as his son is an avid sponsor. Hans Jr. becomes extremely annoyed with his father’s cowardice to own up to his past actions, and beg for forgiveness and membership into the Nazi Party. Upon the end of their argument Hans Jr. walks out on his family, never to be heard from again (104-106). The last and most important theme I have discovered throughout this entire novel so far is that words possess a power that none of us can truly grasp. Liesel utilizes the power of words to get through the challenging time of her mother’s leaving her and her little brother’s death. Hitler uses the power of the written word to gain a mass volume of followers to join his Nazi Party and kill every Jewish follower in sight. Max, the lonely and unlikely Jew, uses writing to help cope with his past. Germany and the Nazi Party realize the potential of books, and even schedule a book burning of all Jewish novels to kill everyone and everything of the Jewish race (83-84). Liesel realizes how amazing books and words truly are and what they can really do, and after what she has seen and experience in her lifetime of WWII, she gets her real start as the book thief.
Through the course of this book I have seen may themes emerging. One main theme that I have found is that people will do anything to keep their family alive and together. In Germany things start to become hard for people with the threat of World War II. Food becomes scarse, stores go out of business, and people were sent into war. During this hard time Rudy and Liesel turn to drastic measures to keep their families full. They start stealing from farmers to avoid hunger. They one day stole from Otto Sturm a boy from thier school by, throwing water into the path that he travels on every day, then letting it freeze. Once an unsuspecting Otto comes aong he slips on the ice and loses his baskets of food. They then crept slowly toward him and stole the basket (163). Liesel loves her foster parents very much and will do anything to keep thier family together even if it means that she has to hide the fact that her father is hidinng a Jew in thier basement.
In The Book Thief, there have been many themes that have shown up in the text but I think the most important theme so far is friendship. This has been extremely important in the book ever since Liesel arrive on Himmel Street. First she meet Rudy who becomes her best friend and makes Liesel forget a little about her past and start to enjoy what is happening and what is going to happen(47-50). He stays her best friend till he dies. Then she meets Max Vandenburg, who is a hiding Jew (185). Liesel and Max become good friends and they help each other a lot. They become so close that when Max has to leave she is very depressed for days. Every time a pack of Jews are marched through the streets of Munich to be taken to Dachau, a Jewish concentration camp, she would look at all of the people to see if Max was one of them (440-441).
I found many themes in this book. One of the themes I have discovered is that love can be anywhere. Liesel loves her parents and Max even in this bad situation. She cares for them and always will no matter what happens. Love has fought through this war (220-291). I also found that friendships can bring anyone through the rough times. Liesel develops a friendship with Max. Her encouragement and Max’s friendship with her allows him to survive. She always makes him very happy. For example when Max is sick, his only motivation to survive is because of Liesel. She makes a large impact on him. Another theme I found was that even when times are hard, people can still be happy. Liesel makes herself happy by reading, and Max stays happy by writing and talking to Liesel. Anything is possible. I have also found out that words have a large amount of power and impact. For example, Liesel uses words to cope with the death of her mother and father. Max uses words to write the story of his past. Words make Max and Liesel feel better. In the book, I have also found that people will do anything for their family and friends. When Liesel is in a terrible need of a book, Rudy agrees to come with her to steal a book in the mayor’s library. Even though that is not the right thing to do, Rudy helps her because it is very important to her.
I agree that an important theme that I’ve seen emerge was friendship. Friendship is almost the only thing besides Liesel’s passion for reading that helps her get through rough times. Rudy is her best friend who always helps her through what she needs help with ever since she moved onto Himmel Street. He helps her slowly move on and start to enjoy the new upcoming events in her life (47-50). Max and Liesel also become friends and help each other out. Max is a hiding Jew and always is worried with the war going on and has had a rough past just like Liesel. Together they help each other think about brighter things and are just there for each other. Another possible theme I saw mainly in the beginning was that in life, not everything goes the way one expects at first, and it may not seem fair, but in the end it’s for the best. It’s up to one to realize why and accept it no matter how hard. This mainly shows in the beginning when Liesel goes to the Hubbermans. This was in the beginning when she didn’t really enjoy them and wondered why she had to be with them and why she couldn’t just be with her mom and brother. Later through the book, she realizes she can’t really change much so she starts accepting that they aren’t there and warm up to the Hubbermans.
I think that a very possible theme could be “Friends are important to keep life moving along”. I think this because Max was always very depressed while he was down in the basement. But as soon as Liesel started to go down there and talk to him every day, he starred to become more active and was not just reading the whole time. This is why I think that this could be a possible theme, because it is helping Max get through his tough times.
There were many themes that emerged throughout the book. One theme that stood out to me most is that family does not have to be by blood. In the beginning, Liesel was taken in by Hans and Rosa. She was wary at first, but eventually grew to love them as a mother and father. One example of this is when Hans would go to Liesel's room to comfort her of her nightmares just like a parent would do to comfort their child. Hans also bought her a book despite not having any money and instead sold cigarettes to buy the book. This shows how much Hans cares and loves Liesel as much as a father would.
One theme i've noticed is a theme of fear, because of the ongoing war that is going on. There is also the constant fear of being bombed by the Allied Powers. There is also fear shown when Hans is sent to fight in the war as well as Rudy's father Alex. Liesel and Rosa both fear that he will not reurn, reinforcing the theme.
So far, I have seen many themes emerge throughout the text. One theme I see is that when times are hard there can still be joy. I saw this when Liesel was celebrating her birthday with her parents and Max. Since, Liesel’s parents are not the richest people in the world; they couldn’t afford to buy her any presents for her birthday. Some kids might get angry and throw a fit but, Liesel was calm and happy. She realized that even when life isn’t so good, you can still be happy.
ReplyDeleteI have not yet completed the first week or two's reading but I have seen one thing stand out. It is that no matter what she has gone through, Liesel still manages to find something to make her happy. Such as when Hitler launches WWII and she is absolutely delighted to learn to read and write.
ReplyDeleteGood job describing what you have read so far.
DeleteIn the Book Thief, many themes have arisen from the text and from characters’ actions throughout the novel. Some themes that I have found to be extremely important have been themes of cowardice, abandonment and the pure power of the written word. Abandonment was an extremely important subject from the book because at the beginning of the novel we learn of Liesel and her family’s dire situation. Her mother was trying to take her and her little brother to a foster home to be cared for because she was extremely sick and couldn’t care for Liesel or her brother anymore. On the train ride there though, Liesel’s brother dies unexpectedly and Liesel ends up having to go to her new home on Himmel Street alone. Upon her arrival Liesel feels lost and alone, her mother has left her and her brother is dead. She feels like there is no one in the world who cares for her (27-29). Another important theme in the novel was cowardice. Cowardice is shown when Liesel’s foster parent’s son, Hans Jr. comes for a visit over the holidays. Hans, her foster dad and Hans Jr. go into the subject of politics and the current state of the Nazi Party and modern Germany’s rise to power across the continent. Hans had been trying to apply for a membership to the Nazi Party for years, as that is what all respectable German citizens are doing. Hans doesn’t really support the Nazi beliefs though, where as his son is an avid sponsor. Hans Jr. becomes extremely annoyed with his father’s cowardice to own up to his past actions, and beg for forgiveness and membership into the Nazi Party. Upon the end of their argument Hans Jr. walks out on his family, never to be heard from again (104-106). The last and most important theme I have discovered throughout this entire novel so far is that words possess a power that none of us can truly grasp. Liesel utilizes the power of words to get through the challenging time of her mother’s leaving her and her little brother’s death. Hitler uses the power of the written word to gain a mass volume of followers to join his Nazi Party and kill every Jewish follower in sight. Max, the lonely and unlikely Jew, uses writing to help cope with his past. Germany and the Nazi Party realize the potential of books, and even schedule a book burning of all Jewish novels to kill everyone and everything of the Jewish race (83-84). Liesel realizes how amazing books and words truly are and what they can really do, and after what she has seen and experience in her lifetime of WWII, she gets her real start as the book thief.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThrough the course of this book I have seen may themes emerging. One main theme that I have found is that people will do anything to keep their family alive and together. In Germany things start to become hard for people with the threat of World War II. Food becomes scarse, stores go out of business, and people were sent into war. During this hard time Rudy and Liesel turn to drastic measures to keep their families full. They start stealing from farmers to avoid hunger. They one day stole from Otto Sturm a boy from thier school by, throwing water into the path that he travels on every day, then letting it freeze. Once an unsuspecting Otto comes aong he slips on the ice and loses his baskets of food. They then crept slowly toward him and stole the basket (163). Liesel loves her foster parents very much and will do anything to keep thier family together even if it means that she has to hide the fact that her father is hidinng a Jew in thier basement.
ReplyDeleteIn The Book Thief, there have been many themes that have shown up in the text but I think the most important theme so far is friendship. This has been extremely important in the book ever since Liesel arrive on Himmel Street. First she meet Rudy who becomes her best friend and makes Liesel forget a little about her past and start to enjoy what is happening and what is going to happen(47-50). He stays her best friend till he dies. Then she meets Max Vandenburg, who is a hiding Jew (185). Liesel and Max become good friends and they help each other a lot. They become so close that when Max has to leave she is very depressed for days. Every time a pack of Jews are marched through the streets of Munich to be taken to Dachau, a Jewish concentration camp, she would look at all of the people to see if Max was one of them (440-441).
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteI found many themes in this book. One of the themes I have discovered is that love can be anywhere. Liesel loves her parents and Max even in this bad situation. She cares for them and always will no matter what happens. Love has fought through this war (220-291). I also found that friendships can bring anyone through the rough times. Liesel develops a friendship with Max. Her encouragement and Max’s friendship with her allows him to survive. She always makes him very happy. For example when Max is sick, his only motivation to survive is because of Liesel. She makes a large impact on him. Another theme I found was that even when times are hard, people can still be happy. Liesel makes herself happy by reading, and Max stays happy by writing and talking to Liesel. Anything is possible. I have also found out that words have a large amount of power and impact. For example, Liesel uses words to cope with the death of her mother and father. Max uses words to write the story of his past. Words make Max and Liesel feel better. In the book, I have also found that people will do anything for their family and friends. When Liesel is in a terrible need of a book, Rudy agrees to come with her to steal a book in the mayor’s library. Even though that is not the right thing to do, Rudy helps her because it is very important to her.
ReplyDeleteI agree that an important theme that I’ve seen emerge was friendship. Friendship is almost the only thing besides Liesel’s passion for reading that helps her get through rough times. Rudy is her best friend who always helps her through what she needs help with ever since she moved onto Himmel Street. He helps her slowly move on and start to enjoy the new upcoming events in her life (47-50). Max and Liesel also become friends and help each other out. Max is a hiding Jew and always is worried with the war going on and has had a rough past just like Liesel. Together they help each other think about brighter things and are just there for each other. Another possible theme I saw mainly in the beginning was that in life, not everything goes the way one expects at first, and it may not seem fair, but in the end it’s for the best. It’s up to one to realize why and accept it no matter how hard. This mainly shows in the beginning when Liesel goes to the Hubbermans. This was in the beginning when she didn’t really enjoy them and wondered why she had to be with them and why she couldn’t just be with her mom and brother. Later through the book, she realizes she can’t really change much so she starts accepting that they aren’t there and warm up to the Hubbermans.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI think that a very possible theme could be “Friends are important to keep life moving along”. I think this because Max was always very depressed while he was down in the basement. But as soon as Liesel started to go down there and talk to him every day, he starred to become more active and was not just reading the whole time. This is why I think that this could be a possible theme, because it is helping Max get through his tough times.
ReplyDeleteThere were many themes that emerged throughout the book. One theme that stood out to me most is that family does not have to be by blood. In the beginning, Liesel was taken in by Hans and Rosa. She was wary at first, but eventually grew to love them as a mother and father. One example of this is when Hans would go to Liesel's room to comfort her of her nightmares just like a parent would do to comfort their child. Hans also bought her a book despite not having any money and instead sold cigarettes to buy the book. This shows how much Hans cares and loves Liesel as much as a father would.
ReplyDeleteOne theme i've noticed is a theme of fear, because of the ongoing war that is going on. There is also the constant fear of being bombed by the Allied Powers. There is also fear shown when Hans is sent to fight in the war as well as Rudy's father Alex. Liesel and Rosa both fear that he will not reurn, reinforcing the theme.
ReplyDelete