Being Truly Human in "The Book Thief" by Markus Zuzak

The following example essay on “Being Truly Human in The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak” is an analysis of the literary work and film based on the novel.

One small fact, we are all going to die. Despite every effort, no one lives forever and death has and will always be inevitable. Death has always been linked to danger, making the concept of death, a terrifying thought. However, while the majoritys though t about death itself is revolting, death was portrayed differently in the film, The Book Thief, a movie directed by Brian Percival from Markus Zuzaks hit novel.

It is in the face of death that courage and bravery is seen, it is in great adversity that proves that humans have capacity for compassion and in most unlikely time and places, friendships can emerge. The movie itself was brimmed with great expectations as the novel of the film became a huge success in 2006 having stayed in The New York Times Best Seller list for over 230 weeks and has been translated to over 30 languages.

Other than the novels popularity, the movie sparked peoples curiosity because of the movie setting. The setting in which the story the took place enticed viewers as it took place in Germany,1939 during the World War II, under Hitlers regime, the Fuhrer himself.

The setting itself shows a piece of history explicitly showing how the Jews and the Anti-Nazi citizens alike suffered under the oppressive society in which no one is spared from the government’s constant surveillance and being subjects to intense scrutiny, not even children, such as Liesel, the protagonist herself.

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Zuzak has always been against prejudice as he witnessed situations as a child about people receiving unfair treatment and violence thus making these situations as his motivation to write the novel. The story is about a girl named Liesel, who is a subject to the horrors of the war. She finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Her act of stealing books became one conflict as it is seen as an act of defiance to the government.

The story proceeded to get even more conflicted when a Jewish refugee is being protected by her parents in their home, hiding the Jew in their basement. Zuzak has chosen a setting where he can effectively show his works purpose, restoring faith in humanity in a setting where prejudice, violence and chaos are prevalent. Although th e setting made the story predictable, the setting allowed the writer to explore the best and worst of humanity.

Using his skills as a honed writer, he vividly portray and create in the readers mind, he effectively made viewers feel the fear and uncertainty that the characters felt during the Nazis rule. According to William Peden, a setting is determined by the needs of a particular story and is governed only by authors concept of the best way, to get from the here to the there of the story.

Thus, the stage, arena or space is amorphous, depending on the authors emphasis, which can be time and description, physical space and its limitations, history and its gaps, customs and other relevance within a community, realistic details or surre alistic dreams, among others. Zuzaks story setting gi ves the viewers a sense of anxiousness and uncertainty, because its feels that something wrong will happen at any time of the movie, reflected by the settings historical background. With the setting, the writer effectively shows the oppression in the German society in the period that involves violence, poverty and the dangerous effects of the authoritarianism and fascism by the government using the characters that he created.

The movie blatantly shows violence, especially in scenes how they capture Jews. In one scene, Lehman, a hiding Jew was captured by the soldiers. Lehman was mercilessly dragged from his workplace, with the crowd watching him. Lehman also happened to be Hans friend, Hans tried to defend his friend and tried to convince the soldiers that Lehman was a good man and because of this, Hans was roughly pushed by the soldier causing him to fall on the ground.

The authoritarianism of the government also caused a decline to their economy, poor neighborhoods such as Leisels suffered from lack of food which Liesels mother always complain about. The poverty that they experienced is proven by Rudys statement when he caught Liesel stealing books in Ilsas house. Rudy has spitefully said to Liesel,  We are all starving here, and youre stealing books? Are you nuts? Didnt you ever think of stealing in the kitchen? The movie effectively shown how children are robbed of their innocen ce. In the movie, Rudy was scolded by his teacher after his teacher saw him in the tra ck field, his body painted and smeared black to impersonate his idol, Jesse Owens, an American athlete, who happens to be a colored man.

Rudys act was frowned upon by the society and so, Rudys father tells him not to do it again because he shouldnt try to be and like black men. Although the movie has a dark tone, with horrific real life tragedies that seem not fit for young people, the movie also showed people, young and old, how beauty could exist in the midst of brutality. Hans showed that there is still hope for humanity, because even if they are faced with the constant threat of death, they did not hesitate to risk their lives to protect a Jew, choosing humanity over their life.

Their brave act make viewers realize that humans have the capacity to be resilient and compassionate. Another value presented is value of literature. Liesel loved reading, and because of this, she has managed to develop her inner strength and courage. Liesels love for learning has propelled her to steal books which is a small act defiance against the Nazi rule. It is also by reading that she has made relationships with Max and Ilsa, which proves that literature is important, not only because it contains knowledge but also the power that literature possesses.

After watching the m ovie, the viewers also realize the power of words. The negative influence of words is prominently shown in the movie and is also depicted in our history. Hitlers power as a leader is derived from his sophisticated and organized way of speech. His ideals that Germany would be a better place without Jews is cultivated through forms of mass announcements. Hitler used words to influence, mobilize and brainwash an entire nation to conform to his ideals

. However, the movie also showed that the power of words are used positively as well, Liesels relationship to Max and Hans are built on words, thus proving words connect people. Zuzak has incorporated themes showing the good and bad sides of life. The elements in the movie effectively brought the story to life, especially with its use of color. The colors depicted the moods of the movie and foreshadows the scenes that will happen in the movie next.

For example, if the scene has clear skies, bright sunlight or colors used are warmer tones, the viewers can expect happy moments and danger is yet to come but if colors used are dark tones and skies are gloomy, we can expect danger is afoot. It is also noticeable that the movie do not use much background music. The lack of the usage of background music however, is clever because climactic scenes without background music makes the scenes more thrilling and suspenseful for the viewers. The most interesting element in the story is perhaps, the story narrator. The story narrator happens to be Death himself, personified that makes the story unique compared to others.

Personifying Death has showed in the story that death should not be feared, rather it should be embraced. Death is inevitable, following the course of life. In the movie, death, mourning and grief are not prolonged emotions in the story, the characters who live continue to live their lives and making the most out of it and this teaches us to live our lives and make the most out of it, so nothing is regrettable in the face of death. Overall, the movie was great however, there is one thing that is slightly disappointing.

The movie is entitled, The Book Thief referring to Liesels act of stealing books. The act of stealing is shown, but the movie didnt emphasize the significance of the books that she has acquired. The books she stole was highly symbolic and greatly contributed to her character. For example, the first book she has stolen was The Gravediggers Handbook and it seemed throughout the movie that this book was the only one pr operly shown.

The book symbolizes Liesels sadness about losing her loved ones like her brother and her parents. However, this book was the first book that she has discovered her love for learning. The second book, The Shoulder Shrug was the book that she stole after the burning of books. This book was also symbolic because it was burned for its contents as it depicted a Jew who was portrayed positively. She picked this book even though it was burning and symbolizes how she loves learning, how she wants to preserve the knowledge in the book.

This book was also her first act of rebellion. Another book that she has stolen is entitled, The Dream Carrier. She reads this book to Max when he was ill. The books content reminded her of both their dreams and their deep friendship. This book inspired her to be optimistic even in dire times.

The movie also missed an important detail, When Max arrived, he had a book with him, which interestingly turned out to be Mein Kampf , the book that Hitler wrote himself which primarily tells about hiss struggles in life. It was highly ironic for a Jew to have a copy of this book but later on, Max gave this book to Liesel after painting all the pages white telling Liesel to write her own story. His act if painting the pages white symbolizes that Max has rejected Hitlers ideas. The painted pages of Mein Kampf symbolizes how Max and Liesels relationship is more powerful than Hitlers. If only the movie paid more significance to the books that Liesel has stolen, the movie would be more wholesome.

One of the things that makes the movie so compelling is the way the setting and the characters work together to produce the ultimate effect. The setting helps the story personify the difficulties that the characters face. The characters go through the trials and share their feelings of fear and happiness with us. The characters reflect the struggles that young people are going through, and the story enlightens its viewers about a time in our history that changed everything. The movie also showed us how good can still exist in midst of chaos and the characters in the movie showed us what it really is, what it really takes to be truly human.