The Book Theif by Markus Zusak

There was a qestion asked in class that really triggered some thoughts for me. It was, "What role does the use of words play in the novel?" It gave the example of Mein Kamph. The question made me think of the power of words and the power of a book. It's ironic that in the novel, The Book Theif, some of the German citizens loved the act of burning literature that was, so called, "faux pa." In the novel, they give the example of burning a book called The Shoulder Shrug. It was a story of a Jewish man who was treated too well. I found it odd that people were so worried about being influenced by Jewish literature, but they never stopped to think of what a book like Mein Kamph was teaching them. The book burners were right in being frightened by the power of text/words, I just think they chose the wrong words to frighten them. In the Book Theif, there are a lot of instences where the reader sees parellels. There is a story at the end of the novel that Max tells. It is about people constantly standing over him. He first talks of it as something he is afraid of and then progresses to say that it comforts him. The dependant variable in Max's story is the person doing the standing. When he was little it was a bully he used to fight with. At the end, it's Liesel. This story struck me as odd because, if you recall, Death is the narrator. Max writes about his fear of people standing over him and yet, the one standing over him truely, is Death. The story, therefore, makes a parallel between Liesel and Death. Interesting....I think so.