The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

Satisfactory Essays
1. Markus Zusak was born to an Austrian mother and a German father, both experienced World War II, The Book Thief was written inspired by these stories. The bombing of Munich, the Jews being marched through his mother’s town on their way to concentration camps, these events fuelled Zusak to write his novel. He began writing fiction at the age of 16; he then went to college for teaching. He wanted to write a story about what had happened during the time of World War II and a story surrounding a little girl who steals books because she was never taught to read at her school.

2. Zusak chose his title after the little girl, Liesel Miminger who steals chiefs books. She is the main character and she was never taught to read at the German school she was attending. Liesel was given the name The book thief by her friend Rudy Steiner. Death, the narrator in the book, is also a book thief; Death steals a book that Liesel drops. Hitler can also be considered a book thief in this novel because he has a book burning in celebration of his birthday. Hitler burns all the books that have any relation to Jewish people, whether written by a Jewish person or anything about Jewish people.

4. The book thief is set in Molching, Germany during World War II in 1939 to 1942, a small town on the way to Dauchau, the concentration camp in Molching. Molching is a sad, depressing, place where the Jewish people have to wear bright yellow stars to identify that they are Jews or announce that they are Jewish. Himmel Street is where most of the story takes place; this is where the Hubermins and the Steiner’s live. Himmel Street is a deserted neighborhood where many of the homes in the neighborhood have been burned down and destroyed.

The story also takes place in two different basements, one basement in the Hubermanns, the other in the Fielders. The basements are used to hide from the Nazis, both basements are cold, crammed, and uncomfortable. While they are meant to keep safe from the Nazi’s, they are quite dangerous. The basements are where Liesels and Max become friends; it is where Liesel learns to read and where Max writes his books. In the Fielders basement Liesel writes her life story and Max write his book, the word shaker.

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