This might be the second paragraph on the opening page of the book thief, but it is definitely the first thing that gets your attention. For another, death is in some ways pretty humanespecially considering how in humane a lot of the homo sapiens running around in the book thief are. The book thief, narrator, narration, narrative structure, death, humanity, markus zusak. Why is death the narrator of the book thief answers. The film is about a young girl living with her adoptive german family during the nazi era. Exploring markus zusaks use of death as a narrator in the. For one thing, death aint the bad guy that would be hitler. Being narrated by death, the book thief is a novel about an orphan, named liesel meminger, who moves in with the hubermanns in himmel heaven street. This creates a different kind of suspense, where the reader. The book thief is narrated by an extremely overworked being who identifies himself as death. The book thief deals directly with the immediate effects and aftermath of world war ii and the holocaust, and it does so in a way unlike any other holocaustera text. This creates a different kind of suspense, where the reader knows some of the storys end but still wants to. Jun 09, 2008 brittany h w argued my point that death is not a good narrator for the book thief by saying, since death is the narrator, we hear about more characters and learn more about the time period in which the story is set. It isnt often that we come across a literary masterpiece the likes of markus zusaks the book thief.
Death acts as the readers guide to the narrative, acknowledging the readers. Do not be fooled by the novels having a young girl as its protagonist. The book thief discussion questions chicago public library. The diary of a young girl from a jewish girls perspective, the book thief focuses on a german girls point of view. One of the most interesting parts of the book thief is the narrative voice. Check out zusak had to say about why he chose death as the narrator for the book thief. Nominated as one of americas bestloved novels by pbss the great american read. Mar 14, 2006 zusak, author of i am the messenger,took a risk with his second book by making death an omniscient narrator and it largely paid off. The unusual narrator gives the novel a unique point of view and impressive description of human nature as well the narrator illustrates in a brilliant way the equal. Originally published in australia and marketed for ages 12 and up, the book thief will appeal both to. Deaths point of view is very engaging for a modern audience.
The book thief 20 roger allam as narrator, death imdb. Apr 18, 2012 because as the title of the post suggests, mark zusak in the book thief uses a rare combination of viewpoints. Youre still scratching your head in confusion, arent you. But dont go cowering under the covers on his account. In lieu of an abstract, below is the essays first paragraph. The university of southern mississippi the aquila digital. The book thief cliffsnotes study guides book summaries. How harsh the life can be and this is one of the three times that death saw the book thief. Based on the beloved international bestselling book, the book thief tells the story of an extraordinary, spirited young girl sent to live with a foster family in wwii germany. Odd narrator of a girls story nprs john ydstie interviews markus zusak, author of the book thief, a novel set in world war ii germany with death himself as the narrator. Masaryk university death as the narrator of the book thief by. This terrible event kills all of liesels friends and loved ones. Markus zusak says, what better way to narrate a story set in the world war 2 than by death itself. Published in 2005, the book thief became an international bestseller and was translated into 63 languages and sold 16 million copies.
Narrated by death, who over the course of the book. Exploring markus zusaks use of death as a narrator in the book thief. The book thief by markus zusak presents a magnificent story with heartbreaking and heartwarming moments in which the author captures the readers attention until the last chapter. His way of distracting himself from the sadness felt by the survivors of those he takes, was to use color. I immediately thought, maybe i should use this idea for that. With the perspective of the first person, death tells what he sees, every time a death occurs. People are constantly in awe of how well zusak was able to take death as a narrator and make him seem caring, almost compassionate. Jun 12, 2015 the authors own words on why death was chosen as narrator.
He mostly sticks to the events during the years of world war two, though occasionally he flashes forward to relay different characters fates. The book thief as a whole has been received wonderfully. The book thief is a comingofage novel, so tracing the character development of liesel is practically a requirement. Death takes on a whole new persona in the book thief by markus zusak. Markus zusaks the book thief is not your average young adult novel. What is the significance of color in the book thief. I recently heard someone claim that the book thief was the first ever book to feature death as the narrator. He asks for a kiss, and liesel still wont give it to him. The book thief death as a narrator showing 150 of 51. The narrator also reveals the fates of most of the characters beforehand, particularly the details of their deaths. The story takes place in germany around and during wwii.
In the opening of the book when liesel steals her first book, the gravediggers handbook, this event can be thought of as the first of many turning points for her. The book thief is a 20 war drama film directed by brian percival and starring geoffrey rush, emily watson, and sophie nelisse. Character death in the novel english literature essay. The narrator, which is the voice that tells a story, is death in the book thief. He explained how he tried to do his job in a cheerful manner. For one thing, death aint the bad guy that would be. First person omniscience in the book thief, part one random. They are available 247 and will provide you the best assistance in your crucial times. I wrote about three deaths in that story and realised id used death as the narrator. I have attended all the worlds worst disasters, and worked for the greatest of villains. The simple answer is that i thought of the expression that war and death are like best friends, so who better to tell a story set during world war ii.
In the opening of the book when liesel steals her first book, the gravediggers handbook, this event can. It was adapted into a 20 feature film of the same name. Markus zusak needed a narrator who could provide liesels point of view, but also provide information that liesel, as a young girl in a relatively isolated town, wouldnt know about. He is fascinated by humans and the colors of the world, but he struggles throughout the novel to decipher how humans are capable of so much ugliness and so much beauty. I think it was a very original idea having death telling the story, because death is supposed to be neutral, and it kind of gave you the story completely as it was, brutal but at the same time tragically lovable. When liesel drops her newly completed memoir, the book thief, after learning that all those she knows and loves on himmel street have died from bomb blasts, death steals the book from a trash truck. I am sure i have read an earlier book that used that device, but i cant for the life of me remember what it was called.
From the beginning of the book thief, death, the narrator, foreshadows the bombing of himmel street. The first chapter in the prologue of the novel is titled death and chocolate. Symbolically and metaphorically death is the narrator of the book. Death, an omniscient narrator, is a surprisingly sympathetic considering the book takes place in 1939 nazi germany amongst the nazi takeover and the brutalities of the holocaust. To death, war does not serve as a friend but an employer, and a demanding one at that. Death character analysis in the book thief litcharts. In the book thief, markus zusak wrote,i am haunted by humans zusak 550. How would you characterize death as he shows up in the. Yes, death was the narrator in the novel the book thief, by marcus zusak, but i would also be interested in any other works people know of for which death was the narrator. Many readers appeared doubtful that anyone could appropriately use death as a narrator but, time and time again, people are amazed by his accomplishment. The narrator will probably present stories of many people close to death who survive. He takes an interest in liesel and her story, and he believes that liesels story is one of a handful of beautiful stories he possesses. Death himself is the narrator of the book thief, and the setting is nazi germany during world war ii, so there is a constant feeling of danger and suspense in the story.
What was the purpose of choosing death as the narrator. The film is based on the 2005 novel of the same name by markus zusak and adapted by michael petroni. Each book she steals depicts an important point in her life in her own history, an important lesson learned, a challenge. One example of this is the secret life of hans hubermann. Narrating the story by death changes the dynamics of the story. He takes an interest in liesel and her story, and he believes that liesels story. Jul 22, 2014 death can be considered a very unlikely narrator giving a history lesson to children in the text. Nprs john ydstie interviews markus zusak, author of the book thief, a novel set in world war ii germany with death himself as the narrator.
In this lesson, well look more closely at the narrator, death, through some of his interesting quotes. The use of foreshadowing, irony, and symbolism in the book thief 41714 in the book thief, by markus zusak, the narrator uses foreshadowing, irony, and symbolism. A vivid narration by death himself, this book chronicles the life story of a german girl the eponymous book thief during the wwiiyes, the nazi era. Narration in markus zusaks the book thief the aquila digital. What is the importance of deaths role as a narrator. Death skips ahead in the storys timeline to a moment when rudy jumps into the freezing amper river in order to retrieve a floating book for liesel. The reader can learn a lot about death through his narration. Sep 01, 2005 having death as the narrator and having as a central protagonist a young girl in nazi germany make the book thief by markus zusak stand out from the crowd of books about europe during world war ii. The the book thief quotes below are all either spoken by death or refer to death. Their support team is very responsive and they cater your concerns no matter what the time it the book thief death as the narrator essay is. Zusak chose to have death as his narrator and its such an interesting method to personify death in this way. Guided by an original narrator, death himself, we follow liesel meminger, a young orphan girl placed in foster care, nicknamed the book thief by death.
For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. For another, death is in some ways pretty humanespecially considering how inhumane a lot of the homo sapiens running around in the book thief are. He lurks from place to place with the relatively menial duty of carrying away the souls of the recently. How does death see things that a human narrator might not. Though this is a novel, many children today live similar lives to.
He goes about describing his work as doable, yet not pleasant or nice. The war is omniscient throughout the book just as death is. Death explains the distinction between what people think about warand about deathand the reality. Color, in the book thief is used by the narrator, death, to describe the skies and souls in the moments that he comes to take peoples spirits away. Death tells the story of liesel, an ordinary german girl living in germany during world war two. What theory does the narrator suggest about the colors. Use specific passages from the text liesels arrival to himmel street, liesels visions of her dead brother, etc. One important person left in liesels life is ilsa hermannthe mayors wife who gives liesel access to a whole world of books. The book thief death and chocolate the jesse owens incident. He lurks from place to place with the relatively menial duty of carrying away the souls of the recently deceased, bluntly just taking them out of the rotation. The book thief 2005 in terms of the holocaust, its generic hybridity, and its crossover readership for child and adult. The book thief is a historical novel by australian author markus zusak and is his most popular work. In brian percivals film, the book thief, an ominous narrator pops in and. The book thief is a historical novel by australian author markus zusak and is his most popular work published in 2005, the book thief became an international bestseller and was translated into 63 languages and sold 16 million copies.
Throughout the novel, death often provides humorous, informative, or dark asides. I think this worked to give us a straight forward narrative with some distance to those characters that allowed us to make accurate judgements about them. What was the authors purpose behind choosing death as a narrator. I especially liked the things he said about souls, which i thought really made sence. Oct 07, 2014 in the novel the book thief by markus zusak, the narrator who is known only as death is a critical thinker which makes deaths point of view very engaging for a modern audience. The book thief is opened with a description seen from the glasses and described by the main narrator.