Change in Perspectives: the Book Thief & Changes
Year 11 Assessment: Changing Perspectives RELATED TEXTS ASSESSMENT – ADVANCED ENGLISH
1) Prescribed Text – The Book Thief a. Compose a summary/synopsis of the text (plot/themes/characters/key concerns). (100 words only)
‘The Book Thief’ by Mark Zusak The Book Thief is a story of a young german girl named Liesel Meminger in Nazi Germany during world war 2. At age nine her brother drops dead in front of her and when Death himself comes to collect his newest soul, he becomes fascinated with Liesel. From then on death narrates the story of a girl who moves into a foster home where she develops relationships between her new Papa and Mama, her best friend Rudy, her secret friend Max, but most importantly we witness her relationship with books and words that take her on a journey though life. Using your prescribed text, examine what the composer of this text reveals about Changing Perspectives and how they convey these ideas (750 words). It is expected that you will identify and analyse at least 2 techniques /forms /features. Use the PETAL structure to help you remain analytical. Mark Zusak reveals the concept of Changing Perspectives in his book ‘The Book Thief’ through how he has personified Death as the narrator. He does this in such a way that causes the reader to reconsider their thoughts on ‘what’ death is, and to then ask themselves about ‘who’ death is. The idea of who death is, is challenged when Zusak writes, “Yes, I know it. In the darkness of my dark-beating heart, I know. He’d have loved it all right. You see? Even death has a heart.” (p262) Truncated sentences are used here to help quickly convey to the audience the new aspect of who death as a personified character is. Emotive language used by death in this quote allows the audience to see a compassionate side of death that is not normally explored in other texts. Death also states in this quote about how he has a heart which also makes the audience reconsider and change their perspectives of death
1) Prescribed Text – The Book Thief a. Compose a summary/synopsis of the text (plot/themes/characters/key concerns). (100 words only)
‘The Book Thief’ by Mark Zusak The Book Thief is a story of a young german girl named Liesel Meminger in Nazi Germany during world war 2. At age nine her brother drops dead in front of her and when Death himself comes to collect his newest soul, he becomes fascinated with Liesel. From then on death narrates the story of a girl who moves into a foster home where she develops relationships between her new Papa and Mama, her best friend Rudy, her secret friend Max, but most importantly we witness her relationship with books and words that take her on a journey though life. Using your prescribed text, examine what the composer of this text reveals about Changing Perspectives and how they convey these ideas (750 words). It is expected that you will identify and analyse at least 2 techniques /forms /features. Use the PETAL structure to help you remain analytical. Mark Zusak reveals the concept of Changing Perspectives in his book ‘The Book Thief’ through how he has personified Death as the narrator. He does this in such a way that causes the reader to reconsider their thoughts on ‘what’ death is, and to then ask themselves about ‘who’ death is. The idea of who death is, is challenged when Zusak writes, “Yes, I know it. In the darkness of my dark-beating heart, I know. He’d have loved it all right. You see? Even death has a heart.” (p262) Truncated sentences are used here to help quickly convey to the audience the new aspect of who death as a personified character is. Emotive language used by death in this quote allows the audience to see a compassionate side of death that is not normally explored in other texts. Death also states in this quote about how he has a heart which also makes the audience reconsider and change their perspectives of death