There are several themes found in the, The Book Thief. There are many themes or motifs that represented in this, novel such as; hard ship, friendship, humility, and love. I feel the themes that best represent The Book Thief are courage, and suffering. All the characters in this novel all experienced their own share of suffering, some more than others, but despite the series of unfortunate events they were faced with they continued to be strong & had courage.
Courage is greatly represented in this novel. For example it takes courage for the Hubermann’s to take in Max Vandenberg. Risking a great deal of punishment and even possible death if they were caught hiding a young Jewish man in their home. On Han’s behalf, it takes extreme courage for Max to make the trip to their home in the first place, and to trust them. As the characters grow and change courage becomes a bigger and bigger factor in their lives. When all hope seems to be lost they continue to believe and not give up. Although Mr. Hubermann was looked down upon by many people for not being enlisted in the Nazi Party, even by his own son, he stood for what he believed in and remained immune to the beliefs of the Nazi’s. That shows immense courage. “In 1933, ninety percent of Germans showed unflinching support for Adolph Hitler. That leaves ten percent that didn’t. Hans Hubermann belonged to that ten percent.”
Everywhere you turn there are examples of suffering, especially speaking about the concentration camps and all the horrible things going on the other side of the electric fences. Suffering and guilt over the loss of loved ones is also a major focus in The Book Thief. In chapter one, death speaks about how he hates to see the survivors or the ones that were left behind. Sometimes it seems harder to live with the fact that your loved ones or someone close to you has perished. It seems harder to live with that fact that you can no longer live your life with this person, then to just die too. “I witness the ones that were left behind crumbled among the jigsaw puzzle or realization, despair, and surprise. They have punctured hearts and beaten lungs.”
Humility, hard ship, love, friendship, are all great examples of themes represented in The Book Thief but I chose suffering and courage because I feel those are the most important aspects in long term sustainability. Not only Is courage and suffering greatly represented, but it is also a universal things. Everyone to some extent, has experienced both suffering and courage, which makes the book interesting, and relatable
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