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Innocence In The Book Thief

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Innocence In The Book Thief
Innocence is a treasure not shared by many; the lack of guile and the sense of purity is what many desire. Unfortunately, innocence is something very easy to steal from someone. Liesel’s innocence was displayed and used in many ways in The Book Thief. Before her innocence benefited others, it first brought her to Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Her parents were communists, a concept she didn’t understand because of her age, so she was in danger. Because she was young, she had the opportunity to be safe by staying with the Hubermanns, but her mother did not. She was shipped off to Himmel Street. It was here that Liesel was protected from the war until she was old enough to understand it. Liesel’s mother always warned her, ”Liesel, keep your nose out …show more content…
At the time of war, Bruno was completely oblivious to the atrocities around him. He is unaware that his father his a Nazi Commander. This relates to Zusak’s The Book Thief since Bruno does not know that his father is a Nazi Commander and he would be too young to understand, and Liesel’s parents were communists, a concept she didn’t understand either because of her age, so they were both in danger. Bruno says: “My father’s a soldier, but not one that takes peoples clothes away”. (Boyne, 114). Even though Bruno knows his dad is a soldier, he does not want to believe that his dad is the cause of this wrongfulness. Little does Bruno know that it is unfortunately true and his dad is the one putting him in danger. Throughout all the horrors going on around them, Shmuel and Bruno share a certain childlike innocence, even though Shmuel is a prisoner and has certainly seen horrific sights. His parents who do not want him to know about the horrors of the Holocaust, on the other hand, carefully protect Bruno. This relates to Zusak’s The Book Thief because Liesel and Rudy are both young when the horrific events of the Holocaust are happening, and they are all unsure of what is going on. Bruno and Shmuel possess innocence just like Liesel and Rudy’s because their friendship is apart from the common order that both inhabit. Bruno's friendship with Shmuel is one in

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