Examples Of Conformity In The Bookhief

“Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the dangers of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of 'crackpot' than the stigma of conformity. And on issues that seem important to you, stand up and be counted at any cost.” (Thomas J. Watson). Conformity and Propaganda can cause the minds of many to change for the worse over a course of time. The power of words and propaganda have the remarkable power to compel people to commit acts of cruelty.You are viewed as a threat if you do not conform to society. Conformity also leads a false message in life as it’s pressed into people’s minds as conformity tries to strive to be accurate in judgement and observation even when wrong in life. Conformity is shown
She soon realizes Hitler’s words and power were the reason for why her mother, father, and brother are dead. When Max becomes a part of her life however, she begins to truly see how Hitler’s use of oratory to brainwash Germany and compel the German people to turn against enemies of the state. After a rally with the HJ she hears the man at the podium condemning Communists and Jews, and Liesel makes the shocking connection between Nazism and the fate of her family, as her father was a Communist. She ends up retaliating and takes a banned book from the burning at the rally and hiding it in her shirt, (Beneath her shirt, a book was eating her up (Zusak, 122). The Shoulder Shrug, the smoldering book she stole, symbolized her lasting memory of her family in retaliation against Hitler for targeting his family for being Communists as an act of rebellion against his regime. This moment of realization proves that propaganda can cause people to do awful acts. The dangers of conformity are also seen when looking at how they perceive you as a
This is seen in the Book Thief when Hans Jr. views his father as a coward for not believing in Hitler and not being part of the Nazi Party made him weak for example in The Book Thief. Hans Jr. was angered at his father's remarks and told him “You’re either for the Fuhrer or against him- and I can see you’re against him. You always have been.” (Zusak, 105). This shows how Hans Jr. believes that the old Germany is long gone as Zusak’s use of the either/or statement shows how there was no middle ground in Germany, you were for, or against. Hans Jr. saw his father as weak as he didn’t affiliate with the Nazi Party. Hans Jr. storms out of the house in a rage with his last words being “You coward” (Zusak, 105). His main objection had false judgement as he viewed his father as weak for not joining however, he didn’t join the party after Hans looked back at his life and how his life was saved by Max’s father in the last war. Hans knew he owed it to him to respect others and that he viewed Hitler as a polar opposite and did not want to follow under a leader who viewed certain groups as enemies. His accordion helped symbolized his lasting memory of Erik and how great of a friend he was to him. Hans Sr. knew that in the end that his son wouldn’t understand his reasoning and that he would have to come to terms with his son hating him. The in accurate judgement of Hans showed how