Read another book that addresses a topic explored in this novel, then discuss what such a reading brings to an analysis of The Book Thief. Consider any of the following texts:
Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
Night, by Elie Weisel
All But My Life, Gerta Weissmann Klein
Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl
Maus and/or Maus II by Art Spiegelman
The Diary of Anne Frank
Others?
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12 comments:
I have read Night by Elie Weisel and it was interesting to me to read about a topic from completely opposite perspectives. One passage that really caught my attention was, "It worked its way past, pointing in the direction of Dachau, the concentration camp" (71). Then the text just continues. This is not something that is dreaded or even thought about. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Dachau was opened in March of 1933, six years before Liesel was in that area. Therefore, the concentration camp was not a new place that was a mystery to everyone. This lack of emotion compared to the absolute dread and need to be far away in Night highlights the major differences in perspectives and offers another point of view. The Book Thief shows that others were not as threatened, and at least not in the same ways, by the same events. Reading another book on the same topic helps make Zusak's statements on the German’s feelings toward all these events stronger just by how they contradict and make the reader think in a new way.
The Holocaust was a terrible event and so warrants a lot of attention. Like Steph, I have read "Night" by Elie Weisel as well as various other fiction and non-fiction books about the Holocaust. On top of these readings, the Holocaust is studied almost every year in school. Throughout all of my exposures to the Holocaust, "The Book Thief" is the first view of this event from a German perspective that I have had.
To this day, many people still blame the Germans for what a few did to the Jews during World War II (WWII). My grandma and grandpa, as well as my dad, are Jewish. They have traveled around the world yet they absolutely refuse to go, or allow any of the family to go, to Germany. Until I read "The Book Thief" I always felt like the German people could have done more to stop Hitler, just like many others. The concentration camps were close enough to various towns for the Jews to be herded through neighborhood streets after all. How could people just stand by and watch these humans be treated like animals?
Because Zusak's novel is about the German people during WWII, as opposed to the Jews, people can see that the Germans were just trying to survive, like the Jews. Despite what many people may believe, times were rough for people all around the world during WWII. The German people were starving and suffering just like, although not to the same degree as, the Jews. These people were held captive by their own country, just like all of those Hitler persecuted. Any who did try to help, like Hans Hubermann when he gives one of the old men in the procession on its way to Dachau a piece of bread, were punished (394). People today and those who were distanced from the war during the Holocaust can say that the German people are as much to blame as the Nazis, but that is not true. Many Germans, such as Schindler and Hans Hubermann, did try to help, but the majority of the German people needed all of their strength and resources just to keep themselves alive and safe. The Nazis were monsters, as any tale of the Holocaust shows; what few people realize is that the Nazis were only a group of German people, not all Germans.
I think contradicting books, like Elie Weisel's Night, highlight Zusak's attempt to eliminate a widly excepted prejudice against Germans for their part in WWII. As Becky S said, not all Germans were Nazis and so not all were guilty of driving the Holocaust. In order to make his point stand out, Zusak shows Germans own fear of the Nazi party. At one point, Mama frantically says, "'They'll come and take us away' They 'We have to find it'" (103). They way Mama uses the word "they" trule shows how the Nazi group didn't include everyone. This fear that Rose shows just at not being able to find a flag proves that not all Germans can be held resposible for the terrible events that took place in Germany in WWII and further help Zusak eliminate this prejudice.
I have also read Night. It is my belief that both books carry the theme of death. Death himself is very clear on this point. “You are going to die.” (1) Because The Book Thief is narrated by Death, dieing is a heavy theme. In Night, Elie Wiesel says, “We were all going to die here. All limits had been passed. No one had any strength left. And again the night would be long.” (98) Throughout the book Elie lives in constant fear of death. I find both books to very blunt about death. The way they are narrated death is an every day thing. (which it is…) Yet when Elie’s father becomes ill and the ‘gravediggers’ try to take the father away, Elie fights hard against them. “No! He isn’t dead! Not yet!” (104) He isn’t dead…not yet anyway. His father does end up dieing later.
In the Book Thief when Liesel’s brother dies she also fights against it. She shakes him thinking that this can’t be happening. In the story she loses most people dear to her. Death is a companion to her also. Death even says, "Her whole death was now ahead of her." One would assume that he was talking about her death, but it was in a way saying that the death of her happy life, friends, and family was ahead.
Both of the main characters lose their families. Because of it their lives are changed forever. Elie tells of this change, ““Never shall I forget that night….which has turned my life into one long night…” (32)
July 13, 2008 5:26 PM
Much like everyone else here, I also have read Night by Elie Weisel.
I agree with Wendy that death really is a pretty prominent theme in both books. Characters in both books live in fear of death - Elie for himself and his family, and Liesel for Max when he left. And yes, the books are very blunt about death.
Even though from the beginning he has the same reaction toward death as Liesel does, Elie's thoughts reveal that he realizes that he is hopeless against death and fate in the concentration camp. He and all the other people in the camp almost seem to wait for death, as if it might be some sort of service to them.
In the Book Thief, however, Liesel refuses to be hopeless against death. In the end, Liesel lost her parents, neighbors, and best friend. Yet she refused to just walk away and give in to what had just happened. She "...struggled free and searched and called and wailed some more" (499).
Liesel and Elie differ in this way. Elie realizes that he can do nothing to stop death and must accept it no matter what. Liesel, on the other hand, knows that she must also accept death, but she struggles and almost rebels against it - although the effects are irreversable.
I also have read night by Elie Weisel and I also believe that it does show very different sides of Nazi Germany. Though despite the differences between Elie and Liesels lives there are also many similarities. Though Elie is a Jewish Captive and Liesel is a German citizen they both stand up against the Nazis in their own way and they both have fathers who understand what is happening better then they do and help guide them along the way. I think it's good to see not only how it shows different aspects of Nazi Germany but how even though they are on different sides of the story they can still have things in common.
I agree with Becky s f when she said most people think that all Germans are at fault for what happened in the holocaust when really it was just the Nazi party who are at fault for doing those crimes. In Night by Elie Weisel he says that the opposite of love is not hate but indifference. This is reinforced in the The Book Thief because it shows that some citizens were indifferent towards those being harmed by the Nazis. This shows that some citizens could still be at fault. The ones who truly are not at fault are those who did something about it like those who hid Ann Frank, and those who did not know what was really going on. This is what having read these two books and reviewing the holocaust often has given me insight into.
I really like what Donald brought up about, "The opposite of love is not hate but indifference." Hate and love are both fixations. Both emotions bring the thoughts of the thing you hate or love into your mind. Indifference on the other hand, is a negative emotion where you simply don't care.
The definition of love is: “A feeling of affection, concern, or devotion towards a person. To have a great liking for…” In other words, you care about some one so much that you would throw yourself in front of a bus for them. Hate’s definition is surprisingly similar, “To have a great dislike for, intense animosity or dislike.” In this case, you despise them so much that you would throw yourself in front of a bus to kill them.
They are not opposites. Both are intense obsessions about a person or thing.
Indifference shows no parallel to either hate or love. “Indifference: Lack of concern or interest, not caring.” Indifference, or apathy, is the opposite of both hate and love, because it is showing no emotion and no worry.
While hate and love are both fixations, I disagree with Wendy that they are not opposites. The defenition of love says “A feeling of affection, concern, or devotion towards a person. To have a great liking for…”, and the definition of hate says “To have a great dislike for, intense animosity or dislike.”. If that's true, then aren't they opposites right there? Like and dislike? Love and hate?
I also like what both Wendy and Donald said about indifference. Elie Wiesel says "The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference". In that time, I could see how that was true to him. When he was in a concentration camp, it wasn't that the rest of the world hated him, although it may have felt like it. It was rather that the rest of the world didn't care enough to intervene.
I would like to expand upon the topic that Danielle F briefly touched on about "the rest of the world" during this time period. In addition to "Night" and "The Book Thief," I have read "Summer of My German Soldier" by Bette Greene about a Jewish family living in a Jewish community during WWII. A German prisoner of war becomes the main character’s good friend, but she has to keep him a secret from her family and everyone else. The way that this impacts the meaning of "The Book Thief" goes back to what Becky S said on July 10, "many people still blame the Germans for what a few did to the Jews during World War II." Both books present similar points of view; the main character is an elementary school girl living with at least one parent with whom she doesn't get along with very well and the family is just getting by. What is different is that one family is German hiding a Jew and the other is Jewish and the girl is hiding a German soldier. They also live across the world. In "Summer of My German Soldier," the reader truly sees how Jewish communities around the world despised the Germans. For example, talk of Germans is only allowed when it is negative. From this view, "Summer of My German Soldier" presents a similar but worldwide perspective to "Night." This book shows a lesser degree of blame, but still how universal the hate was. Again, it really highlights one main point of this conversation about not all Germans being Nazi, but being blamed for the events anyway.
Also, the stories are almost absolute parallels and at the same time complete opposites. This highlights how barriers can be put aside for the simple act of protecting a human from harm. Liesel and Patty could not have more opposite community influences and yet both of them ignore all they are encouraged to believe in order to provide for someone in need. Both of them also put their own lives, not to mention their families, at risk for what they are doing. Hans tells Liesel, “if you tell anyone about the man up there, we will all be in big trouble” (203). Aside from all that the risk and how much they are supposed to hate who they are providing life for, both Patty and Liesel continue to care for their guests, Max and Anton.
One important book this blog has yet to discuss is The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. In this book, as well as in The Book Thief, German people are helping Jewish people hide. This exemplifies Becky S’s point that “what few people realize is that the Nazis were only a group of German people, not all Germans.” In Anne Frank’s diary, two German people named Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl risk their lives to save their friends. Hans Hubermann does the same thing for Max. Both stories show us that not all Germans were horrible people.
An important difference between these two books is how they depict the conditions of the Jewish people in hiding. Not the living conditions but the conditions of fear. In Anne’s diary, she says, “I’m terrified our hiding place will be discovered and we’ll be shot” (28, see full citing below). In the book thief, Hans warns Liesel of the consequences if Max was to be found. However, beyond this, the fear of him being discovered is hardly present. Perhaps this is because Death didn’t find this detail important to his story.
I think the most interesting part in comparing these two books is in the fact that one can get a full view of what was happening. Anne Frank narrates what it was like to be in hiding and not know what was happening in the outside world. Liesel knows and sees everything that is happening in Germany during this time, including simple things like rationing and harder things like raids and concentration camps. Both perspectives offer the full view of the feelings of both Jews and Germans, and how they are very similar, even in such different situations.
Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl. Bantum Books: New York, 1991.
Most all of us have read Night by Weisel, but I have noticed similarities between Leisel and Elie. They are both prisoners to the Nazis but Elie was in a litteral prison. Leisel is kept prisoner not because she is a Jew, but because she has a communist background.
Leisel is so imprisoned because like Hans, they both hate Hitler and his regime. Though, Leisel can do nothing about it becuse she wouldbe taken or killed like her mother.
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