Lear- Book 2 and 3 of the Book Thief

The Book Thief Strikes Again!

 

 

Liesel Meminger has finally settled into life in Molching when Christmas rolls around.  She wasn't expecting a gift, but she got two books.  One was called Faust the Dog and the other was called The Lighthouse.

 

 

 

In school, Liesel was learning how to write letters.  She thought it was ridiculous to write letters to a person when you can speak to them personally.  So, she decided that she wanted to write to her mother.  When she sends them, she never gets a reply.  That is when she learns that "they" might have taken her mother, like they did her father.

 



It is now Hitler's birthday and everyone is celebrating.  To celebrate, there will be a parade in the streets where children will march through.  Then, there will be a fire that burns all of the old papers and other objects that people wanted to get rid of in Hitler's name.  When that fire is being cleaned, that is when the book thief will strike again.

 



Hitler's 50th Birthday in 1939

 

 

During Hitler's celebration, Liesel starts to understand what a communist is and what it means in this time.  Once she understands completely, she starts to hate Hitler, and she says so to Hans.  "I hate the Führer.  I hate him."  That is what Liesel said.  Then, Hans smacked her across the face.  Liesel was upset because she never expected that from him, but he did what was necessary to get the point across that she should never say that in public.

 

 

While some workers were cleaning up the burnt paper and trash, Liesel noticed that some of the books were wet when the fire was ignited, so they didn't get burned.  When she thought no one was looking, she ran, grabbed a book, and then went back the way she came.  The book was warm, so it burned her when she touched.  It was called The Shoulder Shrug.  What Liesel didn't know, until it was too late, was that someone, that she recognized, saw everything.

 

Hans finds out about Liesel's stolen book an promises, on her request, that he wont tell Rosa, on the condition that she will do a favor for him when the time comes.  During the whole part 3, Liesel and Hans work through The Shoulder Shrug.

 

 

The person who saw Liesel steal the book was Ilsa Hermann, the mayor's wife.  For a while, Liesel avoids that house during her runs with the laundry, but when she finally gets the courage to go back to the house, Frau Hermann invites her into the library.  Liesel is amazed at the amount of books.

 

 

At this point, the author changes the setting to Stuttgart, where a Jewish man named Max is living in a secret storage room.  This man is told that he may have just received an identity card.

 

 

Back in Molching, Liesel and Rudy start stealing food because they are poor and always hungry.  Although is living a hard life, some people have it worse, like Max.  In the book it says, "anything is better than being a Jew." 

The Hiding of Jews

 

When Max arrives in Molching. he goes straight to the Hubermann household and gets ready to unlock the door and enter with the key he was given.

 

 

Long-Term Effects of Holocaust Survivors







Figurative Language- Book 1- The Book Thief

Ain't That Ironic?

The Book Thief has a lot of figurative language in it.  In book 1, some examples of figurative language is irony, foreshadowing, and simile.

 
Foreshadowing-  In the book, the author uses foreshadowing by saying, "Trust me, the words were on their way."  By saying that, he is foreshadowing that she will be able to read and write someday.
Definition of Foreshadowing

Simile- On page 67 of book 1, the author writes "Liesel would hold them in here hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like rain."  This means that when Liesel finds the words, she will write and read them until she can't anymore.
Definition of Simile

Irony- The author uses irony by making Liesel find a book called The Grave Digger's Handbook at the grave site of her recently perished brother.  Although Liesel didn't know what the book was about at the time, it is still ironic.
Definition of Irony

Another type of figurative language used in The Book Thief is epithet, which is putting something in as someone's name.  It is used in The Book Thief because Adolf Hitler is called the Führer instead of Hitler.
Definition of Epithet

Lear- Reading Blog- Book 1

A New Life, A New Book

Liesel Meminger went through one of the worst days of her life.  First she was on her way to a new home, and a new life, which meant she had to leave her mom forever.  Her and her brother were supposed to, both, go to a new home, but, sadly, her brother didn't make it.  He died on the train ride, staring at the floor, eyes lifeless.

 

 

 

Following the funeral, one of the grave digger's dropped a book.  The grave digger didn't notice, but Liesel did.  She picked up the book, and that was her first act of book thievery.  The book was called The Grave Digger's Handbook.

 

 

 

Liesel's new home is in Molching, Germany, during the time of the holocaust.  Hitler ruled, and there was nothing to be done about it. 

 

 

Liesel's foster mother was named Rosa Hubermann.  She was loud-mouthed and a very foul tongue.  Liesel's foster father was an accordion player and a painter named Hans Hubermann.  He played a very big role in the life of Liesel Meminger.  He is the one that taught her to read and write.  Sadly, Hans was against Adolf Hitler, so he was always looking over his shoulder, afraid something would happen to him.

 

Life in Camps During the Holocaust

 

 

Another person that Liesel became fond of was Rudy Steiner.  He was a boy that lived near Liesel.  They became very good friends, and Rudy wanted to be more, but Liesel didn't want that, at least not yet.  Proof that Rudy liked Liesel is that if Rudy won a race between the two of them, Rudy would get a kiss.  His exact words were: "If I beat you, I get to kiss you." 

 

After a while, Liesel became comfortable in her new home.  She got used to Rosa, and became very close to Hans because he taught her so much.  Hans was always nice to her.  A few times, Liesel wet the bed during her daily nightmares about her brother.  All Hans did was clean her up, and that's it.  Every night after these nightmares, Hans would comfort Liesel until she feel back asleep. 

 

During the first of these bed-wetting incidents, Hans found Liesel's stolen book.  He didn't yell at her.  He just offered to teach her how to read it, which went like this:

"'Is this yours?"

"Yes, Papa."

"Do you want to read it?"

Again, "Yes, Papa."

A tired smile.

Metallic eyes, melting.

"Well, we'd better read it, then.'"

Soon enough, Liesel learned to read, well enough, but not soon enough.  During school, she had to read from a book in front of the whole class.  Liesel wasn't prepared enough, so she started reciting The Grave Digger's Handbook.  The teacher didn't appreciate that, so Liesel got a spanking.  During their free time that day, some boys started making fun of her.  Liesel got very angry, so she beat the kid up.  She was named the heavy weight champion of the school yard.

Liesel and Hans finished the stolen book, and soon enough it would lead to another.

 

Extra Extra!

Life for a Child During the Holocaust

Life for an Adult in the Holocaust

Schooling During the Holocaust