Human Nature In Marcus Zusak's The Book Thief

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Human nature is like water; it takes the shape of its container. This idea of humanity being constantly reshaped is brought to readers’ attention in Marcus Zusak’s, The Book Thief, which has aspects, that represent the beauty and brutality of human nature. Zusak’s extremes of humanity are embodied through the cruelty and ruthlessness of Nazi Germany and the kindness and humanness of the German people. While we see the similarities of the Nazi regime, we also we the courage, kindness and resilience exemplified in the characterisation of Hans Hubermann, Liesel Meminger and Max Vandenburg. This is emphasized in some aspects of the novel which include, Han’s characterisation, the friendship Max and Liesel share in a time of suffering and deaths narration. Narrated by death, The Book Thief is a story of Liesel Meminger, a German girl growing up in Nazi Germany. Given up by her communist mother, she is sent to the home of Rosa and Hans Hubermann in the town of Molching shortly before World War II. Hans is a gentle, kind man, who in midst this time of injustice is brave enough to give bread to an old Jewish man in public as well as helping Max Vanderburg hide from the Nazis. The incident of the bread shows parallels to what Zusak’s mother witnessed and told him about in her stories. The author drew inspiration from his parents’ stories from living through Nazi Germany. Germany at the time was blindly supporting an inhumane ideology, led by their dictator Hitler, in war and treating the Jewish…show more content…
Zusak shows that even though the atmosphere of the time displayed the extreme cruel nature of humans, in amongst this the kindness and generosity of humans can also be seen. In a broader sense, readers are encouraged to look beyond what meets the eye, as humans have the ability to be both righteous and
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