The Book Thief Questions

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Second Set of Questions on The Book Thief 1. What is the significance of the narrator’s consistent reference to Max as “the Jew”? Is this term used in a positive, negative, or neutral sense? Please explain. The narrator refers to Max as “the Jew” to objectify him. How the narrator groups him as a Jew parallels to the chapter Martin Buber’s I-It theory. Grouping people and then judging them based on a stereotype. Objectifying a group of people desensitizes you to making ethical decisions based on the individual feelings of the group. This is exactly what was done in Hitler’s utilitarian view of creating the greatest good for the greatest number. The Jewish population was just something he was willing to sacrifice for the benefit of everyone else. By continually calling Max “the Jew” is emphasizes the worthlessness that Hitler had applied to this race. It would be the same as the narrator referring to “the dog” in the room, or “the lamp” to your left. Completely objectifying Max to make it seem as if he were just another item in the room. Also, by the narrator saying “Please—try not to look away”, it makes Max seem like a monstrosity, a view that would pain our eyes just to look at. Perhaps that is exactly what he is, but still, it further objectifies him into a spectacle. The question in the textbook at the end of chapter 6 asks, “Are there cases in which treating people as types rather than individuals makes good ethical sense?” In this case I would answer, no. Hitler types Jews into a single menacing group and it enables him to feel guiltless for the actions he was ordering—for why would he feel guilty for harming items? 2. Was Frau Hermann’s cancellation of her laundry ‘contract’ with Rosa truly an act of betrayal? Why did Liesel see it this way? In a sense I suppose Frau Hermann’s cancellation was an act of perceived betrayal by Leisel. There was no
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