What Was the Composer’s Purpose in Writing the Book Thief & How Have Major Issues & Concerns Been Represented?

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In The Book Thief, Markus Zusak highlights major issues and concerns of Nazi-era Germany, exploring humanity’s capacity for great good and evil, the value and importance of human relationships and exposes human prejudice and its detrimental effects on society. Through characters and events in the novel, Zusak exemplifies the complexity of humanity. Zusak’s purpose is thus seen to explore the complexities of humanity through the duality of humanity, the value and importance of relationships and the detrimental effects of a prejudiced war. Zusak presents to the reader the simultaneous existence of benevolent and malevolent acts through Hans and Death’s character, highlighting the duality of humanity, thus exploring the complexity of humanity. Hans is portrayed as a selfless person when, “He made his way…onto the road…and presented a piece of bread like magic” which shows that it was in Hans’ nature to help those in need. This was however soon met by a Nazi soldier who then proceeded to whip both Hans and the Jew who received the bread, juxtaposing the beautiful scene of a German helping a Jew with a Nazi soldier punishing their own people who were only doing the morally correct thing. Furthermore, despite its many human qualities, Death fails to comprehend the dualities of Nazi-era Germany and the acts of generosity and cruelty humans are so seemingly capable of. Death sees people more objectively, “The human heart is a line, whereas my own is a circle…I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both.” Death distinguishes himself from mankind, metaphorically using a line to represent life showing that he is immortal, separating him from humanity and by being beyond the boundaries of the human race, can impartially judge the actions of humanity. Yet it is this clear sense of mind Death possesses that makes him perplexed as to how the

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