Liesel Meminger in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak changes as a result of her experiences in several ways. The book opens with Liesel's dad being taken away because he is a suspected Communist and her brother dying. At her brother's funeral, Liesel steals a book entitled The Gravediggers Handbook. Her mom leaves her with Rosa and Hans Hubermann because she (Liesel's mom) is sick and cannot care for Liesel well without her husband. Liesel learns very quickly that life is short and things can change in an instant. This experience causes Liesel to be wary of people she does not know and shows her that loving others comes with a risk of loss.
Liesel does not know how to read, so Hans begins to teach her at night. Reading in Germany at the time is not really encouraged, unless it is the work of Hitler. As Liesel learns to read, a whole new world opens up to her. Now Liesel learns more about what the Nazi party is all about and and how dangerous Adolf Hitler is to the Jewish people. Learning to read provides Liesel with a hunger to read by any means necessary, even if that means stealing books like she did at her brother's funeral. Reading opens Liesel's eyes to what is really going on in Germany.
After a while, a son of a friend of Hans Hubermann's comes to live in the basement to hide from the Nazis. His name is Max Vandenburg, and he lives with the Hubermanns for three years. During that time, Liesel comes to love Max. Max gets taken to a concentration camp. Soon after Max gets taken to a camp, a bomb explodes on Himmel Street, and many of those Liesel loves do not survive. Liesel survives because she is reading and writing a story about her own life in the basement. Reading and writing literally save her life. After losing all her loved ones, Liesel still wonders where Max is, and she continues to look for him. One day a group of Jews are being taken to Dachau on foot. Liesel scans the crowd to see if she can find Max, and she does! Liesel speaks to him and does not think twice about the repercussions. Max gets taken to Dachau, and a German soldier injures Liesel for having talked with Max.
Once the war is over, Alex Steiner continues to work in his tailor shop, and Liesel often keeps him company for a few hours each day. One day a man comes to the shop asking for Liesel. When Liesel comes out, she sees that the man is Max, cries, and hugs him. We can infer from the author that Liesel and Max get married and have three children. Liesel's experiences with love are what have changed her the most. She had a love of reading and grew to love the Hubermanns and Max. Ultimately, Liesel learns that love is worth the risk.
How does Liesel grow from the incidents in The Book Thief?
As the story progresses, different incidents in Liesel's life contribute to her growth and development.
For example, through her interactions with Max, Liesel learns the importance of small gestures and simple joys. One Christmas, there is no money for presents and very little food in the house. To cheer Max up, Liesel goes outside to fill pots and buckets with mounds of snow. Then, she takes the snow-filled containers down to the basement to Max. They enjoy a snowball fight, and the whole family builds a snowman.
After Christmas, Max catches a cold and weakens considerably. Liesel's foster parents take Max upstairs to Liesel's room, and the whole family tends to the sick fugitive. During his sickness, Liesel reads to him. She discovers that reading aloud is a comfort to both reader and listener alike. In tending to Max, Liesel learns that perseverance, hope, and courage are essential in the darkest of hours.
The lessons she learns help her to endure extreme provocation when her foster father, Hans, is whipped by a German soldier for handing a Jew a piece of bread. The incident helps Liesel to realize that even the good are not spared suffering in this life. This fact is brutally reinforced in Liesel's mind when her entire family is killed in a bomb blast.
Youth has not spared Liesel from experiencing her share of tragedies; far from breaking her, however, these incidents have only taught Liesel the importance of cherishing life and living it to its fullest. Death relates that Liesel never lost her zeal and appreciation for life, for she lived to a very old age.
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