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Why does Liesel steal books in The Book Thief?
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Liesel steals books in The Book Thief as a means of educating herself and resisting the Nazi regime, which burns books it deems unacceptable. Her love of reading, fostered by her foster father Hans and their Jewish refugee Max, empowers her to think independently. This act of defiance symbolizes her fight against the brutality and inhumanity of the Nazis.
Liesel first discovers a book called The Gravedigger's Handbook when her brother dies, and she holds onto the book until her foster father, Hans Hubermann, teaches her how to read it. Hans and Liesel practice reading and writing together by painting letters on the basement walls in Hans's house. As Liesel and Hans develop into better readers, they develop confidence in themselves as independent thinkers who can resist the Nazi regime. Hans and his wife decide to provide refuge to a Jewish prizefighter named Max Vanderburg, who also has a love of words, something he shares with Liesel. As time goes on, Liesel breaks into the Mayor's library to steal books. Her actions are a means of educating herself and, in the process, resisting the Nazi regime, which burns the books it does not agree with. In Liesel's life, literacy and reading function as a means of resistance against the...
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brutality and inhumanity of the Nazis.Â
Why is Liesel the protagonist in The Book Thief?
An interesting question! To answer it, consider why Liesel makes a good protagonist in a literary sense.
The main reason is that she is a child. Much like Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, Liesel has yet to reach the age where social and racial distinctions have much meaning. She is, in effect, a clean slate to build on for an author; she has no prior prejudices, no deeply ingrained beliefs or values. That is why, when dealing with difficult subjects such as racial or social prejudice, many great literary giants choose to have children as the protagonists. It gives them someone neutral, someone whom the audience can relate to and understand. Liesel is young enough to grow with the audience, to learn to have values, beliefs, and opinions, and to learn how to control those.
For instance, had the protagonist been Rosa or Hans or even Max, the story would not have progressed so naturally, because all of those characters already have ingrained values, opinions, and beliefs. By taking someone who is neutral, who along with the audience comes to understand everyone around her without prejudice, the story can grow naturally. It also helps the audience to relate to the protagonist, which is extremely important for a book to be successful.
Another important reason why Liesel is the protagonist is that she lives. She sees her whole world come to an end and yet still she survives. A major theme of the book is that life is a precarious balance of gains and losses, and Liesel manages to navigate this unsteady balance, giving the audience hope that they can too.