Essay on The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Literature & Language Essay

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The Role of Books in Liesel Meminger’s Personal Growth and Development
The book ‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak is a wonderful piece that succinctly unravels tragic and reality stories during wartime during the regime of Nazi Germany. The book through the protagonist character, Liesel, paints vivid context of the Nazi regime in Germany. The books, of which she stole some, play a crucial role in influencing her personal growth and her developmental integration into society with difficulties.
Liesel identifies firstly identifies Gravedigger’s Handbook after the demise of her brother, Werner. Liesel stole the book from the snowy graveyard of her little brother. She holds this book until her foster parent Hans Hubermann guides her on how to read the book. Gravedigger’s Handbook is a metaphorical item that symbolizes sadness, loss, abandonment, and impending herald of another phase of life; it reflects the melancholic memory of her mother and brother who died. The Gravedigger’s Handbook provided a linkage between her and Hans Hubermann. It is also an embodiment of the devastating loss of her parents and brother.
On her first night with the Hubermanns, she had hidden her last link to him—The Grave Digger’s Handbook—under her mattress, and occasionally she would pull it out and hold it. Staring at the letters on the cover and touching the print inside, she had no idea what any of it was saying. The point is, it didn’t really matter what that book was about. It was what it meant that was more important (Zusak, pp.38).
The Gravedigger’s Handbook ushered into Liesel into the literacy sphere and established a fatherly and friendship relationship with her foster father, Hubermanns. It appears that this book signified Liesel’s fresh phase of life that is defined by courage and significant personal growth; this was evidenced by her ability to deal with mocking and bullying later, this is illustrated by her encounters with Tommy Muller, and to Ludwig. The book reading empowered Liesel; she was now more literate and exposed to surroundings.
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