2.4 Writing Portfolio Option 1: The Book Thief – Genre Investigation

In the novel “The Book Thief” written by Markus Zusak, conventions of the genre Magical Realism, in this case symbolism; are employed to illustrate the deeper meaning of the novel. That is; knowledge is power and the power of words and the actions that humans take as a result of them have the potential to have a negative or positive impact on individuals and the world.
In the novel, words symbolise power and the significance of words and their effect on the lives of the characters involved is shown in order to inform the reader to the idea that words are powerful and have a large impact on society and individuals, and also to warn us to choose our own words carefully.

In ‘The Book Thief’, a character who went on a journey towards attaining knowledge and power was Liesel Memimger, the main protagonist of the novel.
Zusak uses the character Liesel to show the power of words through their positive effect on Liesel’s life.
In the early stages of the novel, Liesel’s lack of knowledge was established when we realised Liesel was illiterate and struggled at school.
“She was the book thief without the words” But trust me, the words were on their way”
This early depiction of Liesel allows the reader to see that although Liesel may not have the power of knowledge and words yet , she will.
Being illiterate in a society controlled by words, meant that Liesel had no power over herself and felt disconnected. Throughout her journey, as she began to learn to read and write, her character developed, she found her identity and had a way to control had express herself in a world run by words. For Liesel, words were a symbol that she had power and control over herself.
As Liesel went on her journey, she had to learn how to manage the power that accompanied her words and this is shown through her argument with Isla Herman.
When Zusak wanted to show the reader the true power of words, he used a metaphor to show the harmful impact of words and to present the negative power attached to their power.
“The injury of words, Yes, the brutality of words… Cuts had opened and series of wounds were rising to the surface of her skin, All from the words”
Zusak used a metaphor of words to show how Liesel’s words had the power to cause harm. Although they did not literally cause cuts to open, Zusak wanted to show through the metaphor that Isla was harmed by Liesel’s hurtful words. This was an important turning point in Liesel’s journey, when she saw how if she abused words, they could cause harm to others.
This symbolises the power that accompanies our words and as readers, Zusak wanted us to become more aware that although we have power, we must learn to control it and not use it for bad.
Words also represented life for Liesel, shown figuratively “to remind her that words had brought her to life” and physically when ” She was holding desperately on to the words that had saved her life”.
Figuratively, when Liesel finally had the power of words by her side, her character was “brought to life” by being able to write her own story and take control of her life. Zusak used a metaphor again when words saved her life when she was writing in the basement when bombs hit Himmel St . The words she was writing did not actually save her, the shelter did, but the words were the reason that Liesel was protected in the shelter, so in a way they did save her life.
Zusak created the character Liesel to have a complicated relationship with words. She struggled to understand them, control and manage her own words, and then she used them to create herself, but their power and significance in her life is always present and shown through the symbolism of their power. ” I have hated the words, and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right”.
At the end of Liesel’s journey, she realised too, that although she hated words and loved them, they had an irreversible positive effect on her life and she only hopes that by yearning for knowledge and power, she did it right.

Although words gave Liesel knowledge and power over herself, Zusak also used words to symbolise the things wrong in the world and to show the dark side of the power of words, when sought after to spread evil.
Nazi Germany and it’s regime was ruled by propaganda and the manipulation of words, which enabled Hitler to exploit the nations trust in him. Hitler yearned for words only so that he could control people, unlike Liesel who yearned for words to control herself.
Hitler knew the power that words could have and used them against the nation.
Through Adolf Hitler and his abuse of the power of words, Zusak could confront us again with the truth that the power of words is corruptible and can be used for bad as well as good.
Hitlers words stand as a symbol for the evil in the world and a warning to the reader to acknowledge when they themselves are abusing the power of words.
Zusak used Max’s story the Word Shaker to explore how someone could abuse the power of words. “Yes the Führer decided that he would rule the world with words, I will never fire a gun, I will not have to.” This line shows the reader how Hitler had recognized the power that words had, and realised he could rule the world with them.
” He watched them grow, until eventually great forests of words had risen throughout Germany …. It was a nation of farmed thoughts.”
For Zusak to imply that German people were not in control of their own thoughts but were being manipulated by their leader and thoughts were being created by Hitler’s propaganda, Zusak shows how significant the power of words can be in society.
When we as readers look back on Liesel now, we get a better understanding on why she was so desperate for words, knowledge and power. Because she did not want her thoughts to be controlled and manipulated like the rest of society.
Zusak used the quote “Without words, the Führer was nothing”, to educated the readers to see that Hitler was just an ordinary man, who had figured out how much power words have hidden in them and used them to spread hate and corrupt a society. But Zusak really wanted to show the reader that without the words, Hitler was just like anyone else.
This brought the Nazi Germany situation close to home, because the readers were forced to think about how easy it is for someone to abuse the power of words in society, and made the reader look over their own society to see if this was something that was happening to them.
As readers, we get to see how Hitler abuses words to rally the German people, when Max dreams of fighting Hitler.
“Will you stand out there, powerless? Or”—and now he stepped one rung higher—“will you climb up into this ring with me?”.
Zusak used the boxing ring dream to show how Hitler used words to convince the German people that they had a common enemy, the Jewish people were considered a threat and Hitler unified their hatred towards the Jews. The metaphor that all of Germany could step into the ring and help Hitler defeat Max shows how Hitler could masterfully manipulate people and the power of words in order to rule Germany and start a war.
Zusak used Hitler to show the readers the dark side of the power of words, in order to present the idea that all power can be used for good or bad, and words, as they represent power in The Book Thief, can be used in the same way.

Another way that Zusak used a characters words to symbolise power was through the character Max, who experienced the hateful side of Hitlers words and labels. However, this did not stop him from recognizing that not all words were hateful, and the power of kind words could change a life.
An interesting element of Max’s relationship with words was his experience with Mein Kampf, Hitlers biography. The hateful words of Hitler’s book made it’s way into every household of Germany, in one way or another, and the book and it’s words preach the hate that Hitler wanted people to have. Mein Kampf represent the evil capabilities of mankind when we abuse the power of words.
However, Zusak masterfully used Mein Kampf to also represent power and freedom to Max, as it was the way that Max was able to find Hans Hubermann and find safety in the Nazi regime.
“Mein Kampf. Of all the things to save him”. The irony that the very book that condemned Max and other Jews in Nazi Germany is the thing that brought him safety shows how Zusak wanted the readers to see how the power of words can be used for either good or bad, and that even though Hitler abused the power of words, his words still had the potential for good in someones life. Zusak also used Mein Kampf when Max used the pages of Hitlers words to write his own story on top, The Standover Man.
The Standover Man was a story for Liesel to tell her Max’s life story and strengthen their friendship, but also a way for Max to rebel against Hitler and all he stood for by creating something beautiful out of the evil. Mein Kampf means My Struggle, and Max kept the cover of the book to show how The Standover Man was a story about his own struggles in life, as a result of Hitlers words.
By writing over Hitlers Mein Kampf pages, Zusak showed the reader how hateful words can be transformed into kind words, and showed how Max was able to find a way to defy Hitlers preaching even in the smallest of ways.
Zusak also used Max to help teach Liesel about the power and importance of words through his story The Word Shaker. Max knew how important kind words were to combat the hateful words that their society was plagued with and had a drive to share that knowledge with Liesel.
In Max’s book, “The best word shakers were the ones who understood the true power of words”.
This line refers to Liesel as being a word shaker, because she could understand the true power of words. This was because of the time that she was illiterate and “knew how powerless a person could be without words.” Liesel understands the true power of words because of her own struggle to attaining them, and Max wanted her to realise through The Word Shaker what Hitler was doing with their society but also to show her how powerful words were.
“The tear was made of friendship-a single word”. Here Zusak teaches the reader about the true power of words, by showing how the word friendship between Max and Liesel grew into an in destructive force that could withstand Hitler and the world.
Zusak showed us as readers the power of kind words and how they could outweigh the hateful words in a society such as Nazi Germany but also in our own societies.
Through words, Max and Liesel could reclaim their own power and independence in Nazi Germany, and create a strong friendship, and their symbol is shown in a different light, this time representing freedom, friendship and power.

In Markus Zusak’s “The Book Thief” , conventions of Magical Realism; symbolism, were used to teach the readers about society and the power of words.
Words symbolised knowledge and power, and Zusak successfully presented the idea that the power of words are undeniable and are extremely important and powerful in society. He also taught the readers that words could have a significant impact on peoples lives, whether it be because of kind words, hateful words, or both.
Through the course of the book, Zusak taught the characters, as well as the readers, about the true power of words and he also presented a warning, that we as people, must acknowledge the power of our own words, because we have now seen what happens when words are abused.