Pullela 1

Srinivas Pullela
McGee/Romano
English II
10/22/15
The Book Thief Passage One Analysis
Excerpt One from The Book Thief reveals a great depth of information about the
characters of the story and its themes and conflicts such as their interactions with others and the
relations that results from those interactions. Firstly, it makes many implications about the
general behavior of mainly two characters--Liesel Meminger and Hans Hubermann.
Being set in the Hubermann household after Liesel's real mother turns her over to foster
parents, it sets an important tone of sobriety for the characteristics revealed here, as it is a strange
and sad occasion. For instance, it portrays Liesel as a shy, introverted girl who tries to keep
herself out of many routine activities which she sees as being uncomfortable. She is "naturally,
bathed in anxiety" when the Hubermanns try to interact with her, which implies that Liesel is
very quiet and worried most of the time. Of the efforts of getting her to do something it is said
that "there was no way she was getting into any bath, or into bed for that matter", which shows
that no matter how much the Hubermanns tried to help her their efforts were futile. Liesel is also
so anxious and afraid that "She... [is] twisted into one corner of the closet-like washroom,
clutching for... support" and all that come from her are signs of weakness and anxiousness such
as "difficult breath." This is one of the main conflicts present in the story, where Liesel has to
cope with her losses (her brother and mother) and her own emotions and internal mental turmoil.

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Hans, on the other hand, is described as a welcoming person who "enters the fray" when
Liesel is being subjected to a "deluge of abuse from Rosa [for her disobedience]"--another
recurring conflict throughout the story for Liesel--and says with a gentle voice "Leave her
alone... Leave her to me." This immediately shows that Hans is very kind and amiable even
when handling frustrating situations. Soon after, Hans even makes a conscious effort to know his
foster daughter by asking her to roll cigarettes with him, another friendly act on his part.
However, he does share some characteristics with Liesel at the beginning of the story, such as
being "barely visible" because he had no blatantly obvious special characteristics. But Liesel
notices Hans, and Hans's efforts to interact with her combined with subtle things about Hans
such as "the quiet air around him" and eyes "made of kindness, and silver" help establish that
Liesel has taken a great liking to him.
The bond formed between the father and daughter in this excerpt represents an important
theme within the story--that strong relationships and people that one can depend on are important
to survive dire situations such as the times the characters of this story are living in. This is
especially true for Liesel because her intimate bond with her father later helps her learn and catch
up to kids her age in school, helps ease her pain every night when she has nightmares, and helps
her cope with Rosa's scoldings which were meant to be helpful, but nevertheless very harsh.
Overall, the language used in this excerpt further supports the ideas presented. For
instance, it uses figurative language such as "bathed in anxiety" to emphasize the extent of this
feeling within Liesel. It also uses graphic phrases such as "difficult breath" and "the deluge of
abuse from Rosa" to show how Liesel's emotional and physical state in tandem with the pressure
she feels from leaving her mother and being reprimanded by Rosa can negatively impact her.

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There is also a great deal of description that helps establish Hans as a kind person, such as eyes
"made of kindness, and silver"