“It's just a little story, about, among other things: a girl, a few words, an accordion player, fanatical Germans , a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a bit of theft” (Zusak 5). And of course, there is Death. Set in 1900s Nazi Germany, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, is told in the first person from Death's point of view as it tells the unforgettable story of Liesel Meminger. Liesel is a young German girl who faces the inevitable pains of growing up during wartime. His emotional journey begins with a trip. It is at 33 rue Himmel, in Molching, that a new life awaits him. Naturally, everyone changes in one way or another during an emotional journey, and Liesel is no different. There are three main elements in Liesel's emotional journey that will change her significantly: friendships, deaths, and words. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay When Liesel first arrives at her new adoptive parents' home at 33 Himmel Street, she is friendless, desolate, and possesses only a small suitcase and a stolen book. “Liesel knew it.{...} No matter how many times she was told she was loved, they didn't recognize that the proof was in the abandonment. Nothing changed the fact that she was a skinny, lost child in another foreign place, with more strangers. Alone” (Zusak 32). Despite this, Liesel is quick to accept her new surroundings and make new friends. From the beginning, Liesel is immediately loved by Hans and Rosa Hubermann, even though both highlight her in queer ways. For Rosa, this involves hitting Liesel with a wooden spoon and words at different intervals. For Hans, it was not leaving. And unsurprisingly, Liesel immediately becomes closer to her new father. “{...}she imagined the smell, traced on her dad's clothes. More than anything, it was the smell of friendship{...}. »(Zusak 72).Hans Hubermann was a painter by trade, an accordionist by heart and, above all, he was an honest and moral man. “In 1933, 90% of Germans showed unwavering support for Adolf Hitler. That leaves 10 percent who haven't done so. Hans Hubermann was among the 10 percent. There was a reason for that” (Zusak 63). In other words, a Jew had saved his life and he could not forget him. Namely, it was a man named Erik Vandenburg who had a son, Max, before his death. And as the terrorization of the Jews escalated turbulently, Max's only hope became help from the Hubermanns. During the time he hid in the Hubermann house, Max and Liesel became friends. Even though one was a Jewish fighter and the other a German book thief, Max and Liesel quickly realized they had things in common. “Liesel, watching, was already noticing the similarities between this stranger and her. They both arrived in full agitation on Rue Himmel. They both had nightmares” (Zusak 206). Additionally, they are both victims of Hitler's hatred, as Liesel's parents were communists and they both had a loving respect for words. However, Liesel's greatest friend is Rudy Steiner, her neighbor, accomplice and ultimately her lover. “Rudy was always meant to be Liesel’s best friend. A snowball in the face is surely the perfect start to a lasting friendship” (Zusak 48). Thanks to the friendships of Hans Hubermann, Max Vandenburg and Rudy Steiner, Liesel changes remarkably. Each of these people taps into Liesel's emotions and affects her worldview. Hans shows Liesel that it takes courage to stand up for somethingwhat we believe, knowing that there are consequences. Max made Liesel empathetic to people in need and gave her a purpose in life because he helped her understand the power of words. Finally, Rudy shows him what true companionship and love is. Overall, they each contributed vital knowledge that changes it for the better. Another element that has a huge impact on Liesel is death, especially the death of her family and friends. With Death as the narrator and World War II in the background, it is very evident that death is a central theme of the novel. The constant threat and fear of death, and the reality of it, was omnipresent in this era; and therefore, the omnipresence of death is also present in the novel. From the beginning of the book, our narrator foreshadows that Liesel's life will be full of adversity and loss. “I was about to leave when I found her kneeling there. A mountain range of rubble was written, designed, erected around it.{...}I wanted to stop. Squat. I wanted to say: “I am sorry, my child” (Zusak 12-13). The mountain of rubble around Liesel symbolizes that she has many obstacles to overcome. In other words, Liesel “was a girl with a mountain to climb” (Zusak 86). One of the main obstacles Liesel must overcome in the novel is the death of loved ones. “To be sure, war meant dying, but it still shifted the ground beneath a person's feet when it was someone who had once lived and breathed in close proximity” (Zusak 467). The first death Liesel experienced was that of her younger brother, Werner, as they sat on the train to their new adoptive parents' home in Molching. The unexpected death leaves Liesel broken and nightmarish for a considerable time and causes her to lose some of her childhood innocence. Simply put, for the first time, Liesel is exposed to the harsh and painful realities of life. Then, later, Hans Hubermann was accepted into the Nazi party under the most improbable conditions. However, it is soon followed by a letter stating that he is being drafted into the German army. Five days later, Alex Steiner, Rudy's father, discovers that he is also being sent to war as punishment for refusing to let Rudy attend a school that trains boys to be Nazis. “When they come and ask you for one of your children,” Barbara Steiner explained to no one in particular, “you’re supposed to say yes” (Zusak 419). Fortunately, neither Hans Hubermann nor Alex Steiner were sent. fight. Alex was sent to Austria where he mended uniforms, socks and shirts that needed repair. While Hans was sent to Stuttgart, then to Essen, where he was given one of the most undesirable positions on the home front? the LSE, otherwise known as Dead Body Collectors. Then one day, in mid-February, Liesel and Rosa received a letter from their dad telling them that he was coming home because of a broken leg. For a moment, they rejoice. Dad comes home and everything is fine until October 7; the day Himmel Street was bombed and razed. That day, the sirens and cuckoo calls on the radio were too late. “Only one person survived. She survived because she was sitting in a basement, reading the story of her own life, checking for errors” (Zusak 498). When Liesel is rescued, she is desperate and overcome with grief over the deaths of her family and friends, especially her adoptive parents and the Steiner family. This is when she experiences a major loss of innocence that causes her to grow. She realizes that everything is based on fate. Why does a personshould she die and not the other? Why him and not me? The answer is simple. “No one expects these things. They don’t plan them” (Zusak 525). Later, when Alex Steiner returned home, he was consumed by regret for not letting Rudy attend school. “You’re saving someone.” You kill them. How was he supposed to know? » (Zusak 547). Thus, from the death of those dear to her, Liesel's thoughts mature considerably and she realizes that death is solely in the hands of fate. Finally, words are a crucial factor that causes Liesel to change in her emotional journey. Liesel is known as the book thief for a reason. Simply put, she is obsessed with stealing books and the first book she stole, The Grave Digger's Handbook, was stolen before she could even read. Despite her inability to read, Liesel is determined. One night, Liesel has a bedwetting accident and as Hans bends over to remove the sheets, he discovers her stolen book and asks her if she wanted to read it. From then on, Papa taught Liesel to read every night, one letter at a time, until she finally understood the meaning of the words. The second time Liesel steals a book is when she takes The Shoulder Shrug from a bonfire on Hitler's birthday. “When she looked back, Liesel was not ashamed of having stolen it. If anything, it was pride that felt more like that little pool of feeling in his stomach. And it was anger and black hatred that fueled his desire to steal it. {...}Why was there anything to be angry about? In short, the answer traveled from Himmel Street, to the Führer, to the untraceable location of his real mother, and back again” (Zusak 84). In other words, Liesel steals The Shoulder Shrug to get revenge on Hitler for stealing from her parents. Hitler's act of theft was the source of the black anger and hatred that fueled his desire to steal. The next book Liesel steals is The Whistler from Ilsa Hermann's Library. Today, Rosa Hubermann does laundry and ironing for some of the city's rich people, including Ilsa and her husband, the mayor. However, as times became tougher, Rosa began summoning Liesel to collect and deliver laundry in the hopes that her customers would be less likely to fire her with a skinny, pale girl standing in front of them. Regardless, one customer after another abandons their services until Ilsa Hermann becomes the last customer. Then, when Ilsa fires them in turn, Liesel feels immense anger and for the first time, she realizes how powerful words are. “'You and your husband. Sitting here. Now she has become evil. Meaner and meaner than she thought she was capable of. The wound of words. Yes, the brutality of words. She summoned them from a place she only just recognized and threw them at Ilsa Hermann. "It's time," she informed him, "anyway, you do your own stinking laundry." It's time you face the fact that your son is dead.' » (Zusak 263). “Liesel could see it in his face.{...}Cuts had opened and a series of wounds were rising to the surface of his skin. Everything comes from words. From the words of Liesel” (Zusak 263). Later, Liesel returns with Rudy and steals The Whistler from his library as revenge. Similar to The Shoulder Shrug, Liesel does this as a way to take back something that was taken from her, namely her weekly access to Ilsa's library. Regardless, not all of Liesel's words were stolen. One Christmas, after Max had left the Hubermann house because it was no longer a safe hiding place and Hans had gone to war, Rosa decided that Liesel was ready and he was.