Companion Book for The Book Thief

The Book Thief/Liesel Meminger

                                              Liesel Meminger(The Book Thief)

The most crucial character from this book, The Book Thief's real name is Liesel Meminger, a 9 year-old girl with all kinds of memories, experiences, curiousity, desires. She has so much desire for books that she steals them even before she learned how to read a proper book. Starting with her past, her memories, she lost her brother in 1939(pg.20) named Werner Meminger, 3 years younger than her. This event gave her a lot of shock, as you can see in the book, she didn't know what to do when she realized her brother's death. Her mother also "left" her not long after her brother died because her mother knew she couldn't do any help for Liesel and couldn't afford for her needs. Knowing too that if she gave her to some other family, Liesel wouldn't go through a persecution. Liesel was moved to Himmel Street, Molching, Germany and meets her foster parents, the Hubermanns. Her foster dad's name is Hans Hubermann and her foster mom is Rosa Hubermann. Hans Hubermann does a huge part in her education, helping her on her first step to learn how to read and write. Besides that, endlesss events happen in Molching, including her stealing books and other objects such as food, falling in love with Rudy, Ilsa Hermann's Library, her school and Sister Maria, Max Vanderberg the hidden Jew; son of Erick Vanderberg, and the blank book which Ilsa Hermann gives to Liesel, enourgaing her to write this book. In her school life, teachers are mistaken about her knowledge, but later she surpasses others after obligatory education was sinked into her. Learning to read and write brings Liesel closer to the understanding that Hitler's propaganda is the source of his power and the reason why her biological family died. Max, who experiences and understands well how Hitler's propaganda effects his kind;Jew, helps Liesel from learning this lesson through his story given to her, named "The Word Shaker," which describes Hitler's use of speech-making to brainwash Germany and compel German citizens to turn against the Jews.

Liesel's thievery is a form of disobedience to her foster parents and act of her best self. By committing her second book thievery from a book burning in Molching, she opposes Nazi and takes her education into her own hands. Ilsa Hermann offers Liesel the book which Liesel read every time she went to Hermanns' library, which Liesel rejects and throws the book at Ilsa's feet by the cause of her madness towards Ilsa due to firing Liesel's foster mother Rosa. Instead of accepting the offer, she breaks into Hermanns' house with Rudy and steals the book Ilsa offered, later stealing other books one by one. After time, Ilsa comes to realize Liesels thievery in her house and soon "helps" her by always leaving her window to the Library open and putting the books in a way so it was easier to be stolen. This thievery is also common to few others in the town, but they don't break into a rich house and steal food, for example Rudy, who instead steals food due to his hungriness even though he is mad at the Nazi for taking away his father.  

  After encountering Max being forced on the way to a concentration camp, Liesel becomes hopeless and forms hate towards the written word, seeing Hitler's words as the source to her suffering. Ilsa Hermann later gives her a blank book and encourages her to write, which Liesel eventually does, writing her autobiography about her happy but awful life. Liesel later comes to realize the true power of words, how they can cause violence while comfort. While she writes this book, she has this eager to make words "right," and finishes her autobiography with a line:

"I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right."