| Humans have a definitive sense of right and wrong. Unfortunately this thinking is flawed because there is no absolute set of right or wrong. Our morals depend on the circumstances in which we are living in. Markus Zusak plays on this theme in his book, The Book Thief. In the book, Zusak explores the perversity of morality. He demonstrates this by introducing Death as a witty, funny, likeable entity; as well as finding an honourable aspect of thievery. Zusak challenges our ideas of right and wrong throughout this book. If you were to conjure up an image of death, it would most likely be something cold, dark and scary. Death for us is most often feared. Zusak however portrays the personification of death as a caring, likeable and even funny entity, “I do not carry a sickle or scythe. I only wear a hooded black robe when it is cold. And I don’t have those scull-like features you seem to enjoy pinning on me from a distance” (Zusak, 307). While living in Nazi Germany, death is so prevalent in everyone’s life that if you were always afraid of this big scary thing you would never be able to function. Viewing Death as a compassionate and funny guy would make it easier to cope in your day to day life. Zusak In the prologue Death makes a reassuring announcement: “I am all bluster- I am not violent. I am not malicious. I am a result” (6). This proves again that Death is not a bad “person” , he does not feed off of the act of dying and that death is simply a result of the actions of humans. Both of these examples show us how our morality is not a matter of black and white. Zusak is forcing the reader to see the fluidity of our morals. | This proves again that Death is not a bad “person” , he does not feed off of the act of dying and that death is simply a result of the actions of humans. Both of these examples show us how our morality is not a matter of black and white. Zusak is forcing the reader to see the fluidity of our morals. Zusak challenges our morals once again by painting Liesel’s thievery in an honourable light. In reality the act of thieving usually results in some sort of punishment. Zusak however, tells Liesel’s story of thieving as one of triumph. She is portrayed as heroic for stealing words and knowledge in a time when both of these things were so scarce, “The best word shakers were the ones who understood the true power of words....She was renowned as the best word shaker of her region because she knew how powerless a person could be without words” (445). Liesel’s thieving of books is an active way she is regaining power and acquiring knowledge. Throughout the book Zusak has demonstrated that our morals are not set in stone, they are dependent upon the circumstances we are living in. Zusak shows us this by creating the character/ narrator of Death to be a friendly and funny entity. Thievery being portrayed as honourable is another way Zusak has shown the perversity of morality in his book, The Book Thief. |
I wrote this essay because I had to, but I did not have to read the book I did and I am glad for that. I feel that this essay demonstrates my ability to analyze text and to make connections within the text.
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