The Book Thief
Theme
The Theme
The theme is that in life we learn that in order to overcome tough times in life, we must be willing to let go of things and the people we love and then persevere and dominate any opportunity that you get.
Devastation
The story begins with a little girl who is about to lose everything. After it was all gone, "A mountain range of rubble was written, designed, erected around her"(Zusak 13). At this moment Liesel had lost 1 of the 2 people she loved and very soon the second would be taken as well. Along with her home and everything else she once had. Everything had been ripped away from her. Just like in the picture shown above, devastation. This devastation represents the first part of the development of the theme because the first thing that must happen is that everything must be ripped away from her which evidently has occurred.
Perseverance
As the story progressed from devastation we were led to perseverance. And this is how Liesel persevered through her tough times to make better ones. The author writes, "Papa would say a word and the girl would have to spell it aloud and then paint it on the wall, as long as she got it right."(Zusak 496). This is only one way Liesel pushed through and took advantage of her new life while trying to not dwell in her previous one. Liesel does this through the course of the story. This is what must be done in the second part of the theme. After devastation there must be reconstruction which is the phase Liesel is in now and will be for a majority of the book. This symbol represents perseverance because it represents Steve Job's struggle to the top.
Destruction
All was well and good for a while but we all know that all good things must come to an end. Towards the end of the book Liesel (Again) lost everything as stated by Zusak "Rudy Steiner slept. Mama and Papa slept. Frau Hotlzapfel Frau Diller. Tommy Muller. All sleeping. All dying." (Zusak 498). This shows that everything that was easily given to you can easily be taken away. Liesel learned in this situation that she has to be prepared for the amount of times that she will be stopped. She also learned that she must keep going no matter how many times she's been stopped. Liesel is a perfect example of how the theme can apply to a persons life. The rise and fall of individuals just like in the real world. What's happening here is the recycle of the theme. The theme doesn't just happen once in everyone's life, it happens constantly except maybe not as drastically.
The theme is universal because it can be applied by all readers. The devastation in the book represents a common problem. You must overcome/solve the problem in order to move on later in life. This applies to everyone because every single person has problems that must be solved. And when those problems are solved they will have that experience in order to make their lives better.