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Lauren Smith
ECM 3040
Dr. Little
4/24/16
The Book Thief: Analysis

Markus Zusak is from Sydney Australia. He was born in 1975. The baby of 4 children to
immigrant German and Austrian parents. He began writing fiction at age 16 and got a degree in
teaching at the University of Sydney. He started as a house painter, janitor and a High school
English teacher before he wrote the book. He has written 5 books. 3 is a series beginning with
The Underdog. The last two are I Am the Messenger and The Book Thief. He has won many
awards for The Book Thief. He has won the Michael F. Printz honor for it. He has also won the
Kathleen Mitchell Award. The Book Thief has spent 230 weeks on the top of the best seller list
(Chicago Public Library.) With that being said. This book is categorized as Young Adult. Most of
the time people underestimate Young Adult. This typecast is proved wrong. This paper and
presentation proves it is much deeper than Young Adult and should be considered just fiction. In
The Book Thief there are several underlying themes, symbols, and History that make the book a
work of art for modern day society.
There are some underlying themes that can be found in the book. One theme is the
importance of words. In the beginning we find our book thief at the burial of her brother. It is
here where she picks up her first book The Grave Diggers Handbook. It is her first act of
thievery. As she learns to read the more books she wants to get. She learns the [power of words
and show influencing they can be, especially when they are persuading a race of people to follow

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in one mans footsteps. She also learns how someone is treated when they are illiterate. She
learns how powerful words can be in the bomb shelter when there are others that cant read. The
biggest lesson she learns is how powerful they can be when she fully understands the impact of
words written by Adolf Hitler (Butler Univ.) Another theme is Guilt. It follows Hand throughout
his life because he was spared during WWI and Erik Vandenburg was killed in his place. He
turns this guilt into something good by trying to help others (Butler Univ.) In the book this can
be found by Death saying, It was a man a year older than himselfa German Jew named Erik
Vandenburg.a firm friendship was built on gambling, smoking, and music not to mention a
shared desire for survival. The only trouble with this was that Erik Vandenburg would later be
found in several pieces on a grassy hill.everything but the instrument was sent home. It was
considered too big..Hans Hubermann happened to be the only man to survive. He survived
like this, he didnt go into battle that day (Zusak). Hans is guilty because it would have been he
who had gotten killed along with Erik if he hadnt stayed behind. Max too feels guilty about the
danger he is putting he Hubermann family in. Liesel feels guilty when Rudy dies because of the
way she treated him sometimes (Butler Univ.). Death is not only a theme but it triples as the
narrator, a symbol and a theme. There is death all over Europe due to the war going on. Through
the entirety of the book, Death, is very close to Liesel. He is there for, Max, Rudy, and her
brother. Death also follows Max closely because of Hitler wiping out all of the Jews (Butler
Univ.)
Not only are there underlying themes that are found in this book but there are also
Symbols. These symbols are what shapes the entire story. One symbol is the Accordion. It is a
representation of hope. When she reads aloud during the raids, Liesels action of reading in the
basement can be her version of playing the accordion. The accordion means music in spite of the

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bad of everything thats going on. Hope for the future even in the dark times (Lit Charts).
Another symbol that can be found are books. It is a symbol of resistance against the Nazis
(Shmoop.com). This is extremely important when it comes to books. It is theft but it is also
rebellion, rebellion against something bigger and more powerful (Shmoop). The burnings dont
target just one particular author. It targets a whole race of people. Its no longer censorship. It is
deeper than all of this. In Nazi Germany books symbolize Jewish People. Symbolizes the
destruction of the Jews (Shmoop.com). Books are a prevalent symbol in this almost as much as
Death is. Death is one of the biggest symbols in this entire book. Not only does he symbolize the
death and destruction going on around Europe at this time but he symbolizes a bigger picture.
The bigger picture is the human race. He feels what we feel. We are bad and good. He is not
necessarily bad but not good either. He cant help the reputation humans have created for him.
He symbolizes dark and light. Good and bad. Moral and Immoral.
Those are only a few symbols that are found within the story. If I were to address more it
would take up two to three more pages. As fun as that is there is a time and place for everything
and the time to transition is now. That being said, history plays a pivotal role in this novel. It
takes place during WWII Nazi Germany. In the 1930s the Nazi party exploited discontent in
Germany so that they could gain support. Hitler too, promised civil peace, economic policies,
and the restoration of pride in the nation (History.com). All of this sounds good right? No. Thin
again. He wanted this in order to achieve a perfect race and that means eradicating an entire
ethnicity. Hitler became bolder when he realized that France and England did not believe the
same way he did. Towards the end of 1938 anti-Jewish hatred erupted across Germany.
Kristallnacht ended with the murder of 91 Jews (History.com). The next step was the invasion of

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Poland and the beginning of a genocide (History.com). This started the Holocaust. A horrible
event that is met with somber dignity when anyone speaks of it.
The Book Thief is full of things to analyze. It could be considered an analyzers gold
mine. Not only is it good to analyze but the most important thing is that it is great to read. For
many reasons. It is captivating and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. It also teaches
lessons on love, loyalty, sacrifice, the realities of death and more. This book will change lives. It
will re-establish all that we learned about Nazi Germany. It will also help the reader know that
not all of Germany is bad and that there were good people out there who believed in doing the
right thing. There are many themes, symbols and historical facts found in this book. The most
impotant thing we need to take away is the power of words. It is the closest thing we have next to
magic.

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Works Cited
Markus Zusak Biography." Chicago Public Library. N.P., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
Purpose: "Concept Analysis: The Book Thief." CONCEPT ANALYSIS (n.d.): n. page. Butler
Yates University. Web.
Zusak, Markus. The Accordionist. The Book Thief. 1st Ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. N.
page. Print.
The LitCharts Study Guide to the Book Thief." LitCharts. N.P., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
Shmoop Editorial Team. "Books in The Book Thief." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11
Nov. 2008. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
Nazi Germany." HISTORY. N.P., 13 Apr. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.