So I've been running this blog for the past few weeks for an assignment in class but alas, like the majority of my classmates, I won't be using this blog anymore. I'm apparently supposed to say my final thoughts for the process of creating/maintaining a website/blog, so I guess I'll do that. I actually enjoyed designing the website. Although it was really simple, I loved toying around with the fonts and backgrounds and figuring out what looked good with what. Like, I made a website with a whole theme but then I looked at a few of my peers's pages and I realized how bad mine was. I cringed and immediately remade it. It's not much better but hey, at least it's something? I admit, I asked for help like twenty times from my teacher (sorry Mr.B) but I learned something, and that's all that matters. About the updating part, I had to make time to post on time, but I realize with how the world is digitalizing, i'll have to get used to this kind of stuff. I have a social media account which I check on every day, maybe two to three times daily? I admit, it's addicting but it's fun. At the same time, sometimes I don't have enough time to write a whole blog post, reread it to make sure I don't sound stupid, check for grammar errors, and post it. So it's difficult knowing how much time to spend on it and when I should be online. I really liked this assignment to be honest. I loved creating my blog pages, designing them, and writing them. I also liked my friends commenting on my page. Overall, it was just a really good experience. I hope I get this assignment again soon in the future... Anyways, thank you for reading my posts even if all you did was skim it and scoff at my writing. I still appreciate it!
1 Comment
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
I find it upsetting how Max Vandenburg, or the Jew who stays secretly in the Hubermann's basement, constantly says and acts life he's lesser than Germans. It really bothers me how Hitler's control and influence can make people to think that less of themselves... I'm going to give and justify my opinion on Max Vandenburg's staying in the Hubermann's household. Like when Max first wakes up after the first night at Hans's house, he literally says that he's "a Jew, and if there was one place he was destined to exist, it was a basement or any other such hidden venue of survival" (205). It's so sad how he automatically thinks he deserves that low of a home. Yes, it could be because he feels bad because the Hubermanns have to risk their lives for him, but still! I find it horrible that not only him, but all discriminated people feel that they're not as good as the majorities. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
Did Rosa and Hans choose a wise choice of action by letting Max stay in their home? I honestly don't know. I mean, yeah Max's dad seved Hans's life, but if caught, they could all get killed. I think they did the right thing obviously, but it could cause so much danger to them. I mean after a few seconds of research, I found out that at that time, if caught of committing treason, you could be issued a death penalty which involves mass deportation to the Treblinka killing center. That doesn't sound good. But again, Erik Vandenburg, or Max's father, saved Hans's life. If a Jew (i'm not trying to be discriminatory) saved his life, then shouldn't Hans try to help Jews as much as he can? Plus he's just repaying Erik for a favor by taking care of his son. But I assume that Hans would have kept Max secret even if Erik didn't save Hans's life because that's just how Hans is. He's a sweet, selfless person who would risk his life to help people who need him. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
So whenever Liesel steals a book or something, I take a moment to think "would I do that?" Like, what would I have done in that situation during the burning of the books. Would I have done what Liesel had done and steal the book? Or would I have just left? I think it depends more on the setting. In the setting of my home in the USA I would have most definitely not have stolen the book. Not because it's immoral to steal, but because of the consequences. I could be jailed or fined. If I was in Nazi Germany and I only had three books in my possession then the situation would definitely be different. I might rethink Liesel's decision because she could have been arrested or the Hubermanns could have been killed or taken away. But she hasn't gotten a new book in so long. Other than playing soccer with her neighborhood friends, she didn't have anything to do but read. I would steal a book in order to not be bored. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
So I finished the Book Thief! It was really good honestly. The only thing I didn't like was obviously the Hitler part but that's okay because without the idea of him, the book wouldn't have been as good. But the characters, being German and supporting Hitler, made me really uncomfortable because I had never really read a book from the perspective of the Germans before but at the same time, it gave me a new perspective. It made me think about how people actually struggled with this, and how some of those people were German. I had always thought of Germans as bad people but when I read The Book Thief and read about Hans Hubermann, I felt bad for assuming so because Hans was such a nice character and human being. He risked his reputation by helping Jews and painting their houses when they were destroyed by other Germans. I mean, that's nice! And when he took in Max, I understood how not all Germans believed in the war and what Hitler was doing. In the book, there are many things that are constantly repeated. Like how books and stories and words are so important. They hold power and freedom. Liesel used books as her escape from the war. She'd read every day, and learn a word or two in order to entertain her and to distract herself from the war. When the mayor's wife saw Liesel steal the book from the fire, she invited her over to her library, filled to the brim with books. Seeing Liesel enjoy herself in the library with all the books, the mayor's wife smiled. It was probably the only time we'd see her smile in the book too. I think Zusak is trying to tell the reader to appreciate the books and freedom we have now rather than take it for granted. When I saw Liesel's struggle to get a hold of just one book, I feel grateful for what I have. Even though I think that was the main theme, I noticed how Zusak included so many different types of people. There are people like Hans and Rosa Hubermann who take in a Jew, continuously stand up for Jews, and risk their lives to help others. But there are people like the Germans at the concentration camp, who show such cruelty it's unbelievable. With all these not-so-secret messages, I really liked the book. I might just read some of Zusak's other books. I've heard of the book "The Messenger" and I intend to try reading it during winter break! The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
What if Werner hadn't died? Ok so... I was really hyped about talking about Liesel's brother, Werner, so I decided to make a follow up sort-of post. If Werner hadn't died, the book would have been really different. Emphasis on really. At first I thought that maybe life would have been better for Liesel because she would have had her brother, whom she loved dearly, with her again. That maybe the Hubermanns would have been happier when both of their foster children had come home alive. But then I realized that would not have happened. For pete's sake, without her brother dead, the book wouldn't have been titled The Book Thief. That's because Liesel found her first book, "The Gravedigger's Handbook", at her brother's burial. So basically, her brother's death was sad but relevant and important and it was definitely necessary for the book. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
I wanted to go into the fact that Liesel saw her brother die, right next to her. It must have been horrible. And what really bothers me is that the author doesn't really acknowledge that other than one or two times. I can't imagine losing someone special to me but when I read the book, I assume that she never really knew her brother or was sad for his death. But after I think about it for some time, I understand that it must have really affected her. I mean, she lost her brother, her mother abandoned her, and she was thrown into a whole new atmosphere in a matter of days. How can a girl, 9 years of age, handle all that change? How did Liesel react to her brother's death? How did she react? Well, from what i've read, she didn't react at all. But from my assumptions and deeper reading, I realize that she was too young to realize. She was too young to fully realize what had happened. She didn't know how his brother's death would affect people, how it would affect her life, how it would affect her. But every day she is reminded by her brother's death. As she goes to sleep, she sees the empty bed next to her, made for her brother but cruelly reminded by the fact that he never got to use it. I wanted to compare Liesel before and after her brother's death. I don't know though because there wasn't a very distinguishable difference. I mean, of course she grieved. She mentioned a few times how she hated imagining waking up and seeing her brother, lying dead in her arms. I assume she became less aware and trusting considering she wouldn't take a shower for a good two weeks after the incident. It took her a few months to begin to trust her new foster parents because she didn't have her brother with her. She most definitely lost her innocence by seeing such a horrible thing. Don't get me wrong, I love The Book Thief, but I just wish Zusak had explained Liesel's feelings during that time. Hi again! I'm sorry I'm such a slow reader but I'm still reading The Book Thief and I'm only like halfway done with it. I was reading the book and I was interested in the way the narrator speaks to the reader. I've already come to the conclusion that the narrator is Death so it makes sense why the narrator knows what's going on and how the characters are feeling because Death is a character who could speak from Liesel's point of view but at the same time provide information that Liesel doesn't know at that time. Death also provided a new perspective on all the occurrences of death and violence happening during that time. At the beginning of the novel, the narrator, or Death, talks about how the last time he saw her (Liesel) which of course is in present form. Then he proceeds to describe their first "one-way meeting" (because only Death met her, Liesel doesn't really know he exists) and then the novel changes into past tense because he's describing what happened in the past. But of course, as a normal novel, the timeline moves forward chronologically as Death describes different events which each happen one after another. The different events which Death happens to describe are little snippets of Liesel's life which don't exactly happen right after each other. But this story is most definitely a continuous story because the things in the story are all about the same character, Liesel, and take place right after one another. As I mentioned earlier, the single viewpoint used in the novel is of Death. I think the author wanted Death to be the narrator because he was a character who would know what is happening at all times and he would be able to understand what Liesel is thinking without her having to speak her thoughts. Zusak actually says he wanted Death to be the narrator. He says "Well, I thought I'm writing a book about war, and there's that old adage that war and death are best friends, but once you start with that idea, then I thought, well, what if it's not quite like that? Then I thought what if death is more like thinking, well, war is like the boss at your shoulder, constantly wanting more, wanting more, wanting more, and then that gave me the idea that Death is weary, he's fatigued, and he's haunted by what he sees humans do to each other because he's on hand for all of our great miseries."
This basically means that he chose Death as the narrator because since Death is "best friends with War" (according to the old saying) it would be interesting to see the idea of War as Death's "boss", and to see Death tired and done with War and conflict. What I like about Death being narrator is that he often includes his point of view on things during the book. Whether is is to prove a point or to provide extra info for the reader, he constantly includes his thoughts, and he does it humorously. Like for example, on page 34, Death says: "Her cooking was atrocious. She possessed the unique ability to aggravate almost anyone she ever met. But she did love Leisel Meminger. Her way of showing it just happened to be strange. It involved bashing her with wooden spoons and words at various intervals. What I like about his comments (other than the fact that it's sassy) is that they're actually informing. The structure of his comments make me understand the book more because they give me the extra clue on what exactly his writing means. If I don't get why Liesel doesn't like Rosa I can look at the small "tip" Death had said and understand that Rosa had a weird way of showing it. That's why Death is the narrator and why his role is so important. Alright,, well time to go to sleep (thank god). I hope you all are having fun in the snow! The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
*ok so I know this is really long but it would be greatly appreciated if you could just skim this or something* Hey there! Welcome to my blog! So I've been reading the book "The Book Thief" as you probably know, and i'm only on page 170 :( and the book is like 500+ pages long. So I should probably read faster... But at least the book is enjoyable! The characters are also really cool so that's a bonus! So the three main characters are Liesel and her two foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann. Honestly I love Hans as a character. He's close yet distant. He's noticeable yet invisible. And that's probably why I love Zusak's writing so much. I'm honestly not sure how's he's made me feel that way about Hans in a matter of pages, but he has, and he did it well. Hans's wife, Rosa Huberman, is a very unique character. She's like one of those moms who cares but has a really weird way of showing it. She loves her family but she shows it by yelling and insulting them. She adds the humor and tension in the story which is why I like her-but not as much as I like Hans. The Hubermanns feel so real and believable. Probably because they remind me of a regular family. They reason why I like them so much is probably because they're ro relatable and welcoming. Like on page 37, Hans would play the accordian during breakfast just to annoy Rosa. They really remind me of the stereotypocal set of parents. The setting of Germany during Hitler's rule really changes the story obviously because it makes Liesel really need the foster parents in the first place. Also because it showed the nature of Rosa and Hans. Like for example, on page 40, it was Liesel's birthday. And as her parents, the Hubermanns were expected to get her a gift. However what she got was a doll with yellow hair and a missing leg. This was highly appreciated by Liesel, but the parents's responses define them and their personalities really well. Hans said "It was the best we could do" while Rosa replied "She's lucky to have that much." This just shows that Rosa is a bit more straightforward while Hans is more apologetic and sympathetic. The fact that they're living in Nazi Germany probably makes Hans more sympathetic and Rosa more harsh. Although times were rough then, they both still had the freedom to be more harsh or kind towards Liesel. Honestly, if I was Rosa and Hans I would be more sympathetic towards Liesel. I mean her brother just died and her mom abandoned her! Shouldn't Rosa at least try to be sympathetic? Since we're on the subject of Liesel, I might as well talk about her. She's just been practically shoved into the house of two strangers, and one of them is insulting her nonstop. I would probably go crazy. But it's interesting to see how the author writes about Liesel because i'm pretty sure Zusak hasn't been a foster child in 1939 Nazi Germany (unless he time traveled) and i'm sure he hasn't felt like 99% of the things Liesel has felt so obviously his point of view is different. I don't doubt Markus Zusak has done his research on the topic, but it evidently isn't the same. I mean of course Zusak's writing is amazing but if it was from experience it would include so much more emotional occurences and Liesel's feelings during things that Zusak might have been through. Ok but anyways,, this book is really good so far. I'll give it a 9.5/10 because of amazing characters, plot, and writing style but a -.5 because of the lack of emotion. It'll probably get more emotional though, and don't worry my seat belt is on, because i'm ready for an emotional roller coaster. |
Pooja ShetHi! I'm a freshman at NCHS! Archives |