Jade Wesley-Adams

641107

English

Mr. MacDougall

January 2018

Deaths Role.

" You are going to die." (1). In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, he uses Death as a narrator to tell the story of

Liesel Meminger through her book and his perspective. Throughout the novel, we learn about Liesel Meminger, a girl who

Death considers a "leftover human." The novel starts off with the narrator telling us about how he views society and how

he uses death as colours to make his job less depressing. He gives us a small taste of what's to come. Zusak makes

foreshadowing visible through the prologue and epilogue before, after and during the actual story being told, the order he

puts the chapters when the narrator tells a main event and his choice as Death being the narrator. He uses his writing style

to tell this story from childhood stories.

The prologue and epilogue can give you a small sense of what's going to happen in the book. "It’s the story of

one of those perpetual survivors—an expert at being left behind. It’s just a small story really, about, among other things: A

girl, Some words, An accordionist, Some fanatical Germans, A Jewish fist fighter, And quite a lot of thievery. I saw the book

thief three times." (Zusak 5). The girl is Liesel, the accordionist is Hans (her foster father) and the Jewish fist fighter is Max

(the man who her family is hiding) this quote tells what’s going to happen without telling us directly. When Death talks

about seeing the book thief it creates mystery, causing you to wonder what happened to the book thief that made her see

Death three times.

Zusak’s writing the future before it occurs makes sense. This gives you a better understanding of the story and

adds tension and suspense. In the prologue, Death talks about three main events; The Railway Line, The Eclipse and The

Flag. “A SMALL ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT RUDY STEINER. He didn’t deserve to die the way he did.” (241) This quote tells

you that he dies and leaves you curious about how and why it was unfair, then later in the story you know how he died.

Another example; “When it crashed, three deep gashes were made in the earth. Its wings were now sawn-off arms. No

more flapping. Not for this metallic little bird”, this quote talks an event that caused Death to show up and this quote talks

about what he saw when reuniting with Liesel again; “This time, I had come for a man of perhaps twenty-four years of age.
It was a beautiful thing in some ways. The plane was still coughing. Smoke was leaking from both its lungs.” This talks

about a plane crash warning them, the worse is yet to come.

Zusak’s choice of making Death the narrator was smart, giving Death a sense of relatability by twisting the vision

of how we think death would look like (brakes stereotypes). “I am in all truthfulness attempting to be cheerful about this

whole topic, though most people find themselves hindered in believing me, no matter my protestations. Please, trust me. I

most definitely can be cheerful. I can be amiable. Agreeable. Affable. And that’s only the A’s. Just don’t ask me to be nice.

Nice has nothing to do with me.” (1) Zusak’s choice of making something that occurs at this time was smart because it

gives you a sense of how people were affected.

Zusak’s writing style uses foreshadowing in a way to add a dramatic sense of mystery, leaving you to wonder

what causes the events that happen. His choices of putting a monologue and prologue, the events being told before they

happen and his choice of making Death the narrator really emphasizes the story.

Works Cited

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. Published by Alfred A. Knopf. 2006.

" You are going to die." (1).

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. Published by Alfred A. Knopf. 2006.

"It’s the story of one of those perpetual survivors—an expert at being left behind. It’s just a small story really, about,

among other things: A girl, Some words, An accordionist, Some fanatical Germans, A Jewish fist fighter, And quite a lot of

thievery. I saw the book thief three times." (Zusak 5)

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. Published by Alfred A. Knopf. 2006.

“A SMALL ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT RUDY STEINER. He didn’t deserve to die the way he did.” (241)

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. Published by Alfred A. Knopf. 2006.

“When it crashed, three deep gashes were made in the earth. Its wings were now sawn-off arms. No more flapping. Not

for this metallic little bird” (11)

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. Published by Alfred A. Knopf. 2006.

“I am in all truthfulness attempting to be cheerful about this whole topic, though most people find themselves hindered in

believing me, no matter my protestations. Please, trust me. I most definitely can be cheerful. I can be amiable. Agreeable.

Affable. And that’s only the A’s. Just don’t ask me to be nice. Nice has nothing to do with me.” (1)