The Book Thief Part 4

Discussion
 Ayushi-What examples of foreshadowing can be identified in part 4? Give a specific example with the page number. Then,
explain what you think it could foreshadow
The author uses foreshadowing a lot in the novel. He foreshadows that the Hubermanns are leading towards helping
Max in the future. Even if they directly didn’t say it, they used passed events of Hans to portray a feeling of giving back
to Max and his father. The author indicated that they were planning on helping him. Another part where the author
foreshadows something that might happen, is when the they mention Max showing up at Hans’s door asking simply,
“Do you still play the accordion?” This is basically asking Hans if he is still willing to help just like promised. These
events describe the author building up events to believe that something is going to place later on in the story.

Haley: I agree; he foreshadowed the Hubermanns helping him in the scene where Hans offers help that Max’s mother might need
in the future. Another thing to take into notice is when Zusak added foreshadowing in a flashback where Hans escaped Death in
the battlefield. Death commented on that event and Hans’ death before, so something might happen to Hans.

I agree, Max asking Hans if he still played the accordian was him asking if he was still indebted to his father. Death speaking about how Hans has evaded
him for long enough also foreshadows how Hans is going to die soon.
Akshitha- Death says, “I’ve seen so many young men over the years who think they’re running at other young men.
They are not. They’re running at me” (174-75). Could this embody a theme for the novel? Why or why not?
Coming from Death’s perspective, he is trying to say that young soldier, who commit
to fight, are not running at each other, not thinking about themselves, but instead are
just coming to die too soon in the hands of death. He shows that war isn't about
victories and failures. It's about individuals who endure and the savagery people show
towards each other and about the courage of youngsters' anxious to do battle.
I agree with what you said. I really think that the theme in the novel does surround. itself around death. Going into war, in Death’s eyes, is
just an indication that they are going into death. It’s almost like death is warning people that war isn’t what it seems like due to the
numerous amounts of bodies he’s received who were soldiers.

Haley: Yes, the men in the battlefield thought that they were killing other men, but the actual person/people who are killing are the ones
that have the authority and rank that enables them to control the people who have less power. This is so they themselves don’t have to die
or sacrifice themselves. So, really, they are setting up these soldiers for death. The theme might be that everyone who contributed even a
little in the grief and terror in those times were controlled by people who had more power.
Emily-Reflect on irony in the novel. What is ironic about Liesel’s obsession with stealing books? What is ironic about the
paper on which Max writes “The Standover Man?” Other irony in the novel?
Liesel’s obsession of stealing books is ironic because at first, she was unable to read these books and understand them. In addition,
“The Standover Man” showed irony because the story was about Max’s escape as a Jewish man, but it was written over the pages of
Mein Kampf, a book about why Jews should be exterminated. The book was also written like a children’s picture book, but the
storyline shows the harsh reality. Other scenes that showed irony in the novel include the dark Himmel street, where Himmel
means heaven in German.

I agree with you because even though Liesel cannot read or write, she still steals books. I also agree with the fact that Himmel
mens heaven in German but in reality, all we can see is pain and suffering.

I said the same thing as well on my slide. She doesn’t understand them but she still has an obsession with them.
I agree with you as well. I think it’s cool and interesting that Liesel chose to have a passion about books and
reading. It’s interesting because she didn’t grow up with an education that was able to have these things, so
for her to be passionate about it was very random and ironic. That’s also the main reason she steals books,
and doesn’t think anything of it. I agree with both you and the other responder with the irony about
Himmel Street. I think they wanted to show it as somewhere that memories and adventures are made, but
in reality it because somewhere with a lot of miserable events and overall bad morals/environments.
Mark-How does “The Standover Man” help readers to understand key aspects of the novel? What do you believe is the
significance/symbolism of the title?
Mark: “The Standover Man” helps readers understand Max’s life in his own perspective. He writes and draws it
for Liesel on her birthday and describes to her how a similar figure in “The Standover Man” also shared
nightmares with him like Liesel. It represents an aspect of Max and Liesel’s relationship. It goes even further
than just the dream similarity by Max giving the last person to “stand over” him as Liesel. Instead of someone
who is something greater than him, though, it’s Liesel, someone who he shares aspects with.

I agree with you because “The Standover Man” symbolizes Max’s life story and his encounter with Liesel. I liked
how you mentioned their relationship and how Max represents Liesel as the last person to stand over him in his
book.

I think that “The Standover Man” is very important to Max because it lets Liesel look into Max’s timid
personality and allows them to understand each other even better. The pages that Max tore out and is rewriting
symbolizes Hitler’s control over the German people, who obey him even they are illogical and violent.
Kush-How do flashbacks play into part 4? (Summarize one flashback and explain its importance. Consider how it helped to
propel the story forward)
One of the flashbacks mentioned in part 4 was Hans’ experience in World War 1. He talked about how a German Jewish named
Erik Vandenburg was the one who taught Hans how to play the accordion. He also volunteered Hans to write the letters while all
the other men who go fight in the war. In a fateful turn of events, all the men die and Hans is the only one that survived. Hans feels
bad because if it was not for Erik, he would have died as well. As Death mentioned, Hans got lucky and narrowly escapes death. He
vows to help the Vanderburg family if they need anything. Often flashbacks provide needed context in a story to make things more
understandable. It helps uncover characters’ motives and established biases toward certain topics.

Mark: I agree how it establishes biases towards certain topics, especially in the case you brought up being how Hans doesn’t feel
entitled to join the Nazi party and disproving his son’s statement about how he was a coward for not doing so. It helped propelled
the story forward by giving the reader more information about him, which caters to the reader’s initial questions about his
character. It also explains how Max first met Hans and why Hans decides to hide Max. Zusak could’ve kept the flashback out of
the story and say that Hans just doesn’t like the Nazi for some reason and decides to take Max in only because’s he’s a nice
character. I’m guessing he wanted more believable motives for how his characters act.

Both responses helped me think about the reason behind why Zusak put the flashback in as part of the story. I like how both of
you mentioned that without Erik Vanderburg's sacrifice, Hans wouldn’t have survived the war and help Max/the Vanderburg
family. This leads me to believe that the author put the flashback to further develop the plot and explain the relationships between
characters.
Patrick-What examples of foreshadowing can be identified in part 4? Give a specific example with the page number.
Then, explain what you think it could foreshadow
On pages 119 through 120, death goes over his walk with Hans and how he escaped him. He says that Hans’s reason for survival
may be because he was cunning or smart or simply because he deserved it. This makes me think that Hans may not be so lucky
this time. He is putting himself in harms way harboring a Jewish man in his home during this time period, and death may not be
so forgiving.

Similar to what Patrick wrote I think that Hans might not lucky the next time around. Death mentioned that people rarely escape
him twice. This would be a devastating blow to Liesel since Hans is practically the only person she trusts. Also the fact that Hans
mentioned how the Nazis will take them away if they figure out they are hiding Max (pg. 137), also foreshadows that later on in the
story, someone will eventually figure out. This will a major turning point in the story and possibly provide the scenario when Hans
yet again face Death. Alternatively, Max mentioned how he felt like a burden to the Hubermans so maybe he might run away.

Mark: I agree how Death mentioning how Hans escaped him is foreshadowing for his fate in the rest of the story. I think it could
also foreshadow Death giving some kind of opinion about the characters in the book or showing more emotion. He said that this
story was a story about how humans try to prove that they’re worth the trouble, so I’m wondering if Hans dying in the future
could play a part in that. He also mentioned in the prologue about how this was the book thief’s story that contributed to him
feeling that humans were worth the trouble, so it might have something to do with Liesel instead of Hans.
Ashley S. -Death says, “I’ve seen so many young men over the years who think they’re running at other young men.
They are not. They’re running at me” (174-75). Could this embody a theme for the novel? Why or why not?
From the start of the novel I believed a major theme was, the Power of words. In the story words hold tremendous value. They help
to show perspective, feelings, and connections. I mean this quote says a lot and shows a lot too. The are numerous ways in which
the power of words are shown here. For instance, the quote is showing how the men are going to end up, develop, and become
different. The most powerful actions in the story are words. So the connection between the theme and this quote is the power
within the words stated and the true meaning behind the quote.

I definitely agree with you, there is noticeable weight in the words death uses. Because of the all knowing, business as usual
demeanor of his character, readers must take all of his statements as an inarguable fact. When talking about the lives of others, we
must digest the exact meaning of what he said, it could mean life or death for characters in the story

I also agree with both of you on the idea that words are a very important parts of the novel. Sometimes the words death using
conveys so much meaning and often readers have to read in between the lines to figure out what he really means. In this quote,
Death is referring to the courageous men who consider themselves to be patriotic but in reality are just shy and timid. These men
are not heading towards the enemy, they are heading straight towards death.