Max's Life

In this part of the book, Max uses the remaining pages of Mein Kampf to tell his own story.

"One afternoon, after his push-ups and sit-ups, he fell asleep against the basement wall. When Leisel came down, she found the book sitting next to him, slanted against his thigh, and curiosity got the better of her. She leaned over and picked it up, waiting for him to stir. He didn't. Max was sitting with his head and shoulder blades against the wall. She could barely make out the sound of his breath, coasting in and out of him, as she opened the book and glimpsed a few random pages..." (Zusak 278)

Liesel saw two sketches.

The first one was an illustration of Adolf Hitler standing on a podium, singing with crowd of people around him with arms in the air, saluting the Fuhrer. I believe this illustration scared Liesel because she realized that Hitler wasn't a man of action, he was more a man of words. She saw the way he sang to his people, and brainwashed them into doing his will.

The next illustration Liesel saw was Adolf Hitler and a young girl standing on a pile of dead Jews. In the picture, the sun shining with a Nazi symbol in the middle, a salute to the German race. The young girl is saying, “Isn’t it a lovely day..” This page frightened Liesel more than the first because it showed Max's perspective on the war. The words the girl spoke showed her people's disregard of the dead Jews. I don't believe Liesel saw anything that way, and that the pages opened her eyes more to the truth about the Holocaust.

“Frightened by what she saw, Leisel placed the book back down, exactly how she found it, against Max’s leg.

A voice startled her.

‘Danke Schön’ it said, and when she looked across, following the trail of sound to its owner, a small sign if satisfaction was presented on his Jewish lips.

‘Holy Christ,’ Leisel gasped. ‘You scared me, Max.’

He returned to his sleep, and behind her, the girl dragged the same thought up the stairs.

You scared me, Max.” (Zusak 281)

My own life.

Once upon a time there was a girl who was very confused and silly. She made many mistakes and was always a wreck. However, one day she met a boy and her life was slowly making more sense. She loved that boy, which scared her. She had never loved anyone as much as him, and was worried that one day he wouldn’t return her love. Everyday seemed to be a struggle for them, which only seemed to strengthen their love. He protected her, sheltered her, and gave her a life of purpose. She was thankful to the boy.

The End.

Works Cited

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Print.