The Book Thief Reading Guide Questions Markus Zusak These questions are published at the end of the novel. 1. Discuss the symbolism of Death as the omniscient narrator of the novel. What are Death s feelings for each victim? Describe Death s attempt to resist Liesel. Death states, I m always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both. (p. 491) What is ugly and beautiful about Liesel, Rosa and Hans Hubermann, Max Vandenburg, Rudy Steiner, and Mrs. Hermann? Why is Death haunted by humans? 2. What is ironic about Liesel s obsession with stealing books? Discuss other uses of irony in the novel. 3. The Grave Digger s Handbook is the first book Liesel steals. Why did she take the book? What is significant about the titles of the books she steals? Discuss why she hides The Grave Digger s Handbook under her mattress. Describe Hans Hubermann s reaction when he discovers the book. What does the act of book thievery teach Liesel about life and death? Explain Rudy s reaction when he discovers that Liesel is a book thief. How does stealing books from the mayor s house lead to a friendship with the mayor s wife? Explain how Liesel s own attempt to write a book saves her life. 4. Liesel believes that Hans Hubermann s eyes show kindness, and from the beginning she feels closer to him than to Rosa Hubermann. How does Hans gain Liesel s love and trust? Debate whether Liesel is a substitute for Hans s children, who have strayed from the family. Why is it so difficult for Rosa to demonstrate the same warmth toward Liesel? Discuss how Liesel s relationship with Rosa changes by the end of the novel. 5. Abandonment is a central theme in the novel. The reader knows that Liesel feels abandoned by her mother and by the death of her brother. How does she equate love with abandonment? At what point does she understand why she was abandoned by her mother? Who else abandons Liesel in the novel? Debate whether she was abandoned by circumstance or by the heart. 6. Guilt is another recurring theme in the novel. Hans Hubermann s life was spared in France during World War I, and Erik Vandenburg s life was taken. Explain why Hans feels guilty about
Erik s death. Guilt is a powerful emotion that may cause a person to become unhappy and despondent. Discuss how Hans channels his guilt into helping others. Explain Max Vandenburg s thought, Living was living. The price was guilt and shame. (p. 208) Why does he feel guilt and shame? 7. Compare and contrast the lives of Liesel and Max Vandenburg. How does Max s life give Liesel purpose? At what point do Liesel and Max become friends? Max gives Liesel a story called The Standover Man for her birthday. What is the significance of this story? 8. Death says that Liesel was a girl with a mountain to climb. (p. 86) What is her mountain? Who are her climbing partners? What is her greatest obstacle? At what point does she reach the summit of her mountain? Describe her descent. What does she discover at the foot of her mountain? 9. Hans Junior, a Nazi soldier, calls his dad a coward because he doesn t belong to the Nazi Party. He feels that you are either for Hitler or against him. How does it take courage to oppose Hitler? There isn t one coward in the Hubermann household. Discuss how they demonstrate courage throughout the novel. 10. Describe Liesel s friendship with Rudy. How does their friendship change and grow throughout the novel? Death says that Rudy doesn t offer his friendship for free. (p. 51) What does Rudy want from Liesel? Discuss Death s statement, The only thing worse than a boy who hates you [is] a boy who loves you. (p. 52) Why is it difficult for Liesel to love Rudy? Discuss why Liesel tells Mr. Steiner that she kissed Rudy s dead body. 11. How does Zusak use the literary device of foreshadowing to pull the reader into the story? 12. Liesel Meminger lived to be an old woman. Death says that he would like to tell the book thief about beauty and brutality, but those are things that she had lived. How does her life represent beauty in the wake of brutality? Discuss how Zusak s poetic writing style enhances the beauty of Liesel s story. The Book Thief Reading Guide Questions Markus Zusak 1. What was the author s purpose behind choosing Death as a narrator? Is this a trustworthy narrator? How does Death see things that a human narrator might not? 2. In the opening of the book when Liesel steals her first book, The Gravedigger s Handbook, this event can be thought of as the first of many turning points for her. What
are some of the others? Talk about each major character and what their turning points are, as well as turning points for the community as a whole. 3. Knowing that Liesel is called a thief, how does the book complicate our ideas of justice and judgment? Which characters do you view as just/unjust or brave/cowardly, and why? Which events or details most color your perceptions of these characters? 4. What choices do characters make about groups they will belong to? What groups do they belong to without choice? What are the consequences? 5. Discuss Liesel s friendship with Rudy. Does she love him in the way he loves her, or is it a child s love? Do you think he reminds her of her brother? 6. Zusak s books often portray characters with a tendency to fight including Max and Liesel. Is a child who fights more forgivable that an adult who fights? Why? 7. From Hans to Liesel to the mayor s wife, discuss how some of the characters in The Book Thief deal with their past. Discuss themes of memory and punishment. 8. Is Hans Hubermann a courageous man? How does he show courage, or lack of courage? 9. Name some acts of resistance in the book, from large to small. What does the author intend with his inclusion of these acts? 10. Who has power in this book? How does Liesel gain power, and how does Max? Toward the end of the novel Liesel remarks to herself that words give power. How so? 11. Discuss the meaning of Max painting over Mein Kampf. What is he able to express by doing this and by drawing over it, that he cannot convey in person? The Book Thief Socratic Seminar Questions World Connection Questions: 1. What causes genocide? Why do people allow genocide even today? How do WE react when we hear of such events? 2. Were the Allied air raids ethical? 3. During the Holocaust, why did some people hide Jews despite the danger? 4. Is theft ever right? What would the world be like if we all justified stealing the way Liesel does? 5. Are there groups of people in contemporary society who are dehumanized as the Jews and other groups were during the Holocaust? 6. What other groups suffered at the hands of the Nazis? Why? 7. Is protecting a person ever not right? 8. How are the current wars with Iraq/Afghanistan similar to and different from the war with Germany? 9. Do you see any current societal trends that are dangerous? Is there a possibility of human rights violations in our own country? Are there such violations today? Open-ended Questions: 1. Why doesn t the mayor s wife report Liesel for stealing a book from the bonfire? 2. Why does she continue to allow Liesel to steal books?
3. Does the relationship between Liesel and Max ever progress into love? 4. Does the fact that Liesel grows up without her biological parents affect the way she perceives others? 5. Why does reading help Liesel cope with the difficulties of living in WWII Germany? How does it also help her neighbors? Do you see reading as a means of coping? Explain. 6. Is Hans right in the way he deals with the Jews, even if it endangers his family? 7. Discuss how Liesel matures over the course of the story. 8. Why does Rudy give the dying pilot a teddy bear? 9. How do words help the characters in the novel connect with each other? 10. How is beauty revealed in this story in the midst of so much brutality? 11. Is Rosa a good mother? Which of the Hubermans is a better parent? Why? 12. Was Papa slapping Liesel out of character? Why or why not? 13. Do you think that Hans was too good? Was he a realistic character? What about Rosa? Other characters? What makes them real or not so real? 14. Discuss Max s stories for Liesel: The Word Shaker and The Standover Man. What were these stories about? Why did he write them what was his message for her? 15. Is Liesel a substitute for Hans s own children who have left him? Universal Theme Questions: 1. How does literature or WORDS -- affect the way people in a society think, feel, and act? 2. Do you think that literature can create racism? Can it combat it? 3. DO you think words are as powerful today as they were in the past? 4. Is DEATH as evil as we tend to believe it to be? Why or why not? What makes us have a particular perspective? Has your perspective changed after reading this book? 5. How do words help us connect with each other? 6. People who survive often suffer from survivor s guilt. Do you think such guilt is justified? Why or why not? What characters in the novel deal with this problem? Do you think Liesel experienced guilt? Why or why not? 7. How does one s attitude toward death affect the way one lives life? 8. How does this novel communicate the theme of courage? 9. Why does evil exist? Why do people choose to do evil? 10. Are people inherently good or bad? 11. In many ways this is a novel about pain and how one deals with pain. What sorts of pain are addressed in this novel? How are they addressed? How are these types of pain made real? Is it a painful novel to read? Literary Analysis Questions: 1. What IS the point of view from which the story is told?
2. Many of you wrote about being frustrated with the foreshadowing in the novel about things being given away before they actually occur. Why do you think the novel does this? What effect (other than frustration) doe it have on us as readers? Does it enhance or detract from the story? 3. How does Zusak establish the rise and fall of tension despite the narrative giving away future events? 4. Discuss the effect of having Death as a narrator. Does the fact that Death is telling the story affect the way we react as readers to his/her observations? (Is Death male or female??) 5. Why does Death make the final comment, I am haunted by humans? What does s/he mean? How is this ironic? 6. Provide examples of and comment on the use of irony in the book. How does it enhance the story? How does it create mood? 7. The story includes many references to color. Why is this so? What effect does it create? Does it enhance the story/mood? How so? Find several examples and be prepared to discuss them and their meaning 8. This story is FULL of figurative language and imagery. It is a LIVING story, though it is told by Death. (Isn t that ironic?) Please find what you believe are the three most powerful and moving examples of imagery, and be prepared to discuss them and their effect. 9. How is the setting appropriate for this tale? If it were set in a different conflict, would the story have been different? How so? 10. Comment on the way the characters are depicted. Are they likeable? Which ones and why or why not? What is it about the way they are characterized that makes them appealing or not? How does the text make them come to life? Why is this important? 11. Why does Liesel NOT kiss Rudy until he is dead? What is the effect of this on the story? 12. Which are more powerful which have the greater effect on the characters: internal or external conflicts. Support your answer. 13. Why does Death bold certain items s/he includes in the narrative? 14. What are some of the distinctive stylistic elements that you found noteworthy or provocative? What did you find intriguing about them? How did they affect your reading and appreciation of the novel?