FREE Compassion in The Book Thief Essay (original) (raw)

Ronald Reagan once clearly stated, "There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right." In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, this idea of courage is expressed through the character Hans Hubermann, whose compassionate nature rejects the dreadful influence of Hitler and the Nazi party. His nature is conveyed through many simple acts of compassion, which greatly influence those around him. In a time of misery and destruction, Hans represents the need for compassion as seen through his treatment of Liesel, his accounts of accordion playing and his willingness to help the Jews.
Hans shows abundant compassion to his new foster daughter Liesel as he is very gentle and loving towards her. Liesel see's the compassion of Hans when she, "observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver. [] Upon seeing those eyes, understood that Hans Hubermann was worth a lot" (Zusak, 34). Here Liesel sees beyond the strangeness of her new foster father and she understands that he is 'worth a lot'. Ultimately, she knows that Hans is a good man, who is going to be a caring foster father despite the terrible circumstances that led her to be a foster child. The second account is where Hans reaches out to lisle and concern to her, "He looked over at Liesel and winked. She would have no trouble calling him Papa" (35). Even though it was a simple gesture, he was able to ease Lisle through his light-hearted personality even though they lived in a world of chaos. This helped her truly picture this man as her father. Hans showed he loved her when he would come, "in every night and sat with her. The first couple times he simply stayed-a stranger to kill the aloneness. .
A few nights after that, he whispered, "Shh, I'm here, its all right." [] Hans Huberman would always appear mid-scream and he would not leave" (36).

1. Themes of Morality in The Book Thief

Markus Zusak masterfully depicts the struggles of humans in tumultuous times, in his novel The Book Thief. ... The power of words is one of the most commonly depicted philosophy in The Book Thief, the philosophy is seen throughout the book and is a sustained theme until the end of the novel. ... Along with the power of words human nature is a dedicated philosophical theme in The Book Thief. ... " This is seen in the novel with the destruction of Europe by the Nazi war machine and countered in the book with the compassion shown by the Hubermanns and many other selfless acts of kindness by...

2. oedipus

Cervantes NovaNet Offline Assignment 2 June 2003 Oedipus the King Journal Entry #1 * Oedipus is notable for his compassion, his sense of justice, his swiftness of thought and action, and his candor. ... Maybe the gods later on, but his crimes make him just less of a person than any other criminal or thief. ... I think that took more guts than anything else he did or said during the whole book. ...

3. Native Son

Most people would perceive Bigger as a criminal; after all, he is a thief, a liar, and a murderer. ... The most influential way Wright initiates compassion towards Bigger is by writing Native Son from Bigger's viewpoint. ... In the beginning of the book Bigger's feelings of distrust towards himself in a world controlled by whites are obvious when he states "Every time I get to thinking about me being black and they being white, me being here and they being there, I feel like something awful is going to happen to me-(Wright 20). ... Wright causes the reader to feel compassion towar...

4. Taras Gregoriovich Shevchenko

Because of the inexhaustible emotional energy of his poetry, because of his deep compassion for the sufferings of others, Schevchenko will always remain in people's hearts. ... Taras's Schevchenko stepmother was a cruel lady, who did not have any compassion towards his loss and kicked him out on the street during the winter without any food or money. ... It was the first book published in Ukrainian language. ... In 1859 he returned to Ukraine, where hoped to buy a small piece of land and retire, but got in the argument with the owner of that land, and he falsely reported Taras as a t...

5. Around The World In Eighty Days

Upon reaching England, Fogg was arrested for stealing, but was released because they had caught the thief three days prior. ... Fogg shows his compassion by risking his life to free the Parse woman and accomplishing her rescue by any means possible. ... Around the World in Eighty Days was a very comprehensible book. ...

6. Of Mice And Men

If George admitted that he had stole Carlson's luger, he would be known as a thief around the ranch from now on, and if he admitted that he shot Lennie some would call him a murderer. ... Throughout the story Carlson demonstrates his lack of compassion: first with the dog, then with Lennie. ... Carlson's words and point of view as the last ones Steinbeck presents in the book is an indication of the author's own sense of despair. ...

7. Ivanhoe

Although Isaac was often called a "dog" by those around him, he treated Ivanhoe, a Christian, with compassion when he was wounded. ... The Templar Brian de Bois-Guilbert represents the church's military wing, but this supposed knight is an outright villain as the book soon reveals. ... Robin Hood and his merry men were brought into Ivanhoe to excite more adventures and reveal the unfailing loyalty of a witty thief to his land and to his true king, Richard. ...

8. In a skin of a lion

Ondaatje's next novel, 1992's The English Patient, won the Governor General's Award and the Booker Prize, and was made into an award-winning film. ... Michael Ondaatje entwines adventure, romance and history, real and invented, enmeshing us in the lives of the immigrants who built the city and those who dreamed it into being: the politically powerful, the anarchists, bridge builders and tunnellers, a vanished millionaire and his mistress, a rescued nun and a thief who leads a charmed life. This is a haunting tale of passion, privilege and biting physical labour, of men and ...

9. The Gospels of Mark and John

Again Jesus' compassion and power is exemplified by Luke to the criminal condemned to death with Jesus. In Luke, the thief says to Jesus to remember him when he goes to heaven and Jesus tells him that today shall be the day they both enter paradise (Lk 23:42-43). ... The book of Mark was probably written for Romans. ...

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