Sunday, March 1, 2009
Discussion #1- Character
Death, the narrator of The Book Thief, is my favorite character of the book so far. Right the beginning he introduces himself as very to the point, saying he is anything but nice but is always fair. He explains how he passes time observing the different tones of the sky and you get to know a little bit about his character. In my opinion, suprisingly he speaks with a very inviting tone that you want to listen to. Then he begins telling the story of Liesel Meminger, the Book Thief. Death starts by telling the story of the death of her little brother, and how the first book she stole was the Gravedigger's Handbook at her brothers funeral. Then he talks about her foster family explaining each of them. I really like how he translates different parts and I feel like I can hear him saying them by the way they are written. It is easy to understand and I really enjoy reading it so far. The way he talks about Hans Hubberman makes him seem like a wonderful, kind, and gentile man. Rosa, his wife, however is very annoying, but Death even makes the point of saying that Rosa does love Liesel. I don't really relate to death because I am not at all like him in the way of wanting people to die and how he even says he isn't nice because I would say that I am. I don't think that he needs to change his ways at all, he is an interesting and intriguing story teller and he adds to the book tremendously. Death isn't really influenced by family or friends as far as i can see, since he obviously is the one taking their souls. However, he does seem to be very curious about Liesel and I can't wait to get farther into the book and see how her career as the Book Thief continues to expand.
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I completely agree that you can almost picture "Death" saying what is written just by the style and feel of his words. I feel that the author does a good job personifying death and I really like "Death" as the narrator. It is also nice that "Death" translates and explains certain aspects of the story which makes it easier to follow the plot.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with what you said and how Death is your favorite character. You brought up a really good point how he has a very inviting tone, which makes you more intrigued to read. I also agree how Death seems like a very friendly character even though he claims that he is not nice. I agree with everything you say and also can't wait to continue reading to see what happens!
ReplyDeleteI really like Death as the narrator too. So far it's my favorite part of the novel. I also think it's a very interesting point that Death has gone out of his way to tell Liesel's story. Obviously he has witnessed almost every other significant event in history, but I think it speaks volumes that out of all of them he chose to tell Liesel's story.
ReplyDeleteI also agree, Death is a favorite to me as well. The beginning, mainly Death narrating about himself, really brings out his character. I also recognized a slight "inviting tone" in Death that made me want to read more. The character of Death is the main reason I can hardly put the book down.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand how you can't relate to Death, and I feel the same way. It is also true that Death(he, right?) describes people really well and that helps me understand how they are feeling. And Death is for sure one of my favorite characters.
ReplyDeleteYour descriptions on death are really interesting! I agree on how Death is very easy to listen to. I feel like Death is a mystery and while reading the novel, we get to know more about "Death" and how it "works". Emily...I agree, Death is for sure a man.
ReplyDeleteI agree that his tone is very inviting, which is one of the reasons why this book is so interesting. The fact that Death is the narrator makes the book so unique, but it doesn't make it anymore scary.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, the tones just get you in different moods and you want to keep reading. It's really intersting how he describes each character the way they really are.
ReplyDeleteI also am unable to relate to Death, which annoys me in a sense, but also makes him a fascinating character. There hasn't been a character like him in any book that I have ever read. Similar to what Victor said, his calm and collectedness also makes him somewhat entrancing. His unique point of view gives him an extremely unbiased means of telling Liesel's story.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that death wants people to die, he's just accepted the inevitability of it. He's seen so many people die that he can't feel connected to the people he takes souls from, though. I think he's a very relatable character though, because he speaks so blatantly that you can tell how he feels.
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