Discussion 3- Literary Elements

"He was just as animal, hurt among the melee of its own kind, soon to be trampled by it" (Zusak 112). This quote is said by the narrator, Death, when Liesel and Rudy are at the book burning. Ludwig Schmeikl, a boy in Liesel's class, got his foot stomped on by the crowds of people around him and this is what is happening during this quote. This metaphor of Ludwig as an animal shows that all humans in Nazi Germany can almost be seen as animals that are only striving to help themselves survive and stay away from danger. This quote affects Liesel because she, and her family, are some of the few people in Nazi Germany that do not act like animals. Although they have to keep Max Vandenburg in their basement like an animal, they are keeping him from being killed because of his religion. Liesel is greatly affected by the "Nazi animals" around her, but she does not let that change her view of Jews. The only thing that it does do is scare her and make her very curious. I think that Markus Zusak uses a lot of literary elements in his writing, but i think the most common styles he uses are similes and metaphors. His use of similies and metaphors draws the reader in and really allows us to fully grasp what the character is going through. I believe this quote really shows how crazy this era was and that there was nothing people could do about it.