Sunday, March 15, 2009

the personification of death

I think that Markus Zusak's most prominent literary elements are his personification of death and the many similes used throughout the book. The obvious personification in the novel is the unique use of death as a narrator. This allows the readr to be able to percieve the hard life in Germany at the time better because of Death's pesimistic and honest tone. It also allows some room for interpretation of characters emotions. Not only does Zusak use obvious personifications, but he also includes many minor similes that carry significance. For emaple, he writes, "Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like rain.” (497). This is a significant simile because he desribes Leisel's hardworking personality. Her, he also forshadows what will happen in the novel. Another one of the countless number of similes is one used on page 497, when Zusak writes that “… it was raining on Himmel Street when the world ended for Liesel Meminger. The sky was dripping. Like a tap that a child has tried its hardest to turn off but hasn’t quite managed.”(497). I would love to explain this, but it might spoil the ending for evryonee, so i'll just ay it is very significant. Both of theses similes are just a few of the eexcessive number in The Book Theif.

1 comment:

  1. I really liked the first quote you found! It is a great example of how Zuzak uses figurative language to make his writing so much more interesting and visual.

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