Anger and Hostility

I read Peter's post earlier about how surprised he was at Liesel's attack on Tommy Muller and Ludwig Shmeikl, and the question he raised : if anyone else had noticed anything violent about Liesel. As I pondered this question it became more and more apparent to me that her anger was not random or out of the ordinary, the entire book thrives on the struggles, aggression, and frustrations that come hand in hand with the regime and era of the Nazis. The subtleties of this anger appear in many ways. 1. The swearing - Rosa and Hans use swears the most frequently in the text, but I'm sure it is just as common within the impoverished. The lives they lead are difficult, filled with setbacks, and disheartening. No wonder Rosa has learned to build a tough and cruel exterior. It is a shield. 2. The playground rumbles - Even the children are growing up conflicted. Liesel knows she is at a disadvantage to the rest of her age group, but she has also experienced greater pain and loss than they have, due to poverty. Her hostility towards them is fueled by lack of empathy and understanding of the heartbreak she has endured. and finally 3. the hatred of and from the Nazi party. There would be no plot if it weren't for the devastation the Nazi's wrought on the Non-Aryans, and the people affected by the war. The anger exacerbated by this era sets the tone, and mood of the characters. Which in turn is expressed through small but strong actions and events that intensify and enrich the plot.