Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Colecting, Stealing, and Giving
As I was reading The Book Thief I noticed on page 32, another possible meaning for the accronym LSE "Dead Body Collecters". The first thing that came to my mind after reading that line was death, because that is exactly what death does. I also realized that many other characters happen to be collecting, or in some cases stealing, and giving. Collection and transaction seem to be prominent themes throughout The Book Theif. As I mentioned earlier, Death collects the souls of the dead, and Papa begins to collect the bodies of the dead for the war, both very similar jobs. Liesel collects books by stealing them, or just by recieving them over time. However, Liesel also collects words. When she first begins to learn to read, Liesel and Papa marked down words which Liesel didn't no, and mastering the words increases her vocabulary, until she has a collection of vocabulary. Markus Zusak also shows the giving of words through imagery, describing Liesel as "handing the words slowly across" pg. 461 or dropping the words at someone's feet. Liesel also collected gifts for Max Vandenburg.
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Especially in the times of the The Book Thief, collection reminds me of people holding on to what little they can. When she writes her own story, Liesel collects memories, forcing herself to remember all she's been through. Hans collects music and the story of his survival in the notes of his accordion. The thread of collection all leads to Death collecting the stories of the humans whose lives intrigue him the most, making him believe our existence is worth it.
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