When Rudy finds the crashed pilot at the Amper River, Death has his third "meeting" with Liesel. Again, Death is interested in Liesel and he recalls his past meetings with her. In this small narration, Death says that he recognized Liesel and she recognized him, "I don't know, but she knew me and she looked me in my face and she did not look away" (490). First of all, how could Liesel see and recognize Death? Second, how could Death have a face - I thought he wasn't human.
A little later when Death is carrying the soul of the crashed pilot he sees a swastika in the sky, and then says "Heil Hitler" (491). Does he say this to make fun of Hitler, or does he really appreciate Hitler and what he has done? Anyways again Zusak here uses the sky to set a tone for the story and he makes a connection to the war.
One last thing- When Liesel and Rudy break into Mr. Steiner's shop Death wants Liesel to "kiss him" (455). Is Death narrating from Rudy's mind or does he/she really want Liesel to kiss Rudy?
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To answer one of your questions, when Death says "...but she knew me and she looked me in my face", Zusak is once again playing with words. To "stare death in the face" is a commonly used expression meaning to have a close encounter with death. Here Zusak uses the literal meaning, and creates the image of Liesel looking at Death.
ReplyDeleteChloee, I believe you are mistaken. Zusak is NOT using the literal meaning when he writes of seeing Death. Yes, one could see Death in the pain stricken faces of those dying, but such is all figurative. One cannot see the actual face of Death under any sort of circumstances. Also, a person on the verge of dying may be close to Death, but once again, they do not see the actual face of Death. Therefore, the language is figurative, not literal.
ReplyDeleteSimone, Death saying, "I don't know, but she knew me and she looked me in my face and she did not look away" is literal language. Therefore, Zusak's language creates a literal image. Death was at this scene and was right near Liesel at the time. He is literally speaking of his proximity to Liesel and how he felt as though she saw him as well, even though the reader knows she did not.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your third question Daniel, Death is narrating from the information in Liesel's diary. She probably wrote that she wanted to kiss him at that moment in her story.
ReplyDeleteI understand what your saying Chloee, but you have to think of it this way. Death is a figurative character; he is not something tangible, something you can poke or touch, something you can feel, something you can see... There is no Death that you can interact with literally, because quite simply, we as humans cannot feel or see something that does not take form made out of matter. Yes, you can be put in situations where Death might be looming or palpable because of all the people dying around you, but realize that all that, as real as it may seem, is still figurative. In your last response, you said "how [Death] felt as though she saw him..." Right there you use the key verb; to feel. She did not actually see him. One last thing: I agree that he creates a literal image, because you could possibly imagine Death looking at Leisel, but the language that stems from the concept is figurative.
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