The first thing is about Liesel's and Rosa's improved relationship. They are very comfortable when they talk to each other. When Liesel is going to play outside, I was very surprised when she said, "but you'll come and get me if he wakes up, won't you? Just make something up. Scream out like I've done something wrong. Start swearing at me. Everyone will believe it, don't worry," (319). Instead of yelling at her for being disrespectful Rosa smiles and starts joking around with her. I think the reason that Max has greatly improved their relationship because the whole family has to work together in order to keep the secret. When Max isn't waking up Mama comforts Liesel and starts hugging her.
I also noticed something small about Death and colors. When Death says, "For me the sky was the color of Jews," (349) I found that really interesting because that isn't a color. Did he say that because many Jews had died?
I agree with you Katia and I think this is because Rosa is so upset about Max and the economy, that she is just not in the mood to be angry at anyone. I also think that Rosa feels sorry for Liesel because she knows that Liesel was very close to Max, and now that Max is in such a poor condition Rosa wants to comfort her.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your second question, I think that Death means that so many Jews have died and that he has taken so many of their souls so he describes the sky as being "the color of the Jews"
About Rosa and Liesel's relationship, I don't believe that they've grown closer, in fact, I believe they've been close and stayed close from near the beginning of when Liesel first moved in. I think there is simply an improvement in Rosa's behavior as an individual, because at one point Death mentions that Rosa is always a good person for a crisis. So I think that this improvement in the way they get along is on account of Rosa, because as you said, normally Liesel would expect a "Watschen" for talking back to her like that, but instead she plays along. Also, I think Rosa's kindness during a crisis possibly comes from understanding, as well.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I think that they have grown closer is that now it is obvious that Rosa and Liesel have a good relationship. Earlier in the novel we were questioning on what evidence there was that Rosa love Liesel.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you when you say that there was question of Rosa loving Liesel before this incident, because as we've discussed in class, Death says that Rosa really did love Liesel, she just had a weird way of showing it. Personally, I believe that with Death's narration comes a following explanation along with a continuation of the story, so I've seen much proof of Rosa's love for Liesel, it just so happens that during this particular crisis, Rosa's showed her love through kindness rather than the usual swearing and abuse. All I'm basically saying is that the closeness of their relationship has not grown or changed at this time in my opinion, but Rosa's simply expressed her love for Liesel in a different way according to the occassion.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't that mean that their relationship has improved if we can clearly tell that they really do love each other? Now that they know each other more their relationship has some teasing which not many people do unless they really know the other one well.
ReplyDeleteWhat I meant was that, yes we can see clearly that they love each other now, but I feel that it was clear before as well, because as Death says that Rosa's good during a crisis, I assume that means that her unusual kindness is only as temporary as the crisis.
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