1. He obviously cares very much for Liesel, and shows his paternal nature by teaching her to read, and comforting her at night.
2. Hans seems to be the most aware of the effects that his political stance will have on his family and their social standing. I think that Hans isn't part of the Nazi party because on page 104, he says "I've made many mistakes in my life, but not joining the Nazi party is not one of them"(104). In addition, on page 127, Hans makes a decision to continue the reading with Liesel at night. However, based on his thoughts before making the decision, it seemed as though he now viewed it as a form of rebellion against the Nazi party.
One of Zusak's points throughout the novel is that the written word can change lives. If you want to oppress a people, you deny them an education. If you want to oppress a people, you keep them illiterate, as you may have seen in your study of Frederick Douglass in history. Once Douglass managed to learn to read, he said he understood why slave masters forbade the skill: there was so much printed material available that showed the wrongs of slavery!
ReplyDeleteWhile Leisel is escaping through her learning to become literate, I sense Hans is also finding relief in teaching Leisel. I agree with Clay that, in a sense, he is rebelling against the Nazi party by teaching someone of the next generation the one thing that will allow the uprising of people to understand the horrors of the Nazis. While the Nazi's promote illiteracy, Hans is able to promote literacy in the privacy of his home. Another thing to point out is that the teachings act as a basic distraction for Hans from the problems around him; the physical and emotional parts of teaching someone to read is very consuming of the mind.
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