Because The Book Thief is set in a time period filled with so many deaths, the reader encounters many survivors who have been through hardships but have avoided death, at least so far. Death describes Liesel, who has endured moving and losing her entire family as "one of those perpetual survivors--an expert at being left behind" (5), a description I find interesting because Death does not seem to view her survival as a positive thing, but rather some kind of misfortune that causes her to be "left behind", not saved. Liesel is not the only one who has suffered by being left behind. In our reading tonight, Michael Holtzapfel has suffered by surviving while his brother is dead, and feels so guilty for being alive that he takes his own life to be with his brother. Even Max Vandenburg and other Jews going to concentration camps, who have not lost loved ones, are more miserable being alive. Death often seems to view taking their souls as a mercy, saving them from being "left behind", and thinks, "saved you" (349) as he catches the souls of Jews committing suicide because it is "better than gas" (349), the fate they would have had if they had survived a while longer.
Hans Hubermann, however, is a survivor as well, and yet he has not been as traumatized by his survival as others such as Liesel and Michael Holtzapfel. Although Hans loses someone he cares about, Erik Vandenburg, and feels guilty because of it, he is still able to rebuild his life after the war, and live a relatively content life without the extensive emotional damage that leads Michael Holtzapfel to kill himself. Additionally, Death's attitude towards Hans's survival is different than his attitude toward the survival of Liesel and others. Death describes Hans as "lucky enough to cheat [him] twice" (178) and calls his survival an "escape" (178), implying that in Hans's case, death would not be a mercy as it is for many others.
What I wondered was, why is Hans's survival different? What is it about Hans that makes him benefit from his survival instead of being severely damaged by it, as so many others in TBT are?
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Clearly, Hans living conditions are much less severe as compared to those of the Jews in the concentration camps. Hans does not lead a physically painful life. However, he does experience emotional hardships. On the other hand, the Jews in the camps must deal with both types of pain to excruciating magnitudes.
ReplyDeleteLeisel has experienced the horrors of losing her family, and then has Max torn away from her in turbulent times. Michael Holtzapfel is likely experiencing something similar to post-traumatic stress syndrome. Yes, Hans is suffering, but I find it to be less intense as the problems the people around him face.
I have to disagree with you Simone. Even though Hans is not going through the same kind of pain as Jews in concentration camps, he is like many people in Molching in that he has lost someone close to him. Frau Holtzapfel and Ilsa Hermann are others who suffer because they have survived while the people they care about die. Hans has also been through two wars, while both Holtzapfels and Ilsa Hermann have lived in the comfort of their own homes for their entire lives, so I find it interesting that they are more burdened by their survival than he is.
ReplyDeleteFrau Holtzapfel and Isla Hermann did not go to wars and narrowly escape with their lives. In Death's point of view, those have not narrowly escaped him. Quite simply, Hans manages to immerse himself in Leisel, his wife, music, and painting. He keeps busy and does not consider himself a mercenary to the sufferings around him; Hans's life, while not happy, is more positive than those of Frau Holtzapfel and Ilsa Hermann. Hans has the joy of teaching and raising Liesel. Such a distraction is not present in either Frau Holtzapfel's life or Ilsa Hermann's life. In essence, because of the things that fill Hans's days, he is not one who is miserable living and would be better off dead.
ReplyDeleteDeath calls Hans lucky enough to cheat him twice, because in both those situations, Hans should have died. First off in the Great War, Hans should have been out fighting and should have died along with the rest of his men. He was just lucky for Erik to appoint him a good hand-writer. Then he was lucky again when he cheats Death by having Reinhold Zucker demand for Hans' seat in the truck. Hans should have been the one to die from the bomb, not Zucker. Also Sophie, I think you are inflating Hans and Erik's relationship. They became friends during the war, and were pretty close for soldiers, but he is definitely closer to family. Losing family is much tougher than losing a friend one made while fighting.
ReplyDeleteAlex, I think you make a good point that a family member's death would have a greater effect than the death of a close friend, but I also think that Hans's grief is amplified by the fact that Erik was the one who volunteered to fight while he stayed back, and he obviously feels somewhat guilty.
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