Book Thief: Character Analysis through Music

I do not consider myself a musically inclined person. To be completely honest, 80% of time that I am listening to music, it is just for background. The assignment of analyzing characters from Marcus Zusak’s The Book Thief through songs was particularly challenging. I do not have a wide range of music so finding songs was difficult. I actually found all of my songs on the same Pandora station, which only supports the idea that music just is not my thing. Now having said all of that, I did enjoy the project, mainly because I was able to easily make connections from songs to characters.  I think the project helped me relate characters to the real world.

 

Liesel Meminger

Liesel is one of my favorite characters in the novel because I seem to admire strong female characters in the books I read. At the beginning of the story, we know that Liesel was scared when she first came to Hubermanns since she refused to get out of the car. Liesel did not understand why her mother had to leave her and no one would tell her. The song I have chosen that connects to Liesel is “Sloom” by Of Monsters and Men. This song demonstrates Liesel’s desire for her mother’s love at the beginning of the story. We know that leaving her mother was very hard for Liesel from the quote “It was a goodbye that was wet, with the girl’s head buried into the woolly, worn shallows of her mother’s coat” (Zusak 26). 

“And I'll meet your eyes for the very first time, for the very last
So love me mother, and love me father, and love my sister as well”

I did not choose this song only for the lyrics but for the music. The music during the verses is slightly upbeat and connects to Liesel’s carefree and happy moments such as when she is playing soccer with Ruby or reading. When the chorus comes on for the first time, however, the music stops, relating to the fact that when Liesel thought about her mother and brother early on, she got very sad. The song progresses like the book: more music is added during the chorus and the song goes on because Liesel got less and less sad.

Max Vanderberg

Max Vanderberg: a Jew, a friend, and a fighter. We meet Max about halfway through the story but know him just as well as anyone else.  I am practically found of Max because of his immense strength and incredible will to win this fight, the fight to earn back his own life. The quote “‘When death captures me…he will feel my fist on his face” show us exactly how strong Max is (Zusak 189). He will not go down without a long, hard fight. The song I have chosen to represent Max is “Centuries” by Fall Out Boy. The lyrics in the song perfectly explain Max’s determination.

“Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold
But you will remember me
Remember me for centuries
And just one mistake
Is all it will take.
We'll go down in history
Remember me for centuries
Hey, hey, hey
Remember me for centuries”

I can see Max jamming out to this song while he is doing pushups or while he is walking out to box with Hitler. We see Max as a very calm and reserved but I think this is what is really going on inside his head. Extreme willpower and drive to stay alive is what makes Max such an incredible. While others might have given up, Max continued to fight.

 

Rudy Steiner

Rudy Steiner would jump at the chance to kiss Liesel. In fact, he’s not afraid to ask for one, even if he knows he’ll get rejected. This is what I love about Rudy. He is willing to do anything for Liesel with nothing in return. Rudy risked getting hypothermia to get Liesel’s book in the river, “’How about a kiss, Saumensch?’ He stood waist-deep in the water for a few moments longer before climbing out and handing her the book” (Zusak 303). As we know, the “love” Rudy has for Liesel is not what we know as real love, for they are only children. This type of love is more playful. That is why I have chosen the song “Home” by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros. It’s a very upbeat, “love song” type of song which I think is perfect for Ruby and his obsession with Liesel. 

"Well, holy moly me oh my
You’re the apple of my eye
Girl, I've never loved one like you"

As you can see from the verse I have right here, this song has a touch of humor to it as well just like Rudy adds a touch of humor to the story. He lightens the mood sometimes, which is good thing for a story set during the Holocaust. I think the song perfectly in captures Rudy’s love for Liesel and his overall purpose as a character in the book.

Hans Hubermann 

Let’s be honest, we all wish Hans Hubermann was our dad at some point. Not because he’s the coolest dad on the street or has an exciting job, but because he’ll always been there for us. In my opinion, I think Hans is the most loving character in the book. He makes Liesel feel so at home and cares for her so much. “Possibly the only good thing to come out of these nightmares was that is brought Hans Hubermann, her new papa, into the room, to soothe her, to love her” is an excellent quote and shows how much Hans truly loved Liesel (Zusak 36).  The song I have chosen to represent Hans is “You’ve Got a Friend” by James Taylor.  I can easily imagine Hans singing this song to Liesel at night when she wakes up from a nightmare.

"When you're down and troubled and you need a helping hand
and nothing, whoa, nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there
to brighten up even your darkest nights."

The music of the song is smooth and comforting, just like Hans. Hans knows exactly what to say and when to say it or when to say nothing at all. In class, we compared Hans and Atticus Finch and they are almost identical in this way. Liesel is very lucky to have a papa like Hans.

Death

As odd as it is to say, Death is my favorite character. Personally, I do not think I would like the book if it was not narrated by Death. Zusak’s idea for the unique narration is brilliant. I think I like Death so much because he tells it like it is. He does not spare our feelings and does not care if he annoys us. One thing in particular that I like about him is that he takes time to see the colors. I love that he describes them he picks up souls.” People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings andends, but to me it’s quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations, with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spat blues. Murky darknesses. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them” is beautiful quote and truly shows how considerate Death is. Ironically, I have chosen the song “Life in Color” by One Republic for Death and that quote especially.

"I do my best to find some kind of glow
I'm givin' it some heart and soul, now
From the darkest grays
The sun bursts, clouds break"

I understand that the song is very upbeat and Death isn’t necessarily the happiest person, but I do think that he adds a bit of “humor” to the story and lightens the mood at time. Death’s whole philosophy is that people are worth it and this song also displays that. People are able to experience these colors as well.

Rosa Hubermann

In all honesty, I absolutely hate Rosa Hubermann. She is inconsiderate toward Liesel and just does not know when enough is enough. Having said that, I think Rosa has her best interest in Liesel but I s just bad at showing it. For example, “’Liesel, are you dressed warm enough?!” is one instance that really shows that Rosa cares. This is when Liesel and Hans go by the river to read. The song that connects to Rosa is "Light 'Em Up" by Fall Out Boy. This song has a harsh edge just like Rosa. 

"My songs know what you did in the dark"

I've taken the above line from the song and I think it relates to how Rosa knows when Liesel is up to something. Like i said before, the music for this analysis is more important that the lyrics. The music is rough and tough like Rosa.

Wrap Up

Each character in The Book Thief has a very distinct feeling and mood that they give off and I think that really shines through in the songs i picked. No song is the same just like no character is the same.