Matthew Zeppieri
Mr. Kilgallin
AP English Language
8 August 2012
The Book Thief Questions
In the first chapter, I discovered who the narrator was on page 21. It specifically was revealed when the narrator is talking about the dead brother of Liesel Meminger saying, “It was exactly when I knelt down and extracted his soul, holding it limply in my swollen arms” (21). revealing the narrator’s identity as Death.
The narrator’s diction on the page can be described as vain due to the fact he doesn’t need an introduction when the narrator says it is “not really necessary” (4). The narrator’s diction reveals that he has a methodical, stone cold personality that puts the narrator in a more superior position then the human race. Achieving this, the diction creates an effect that the narrator is going to be a huge part in the rest of the story which creates more dramatic irony when the narrator reveals stuff to us that the characters in the story will not know.
“ You will be caked in your own body.” is considered to be a metaphor. “ A scream will dribble down in the air.” is categorized as a catachresis. “ The only sound I’ll hear after that will be my own breathing, and the sound of the smell, of my footsteps.” is an example of synesthesia. “What will the sky be saying?” is an erotema.
Colors in this story play an important vital role in The Book Thief and the most important colors are the colors of the Nazi flag: black, white, and red. Black symbolizes sadness because the narrator mentions the color black in the sky and even when the pilot crashes and dies in the town. Liesel Meminger’s soul is considered to be symbolized by the color white since she is a pure, innocent girl. Destruction is symbolized by the color red because the color of blood is red, even Rudy’s tool box is red and simply the color red stands for destruction in the making.
Liesel is describe