The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

Markus Zusak has written a very unique and well thought out book that takes place during World War 2, “The Book Thief”. In this book, there are many eccentric characters. One of these characters is Rosa Hubermann. Rosa and her husband took in a foster girl named Liesel.

Rosa expresses her love for the other characters with derogatory German terms. She isn’t a mean or bad person because of her attitude and her heart is in the right place. She is a very interesting character.

ROSA HUBERMANN

·         Rosa is constantly calling Liesel, the protagonist, a “Saumensch” which means female pig, and she also hits her with a wooden spoon. Although this sounds like abuse, this is Rosa’s way of showing love. It might show that something traumatizing happened in her past.

·         Liesel told Rosa to come to her class if the Jewish man they hid in their basement woke up. He was greatly fatigued and slept for a long amount of time. But, as Liesel said, Rosa came to her class and called Liesel out pretending to scold her for misplacing her hairbrush when he woke up. This shows how Rosa really loves Liesel and doesn’t mean anything by the harsh terms she uses.

“Her face was severe but it was smiling. ‘What the hell did you do with my hairbrush, you stupid Saumensch, you little thief? I’ve told you a hundred times to leave that thing alone, but do you listen? Of course not!’” pg 332

·         Rosa and Hans, her husband, have an interesting relationship. They aren’t affectionate or loving but they don’t fight. In real life, people have relationships like this too. They also seem to know each other very well. Rosa refers to her husband as a “Saukerl” male pig, and he refers to her occasionally as “Saumensch”. But their words do not mean they do not love each other. There is probably more of a story that will come up later about the two of them.

“...and the day he met mama. He said she was beautiful once, and actually very quiet spoken. ‘Hard to believe, I know, but absolutely true.’”  

·         Rosa makes Liesel do Rosa’s job of delivering clothing to people around their town, and Liesel does not deny it. Liesel compared to me and other children these days is not lazy, but very obedient, grateful, and appreciative. But after the War began, their customers stopped giving clothes one by one. The only person left was the mayor’s wife who laid them off one day when Liesel went to drop and pick up clothing. Liesel had a connection and a more complicated relationship with the mayor’s wife. She was tremendously fearing telling Rosa that their last customer and money for flour was now gone. When she went home she lied and told Rosa that it was her fault and she deserved a spoon-beating. But Rosa didn’t believe her and made the truth come out. This shows that Rosa doesn’t hit her or call her names for real reasons because when she was allowed a reason to hit her, she chose not to. Maybe if she is given a real reason, she doesn’t want to believe it because it makes her feel bad. Something must have happened in Rosa’s past that makes her attitude and actions the way it is.

Overall, Rosa Hubermann is one of the many complex characters of the novel “The Book Thief”. She has complicated relationships but is a good person. While the story unravels so will Rosa’s. Her personality and why her attitude is the way it is will also be further explained.

The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls

Anjum Suchita 811

The Glass Castle – Jeannette Walls (REVISED)

                As most kids mature, they lose their innocent and naïve qualities. As they transform from youth to adulthood, they become independent. Many stop relying on their parents to help them and some even go off on their own. The memoir, “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls is about Jeannette growing up as a nomad and struggling with bullying, a drunken father, an immature mother, and rape. Her attitude changes from being naïve to experienced because in the beginning of the book, Jeannette believed everything her father told her but as the book progressed, she realized her father was not capable of speaking the truth.

      In the beginning of the book, Jeannette is young and doesn’t realize that her father is constantly lying to her. When Jeannette was three years old, she was severely burnt while boiling hot dogs. She was at the hospital for six weeks when her father came to take her home. On page 14 her father is at the hospital, “...Dad appeared alone in the doorway of my room. He told me we were going to check out, Rex – Walls style. ‘Are you sure this is okay?’ I asked.” Jeannette questioned his statement but he told her to trust him. They fled and he avoided paying the bill once again. This quote shows how Jeannette’s father does not tell her the truth. She attempted to figure out what the correct behavior would be, but her father forced to her to believe him. Jeannette is naïve in this passage because she trusted her father even though he was lying to her.

      Throughout her childhood, Jeannette’s father promised her that he would build her a Glass Castle, and she believed him. When their family moved to her father’s old town, he bought a cheap piece of land. There he took his blueprints for The Glass Castle and on page 155 he told Jeannette his plan to build a foundation, “Dad had showed me the spot near the house where we were going to put the foundation and basement for the Glass Castle. I found a shovel and a pickax and spent about every free minute digging a hole. It was hard work, but after a month I had dug a hole deep enough to disappear in. But since we couldn’t afford to pay the town’s trash collection fee, our garbage was really piling up. One day Dad told me to dump it in the hole.” This quote shows how Jeannette had faith in their father, but he let her down and took advantage of her. Jeannette knew her father wouldn’t have lived up to his promise, but she didn’t know how he would break it. At this point of her life, she was less naïve and had learned that her father used her to solve his own problems, like not being able to afford the garbage pick-up. She decided it was time for her to create some distance between them.   

      When Jeannette was almost an adult, she moved to New York and lived with her older sister. Before she left, on page 238 her dad was telling her about his Glass Castle plans. She replied, “Go ahead and build the Glass Castle, but don’t do it for me.” This line of dialogue depicts the change Jeannette went through over the years. She started by believing everything her father said to her, but as she aged, she realized that her father invented things to feel important and better about himself. Finally, Jeannette understood that she needed to move away and start a new life without him.

      Jeannette learns to stop believing her father. She continues loving him, but she knows that she doesn’t need to believe in his false commitments to live. He disappointed her many times, and he took advantage of her more than once. The reader will empathize for Jeannette through all of her experiences. The book “The Glass Castle” shows readers how children grow and develop into adults.

ORIGINAL: Everyone likes to be protected and cared for, especially children. But, what if your parents don’t have that parental quality that makes you feel reassured and safe? What if they lead you on to ideas and give false promises? What if they expect you to take care of yourself instead of them caring for you? Jeannette Walls writes about her time growing up with parents that don’t protect her, make her feel safe, or care for her. In her memoir, “The Glass Castle” she writes from her point of view and the interesting part is that as her character grows, her point of view also matures and becomes less naïve.  Throughout the book, Jeannette has the most faith in her father from the rest of her family members. He tells her things that aren’t going to happen and he makes poor conditions seem much better. He also believes that putting children through very tough times is the only way to help them mature. In the beginning, Jeannette believes everything and denies her father’s bad qualities, but as the book progresses, so does she and towards the end she stops believing everything he says.

     In the beginning of the book, Jeannette is still a toddler, 3 years old, and severely burns herself while boiling hot dogs. Her mother finds her daughter standing in shock while flames spread from her leg to her face. After throwing a blanket on Jeannette to suffocate the fire, she takes her to the hospital. Jeannette spent six weeks in the hospital until her dad snuck them out because he didn’t believe in doctors and modern medicine.  He tells her this but really he is avoiding government officials and paying bills. But, young and naïve Jeannette believes that as he says, doctors are bad and you have to be strong without them.

     Throughout her childhood, Jeannette’s father promises her that he will build her a glass castle. When their family moves to her father’s old town, he buys a cheap piece of land. There he takes his blueprints for The Glass Castle and tells Jeannette that they need to build a foundation. Since Jeannette was a young adult then, she didn’t fully believe that her poor, drunken father would build her a castle. But, she still had faith in her father and dug the foundation hole. After the foundation hole was dug, her father made excuses to stall the building of The Glass Castle. Slowly, the hole filled with garbage because their family couldn’t afford the weekly garbage pickup.  Jeannette knew her father wouldn’t have lived up to his promise, but didn’t know how he would break it. She was slowly starting to become less naïve and learned that her father was taking advantage of her.

     When Jeannette was almost an adult, she planned to move to New York and live with her sister. Before she left, on page 238 her dad was telling her about his Glass Castle plans. She replied, “Go ahead and build the Glass Castle, but don’t do it for me.” This line of dialogue depicts the change Jeannette went through over the years. She started by believing everything her father said to her, but as she aged, she realized that her father invented things to feel important and better about himself. Finally, Jeannette understood that she needed to move away and start a new life without him.

     By the end of the book, when Jeannette became more aware and experienced of the world, she learned that her father made unreal promises. As people age, they learn both the bad and the good things of life. At first, Jeannette didn’t know what was bad about her own father, but as she became more experienced of him letting her down, she learned not to become excited about his “commitments”. More than once he disappointed her and she understood that both her father and her life were made that way and she had no choice but to live with it. “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls has many great characteristics, and one is that the narrator changes in the best way throughout the book. 

Looking For Alaska - John Green

     What is death? Is it something to hate, love, or is it a way to “escape this labyrinth of suffering”? To Alaska Young, death is a combination of all. In the novel “Looking for Alaska” John Green writes about Alaska Young’s death differently than other authors. In the story a socially awkward boy, Miles, who is looking for something to make his life meaningful, decides to go to a boarding school. And like he hoped, something new and exciting did come his way, Alaska Young.

     Regardless of the idea that death is depressing, John Green makes Alaska’s death less melancholy. He accomplishes this by making the characters find closure. If the characters find closure, so will the reader. On pages 213-214, Miles and his friend drive to the place where Alaska spent her last minutes. There, Miles tells his friend what he truly feels about Alaska’s death, “‘Sometimes I liked it,’ I said. ‘Sometimes I liked it that she was dead.’” This line doesn’t mean that he wanted her to die, but instead, he was relieved at some moments after she passed. Alaska was a confusing person, not only for the reader, but also for the other characters. Miles had trouble comprehending what she was going through because she had a tough time expressing her feelings. This line is him simply saying that maybe Alaska was someone who wasn’t meant to stay, and she was there more to show him a direction to take his life. He liked that she was gone because she already gave him what she could, and he knew she was going through tough times. Also, when he said this line, he was making a conclusion to his grief. Most authors don’t put in this concluding part to a death and that is what makes John Green’s “Looking for Alaska” unique.

     The format of the novel is uncommon. In the beginning part, before Alaska’s death, it felt slow because of the anticipation. The reader can tell what is coming which makes it seem a bit slow. But, the format itself is unique and it helps the reader see how the characters are finding closure because it keeps track of time. John Green makes the first half of the novel the “before” she died and the second half the “after”. Throughout the “after” of the story, Miles and his friends look for the reason Alaska died. They try to figure out if it was suicide or simply a car accident. Even though it remains a mystery, their search for the answer helps them and the reader become less upset about her death. The format affects this part because if the reader was to just read the story, they might not think about how long or short of a time it has been since her death, but when the reader sees that on page 213, it is one hundred eighteen days after, yet they are still looking for the answer, he or she will understand how hard it is to truly find closure. On page 213 Miles and his friend also realize what it must have been like for her. The narrator Miles thinks, “Straight and fast. Maybe she just decided at the last second.” The format helps the reader understand the book’s main ideas more because the reader can see how closure takes time.

     Normally, people don’t talk about dying. But, Alaska makes a point of being eccentric and talking about death more than usual. On page 44 she says, “Y’all smoke to enjoy it, I smoke to die” When first reading this, thoughts like ‘she is an attention seeker’ popped up, but when she told about her mother’s death, it was different. She wasn’t so much an attention seeker anymore, but someone to pity and wish for the best for. She struggled with wishing to die and fearing death. That is why she wanted to get out of the “labyrinth” straight and fast. This is another way she talked about death. When she first met Miles, she asked him how to “escape this labyrinth of suffering” which really means how to get out of this world. The answer is death and she never did answer it. Alaska is afraid of but wishes for death because she believes it is what she deserves. Since John Green made Alaska’s character talk about death, the other characters and the reader don’t find it as heartbreaking or surprising that she did die.

     The uniqueness of John Green’s style of writing about Alaska’s death affects the reader. Death is always a depressing thing to think, talk, hear, or write about, but it really depends on the way someone puts it. The author manages to make it less depressing, no matter if it’s the way he built Alaska’s character, or how he phrased the death in general. Everyone has to deal with death some point in their life, and John Green’s “Looking for Alaska” makes readers understand what closure is and how to find it.