Missed 1 lesson Thursday 16/05/19

In this assessment I will cover the many aspects of magical realism in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Magical Realism is the setting of one non-fictional feature in an otherwise realistic setting in this case, Markus Zusak is trying to convey the ideas of Human Existence in The Book Thief using nonfictional and unrealistic factors that will hopefully open the reader’s mind to decisions. The aspects of Magical Realism that will be covered includes the narrator, foreshadowing, irony, and the story telling key factors which will also explain how Magical Realism opens our minds to new ideas and views on concepts in The Book Thief novel.

Narrator:

Throughout The Book Thief we are told an enforced that the narrator is a corrupt being who better represents death himself. I believe this narrative concept is supposed to appeal to the reader as a different or unique idea that has rarely or never been done before. Markus’s narrator perspective required someone who can photographically display the events and timeline of WW2 on Himmel Street accurately but also capture Liesel’s point of view as well. Markus’s narrator idea does not depict Death as all-knowing as it proved that he cannot know everything that happens in the world all by senses but instead, he receives all of his information on clients the same way the human race has and always has done. He is basically no different. Death is almost depicted to be ‘Human Like’ rather than just a mere evil entity. An example quote of this is “It kills me sometimes, how people die”. This quote opens our minds into seeing Death to have sympathy for humans and why some do not deserve death more than others. Mainly due to them being young or innocent. This changes our view on death greatly as we expect Death to be heartless and not mourn for anyone he claims, an interesting concept that goes far into depth. What is more interesting about Death is that he requires resources to tell the story; resources being the book that Liesel is writing which is dedicated to occurrences in her own life. Death also obtains his information from the events occurring in Germany and Poland etc. What we don’t realize about Death in the novel is his alluring method of drawing in readers into his visualizations of colors which he utilizes often. He also demonstrates his personal experiences which includes the afflictions of WW2 has had on him as well as his job as soul harvester. Death as a magical realism key factor is useful as his human like emotions make the reader think differently about him. How he makes it difficult to distinguish truth from lie. An overall very useful tool that Markus Zusak used in the book.

Colour Spectrum:

Death’s unique colour system or spectrum is used to describe both environment and people. The colour he uses are Red which symbolizes blood, danger, and violence which was death’s main tool for describing the bombings that slaughtered Liesel’s loved ones and also represented a large portion of the Nazi regime flag which was a general expression for death. Death portrays a blood red sky as a magical element that signifies the death of many. This is quoted by death: “I do try to enjoy every colour I see, the whole spectrum. A billion or so flavors, none of them quite the same, and a sky to slowly suck on. It takes the edge of the stress”. This tells us that death can see and feel every colour, favoring some over others. A colour he dislikes could be white, as it depicts death of innocence and coldness. White also resembles the death of the undeserving, like infants and young civilians. Death even announces himself that he dislikes when the young die and how it’s a shame. Death has a nearly cheerful persona toward blue as it imitates joy and bliss. Death does not have a black heart, he too feels human emotions toward situations no matter how tragic or joyful.. The colour spectrum helps us unveil death as his emotions gradually to his reader.

White is used to signify purity, innocence, and coldness. It displays a vast sorrow for those die young such as children and infants. The white colour effect highlights death and coldness to an extent as it is a member of the Nazi flag’s colour assortment. “The sky was white but deteriorating fast. As always, it was becoming an enormous drop sheet. Blood was bleeding through, and in patches, the clouds were dirty, like footprints in melting snow. Footprints? you ask. Well, I wonder whose those could be.”. This quote shows the ‘patches patches’ seeping through the whiteness, and red is described as blood, danger, and violence therefore indicating a bad event is abundant. The black patches signify Hitler’s ideas and they blend in with the red and fading white, resembling the Nazi flag.

Blue obtains a more positive grasp on situations grasp on situations and life, including joy, peace, and courage. That and it displays Liesel’s sense of peace that occurred at the end of her life most likely due to her healthy breathing family. Since it does not share it’s enlightening appearance with the Nazi union flags it does not relate or contrast with death. Death quotes: “She died in a suburb of Sydney… The sky was the best blue afternoon. Like her papa, her soul was sitting up”. This quote explains how Liesel’s life finished with a perfect blue colour. An astronomically high amount of bliss and peace had been bestowed upon her and her family. The best blue sky most definitely signified these emotions as it is apart of Death’s colour spectrum. Blue obviously represents the absence of mourning, grief, and death.

Most people would imagine or picture Death as an evil and dark entity that’s only purpose is to plunder the spirits of the passing and perished but he is almost human by concept, he is just committing to his job. The spectrum of colors Death uses to recollect the events and represent his deep connection and empathy with humans. The colors also help Death explain his thoughts and feelings toward certain events and to humans. Not are we told that Death inhibits human emotions but he feels compassion for those who are killed e.g soldiers, and Jews which further strengthens the concept of Death’s experiences to further enhance his feelings toward the dire situations at hand. The reason Death expands our minds to magical realism is that Markus is taking a magic element, the element being the supernatural Death, and uses him as a relationship tool to share and represent deep empathy with humans and the situations they are enduring through.

Foreshadowing/ Flashbacks:

In the Book Thief, Markus Zusak used the literal device of foreshadowing to build the reader’s suspense and intrigues them to continue reading. He constructs suspense by announcing certain people’s death before it has occurred.

In The Book Thief, Markus talks about Rudy’s demise by quoting: “He did not deserve to die the way he did”, indicating the upcoming death of Rudy in 2 years time. The idea of this quotation or precursor is to build suspense for the reader as they do not know when 2 years begins or ends which means Markus could catch the reader off guard with a sudden jump event in the story line such as Rudy’s inbound death 2 years from then. This suspenseful tactic that Markus uses actually builds more suspense as now the reader knows of Rudy’s demise but does know when, an non-detailed description of the future.

Another quote from the book that uses foreshadowing: ” They were glued down, every last one of them. A packet of souls. Was it fate? Misfortune? Is that what glued them down like that? Of course not. Let’s not be stupid. It probably had more to do with the hurled bombs, thrown down by humans hiding in the clouds.”. Death gives off a serious vibe mostly, and this is one of the occasions here as he is establishing g or talking about the bombings that were on their way to Himmel street. The bombs are an all round important factor throughout the book as we have no idea what this quote meant the first time we observed it. Therefore it gave us, the readers, a major effect on how we viewed it the first time, how suspenseful it was and alluring to us.

Dramatic Irony/ Irony:

In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, irony is a majorly used literacy device that helped Markus establish the details the reader is taking in and identifying but the characters in the story are completely unaware of it. For example Death quotes: “Who ever named this street Himmel had a healthy sense of humor. It was not hell, but it was not heaven either. It was somewhere in the middle.”. This quote by death reflects on irony between the tragic events in the book and the street name. It explains how the bombs fell upon the street named ‘Himmel’ which was where Liesel was situated or living at the time, and Himmel in the German language transcripts to heaven which is ironic as it is where all havoc and chaos is breaking loose at that moment. This literacy tool is considered almost humorous to people and in the book, as it describes situations like the bombing on Himmel (Heaven) street to be almost quirky and unrealistic. Early on death quotes: “Please trust me, I most definitely can be cheerful”. This is ironic as most people do not picture Death to be a humble and cheerful entity but more an evil and merciless soul keeper. It is further ironic as death associates regular human emotion to his own, but cannot prove it due to being hypothetical therefore giving him his grim reputation.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak enforces the idea of magical realism into the reader’s mind which assists them into challenging their preconceptions. It describes how almost an entire country follows the rule and might of one man’s instructions and laws which lead to the people of Germany witness non-stop death and hate rise throughout the book. How everyone was manipulated by the wrong words which could reflect back at the reader as well. This implies that Markus Zusak intentionally gifted the reader with awareness and caution as he or she too could become prey for manipulative people as we are all susceptible to bad words. Take the 3rd Reich’s downfall for example which is when this novel is based, unlimited amounts of hate and death which ultimately lead to Germany’s destruction.