Luke’s Comments (group member since Nov 22, 2016)

Luke’s comments from the The Commendable Coterie group.

AnnaClaire wrote: "There has been a lot of discussion about the bond between Liesel and Max, especially with the books Max wrote. Im curious to know what their similarities in personality as well as past struggles ma..."

For me it's the symbolism of Liesel's brothers death, and how that is reflective through Max's stay in the Hubermann home

Julianna C wrote: "Emma wrote: "Max's book "The Standover Man" is powerful in many ways. The book starts off as the man being corrupt, than transitions the "man" into Liesel, which is more of a safe haven. However i ..."

Oh yeah I did mean to respond to you Julianna LOL!! To answer your question about Max's "standover men", I believe that he has never been able to trust. I think that life has not been particularly fair to Max, and it's very hard for him to trust, so for a person like Liesel to have such a kind heart is quite shocking to him in general. If his father were still around, I think that his trust issues would not be as bad, but Liesel and the Hubermann's are who he has, and he is now happy. When you say "is a standover man a protector, superior, or friends?" I think it is all. I know that sounds corny, but take Liesel, for example. She does have superiority over him, she does have a protecting ora, and she is a very good friend. Yet also take Death, who may not be seen as any. Death, in theory, has superiority over everybody, he seems to protect those he "collects" or allots time, and I see Death as a friend. Maybe not so much a friend, but a companion. Does anyone else agree with this?

Emma wrote: "Max's book "The Standover Man" is powerful in many ways. The book starts off as the man being corrupt, than transitions the "man" into Liesel, which is more of a safe haven. However i am confused a..."

To me, 'The Standover Man' is a bit allegorical of Death overlooking Liesel at the cemetery. From pages 12 to 15, the scene of burying Liesel's brother and her taking the handbook, Death is that overbearing, somewhat protectorate of a superior. This is reflected in Max and Liesel, because Max writes "It makes me understand that the best standover man I've ever known is not a man at all..." (page 12 of Standover Man). Now of course he is talking about Liesel - I think - but Death is not a man at all, but as Emma responded to me in Thread 3, reality.

AnnaClaire wrote: ""The Word Shaker" is meant to show the power words truly have. It starts off with Hitler, and how his ideas became actions and it all started with the words said. Hitlers words eventually led the f..."

I had to post to agree upon your connection with Max and Liesel's brother. I continue to think about colors, and wasn't able to put a color on that moment in the book, but I do believe that Max is basically the symbolic entity of her brother. However, I have to ask, are you saying that by coloring the pages white that is the connection between Max and Liesel's brother? or is it that he is in their house?

To pose a question of my own, does anyone feel that Death itself is a symbol? I was thinking something cheesy like rebirth, and the perspective of life, however I feel there's something there I am not catching.

Julianna C wrote: "I see an overall theme of survivors' guilt in this book- guilt exudes from Liesel, Max, and Death. When Liesel steals his first book from the Furher's bonfire, she can feel the guilt as heat from t..."

First off, Liesel is a girl, so 'her' ** would be the appropriate pronoun, but your well versed post makes up for it :). For my actual point, I feel that personification is not as prevalent to the reader, but is a very important aspect to the book. As you cite from the first bonfire, Liesel felt guilt in a physical essence, emitted as heat from the actual book. As I also touched upon this in thread 3, Death's use of personification is just one of many literary elements used throughout the novel. Now, to reply to that question, of why we think Death chooses to use the death of a human as an eclipse... In a literal sense - and this may be going off on a ridiculous tangent - the definition of eclipse is a "reduction or loss of splendor, status, reputation" and death is perceived as the loss of life, or status in society. But to answer the question, in our everyday life, whether lunar or solar eclipse, it almost seems as if everything comes to a stop, and that is all that's left (ooh I feel like I'm writing a novel). In that same respect, Death is describing the alarming halt as a beautiful act of nature, one which is unique in its own sense. I probably didn't answer your question at all, but that is the deeper meaning to the eclipse that I see.

Patrick wrote: "This is kind of a short example (but at least I finally posted) Anyway symbolic language is used when Rosa said to Hans, "you smell like cigarettes and kerosene". Cigarettes and kerosene represents..."

To add to that, the example with the cigarettes is on page 33, when Hans is teaching Liesel to roll a cigarette, the first initial bond created. This seems to me why she has favored Hans a little more, however her relationship with Rosa has grown into something more positive, even though Rosa can be snippy. But indeed, you are what you cite.

Mckaela wrote: "I think that the title of the novel "Book Thief" and the name that death refers Liesel as is extremely symbolic. Why does death refer to her as a thief? When Lisel begins to really take on her name..."

To build off of what Mckaela said, I think that starting out in the novel, "The Book Thief" seemed a bit harsh, as Liesel was just a curious girl interested in a book in the snow. However as the novel progresses, I feel this more displays symbolism in respect to the Nazis. The Nazis are stealing books and burning them as a part of their methods of eugenics, and while Liesel is stealing them from the Nazis, she is still a victim of thievery. Also on page 119, Death says, "It sucked her toward it and she began to make her way around." This is referring to the the mountain of ash from the book burning. The personification of the ash can also relate to what Mckaela said about the "magnet", that not just the fire is a luring entity, but so is the ash left over. In turn, Liesel found three books, as well as "half a red flag, two posters advertising a Jewish poet, and a wooden sign with something written on it in Hebrew." I might be looking too deep into the personification of the fire and ash, but I definitely believe there is some correlation there.

Responding to Julianna's post, I do not believe that Death is the victim, but rather war is the victim (in this scenario). Yes, death is unavoidable, and it is inevitable for all people. However, Death is not at fault or to blame, it is merely the taker of those lives. The human is the victim of war, and war is the killer, placing this in an investigative analogy. Death, however, can be seen as almost an allegorical entity in the book, serving as a symbol for sadness and rebirth.

In response to Erica's question, I also believe that the white was the symbol for the coldness of death. But in the next paragraph, Death says, "Footprints you ask? Well, I wonder whose those could be." I thought these were the footprints of Death, but I wanted someone else's opinion on it??

Color imagery seems to me like the perfect analogy between Death and reality. For example, on page 14, Death uses colors red, white, and black to represent the Nazi symbol found on the recollected body. Pages 14 and 15, though, seem to me to be the perfect segue to the story, while creating an ominous thought as to who the narrator is. As it is not clearly stated, we can draw a possible conclusion that it is an overbearing presence, and we see its humanlike qualities deplete as the story goes on and the theme develops, which is the true contrast between death and reality