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Study Guide
Bibliography
Course Hero. "The Book Thief Study Guide." Course Hero. 23 June 2017. Web. 29 May 2023. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Book-Thief/>.
In text
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Bibliography
Course Hero. (2017, June 23). The Book Thief Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved May 29, 2023, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Book-Thief/
In text
(Course Hero, 2017)
Bibliography
Course Hero. "The Book Thief Study Guide." June 23, 2017. Accessed May 29, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Book-Thief/.
Footnote
Course Hero, "The Book Thief Study Guide," June 23, 2017, accessed May 29, 2023, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Book-Thief/.
Marcus Zusak
2005
Novel
Drama, Historical Fiction
The Book Thief is written from both first-person and third-person perspectives. The first-person narrator is Death, who frequently addresses readers directly. When telling the story of the book thief, Liesel, Death becomes the third-person narrator.
The Book Thief alternates between present tense and past tense. The narrator uses present tense to express his point of view and address readers and uses past tense to narrate events in the book thief's life.
Liesel Meminger, the main character, steals books, proudly earning the title "the book thief." However, there are other thieves of books in the text, as well. Rudy helps Liesel steal a book; Death steals Liesel's book; Max Vandenburg paints over the pages of Hitler's book; and even Hitler steals books by burning them. As Hitler tries to steal the words and pages of people's stories through his actions in Nazi Germany, it becomes imperative that the characters employ any means necessary to protect these stories.
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