c+themes


 * Death, dying** – Throughout the novel, the discussion of dying comes to the forefront. This is a very apparent theme because the narrator is Death (who even experiences difficulties with the sheer amount of brutality). [|World War II] is also in the background, which denotes that death is all around Liesel. The source of all of Liesel's and Max's nightmares are the deaths of their family members.
 * Literature** – Liesel learns the value of having a voice and knowing how to read from the beginning of the book. She also realizes that words are what hold the country under the power of Hitler and Nazi party. The theme is recurring: Hans teaches her to read at night, the mayor's wife allows her into the library and Max gives her two stories. As well as being the source of her strife, literature also becomes Liesel's escape from her bleak life.
 * Guilt** - A lot of the story contains the central theme of guilt. When Max stays with the Hubermanns he is constantly asking for forgiveness for putting them through many trials with Nazis and other situations. Another prime example is when Alex Steiner returns home in the end and realizes that his whole family has perished. He feels guilty for not letting Rudy go to the Nazi school which eventualy got his son killed instead of him, to which he expressed he would rather have died in his son's place.
 * Friendship** – Much of the plot revolves around the friendship between Liesel and Rudy. Hans' loyalty to Max's father leads to hiding Max in the basement, which creates the deep bond between Liesel and Max.
 * Man vs. Society** – The conflict in the novel //The Book Thief// is man vs. society. The novel's events are set against the background of the Jewish Holocaust and the greater events of World War II. Hans, one of the main characters, is morally opposed to the actions of Hitler and the Nazi party, although he knows that he cannot oppose it outright at the risk of being sent to a concentration camp along with his wife Rosa and foster daughter Liesel. However, Hans does challenge the Nazi regime, but chooses to do so through quiet means such as painting over anti-Semitic slurs which have been written on Jewish shopfronts. At one point he even goes so far as to shelter and hide a Jewish man who is trying to escape the concentration camps. At the same time, Hans is aware of the judgment he receives from the "party members" in his neighborhood, as they all know that he is not sympathetic to Hitler's cause, which he is obligated to be as a German citizen.
 * The Beauty and Brutality of Humanity** – The brutality of humans is primarily a product of the setting in Nazi Germany. The horrors of war are shown to the reader through the treatment of Jews and scenes such as the dying pilot. In this scene Rudy places a teddy bear on the man's chest which is an example of the beauty of humanity. These acts of kindness re-appear throughout the novel to show both sides of the human nature.