essay about death in the book thief

Death in The Book Thief Essay Example

Writing Death as the narrator allows the audience to gain a unique perspective on people as well as their capacity for beauty and cruelty. During a time of war, a personified version of death helps emphasize the dark side of human nature, which simultaneously highlights the good. The notion that love is meaningless without hate is especially applicable in a story taking place in the center of such devastating events.  

Death observes how cruel people can be, and their willingness to cause trauma and hardships towards others. Though people often think Death is a symbol of maliciousness, the narrator brings the audience to the realization that it's humans who are truly evil. “It probably had more to do with the hurled bombs thrown down by humans hiding in the clouds (Zusak 13).” Taking place during a time of intense violence, this story gives countless examples of how dark humanity can easily be. However, the intensity of the evilness within humanity, allows the good to be amplified. Death has observed the main character experience of both sides of human nature throughout the story. Death explains, “I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn’t already know (Zusak 550)?” Liesel meminger has been on the receiving end of both love and tragic loss, which makes her story so interesting to the narrator. 

Through all of the mayhem caused by humans and their lack of humanity, Death invests in the stories of insignificant seeming people. Those that aren’t fighting wars, or dropping bombs, but simply trying to survive the chaos around them. “Which in turn brings me to the subject I am telling you about tonight or today, or whatever hour and color. It’s the story of those perpetual survivors-an expert at being left behind (Zusak 5).” Death explains that he has seen the most catastrophic disasters, and wants to cherish the moments in between. With an eternity of torment, Death finds comfort in the stories of ordinary people. Death explains to the audience, “Yes, I have seen a great many things in this world. I attend the greatest disasters and work for the greatest villains. But then there are moments. There’s a multitude of stories (a mere handful as I have previously suggested) that I allow to distract me as I work, just as the colors do (Zusak 549).” The importance of simplicity is important to Death, who is experiencing an eternal existence of chaos. 

Regardless of the madness people will inevitably cause, Death explains his envy of them. Death is constantly finding humans in their righteousness and in their wickedness. However, one thing all of humankind has in common is death itself. Death narrates, “I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race-that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant. (Zusak 550).” The unending burden Death carries makes him desire human mortality. Death says, “Still, they have one thing I envy. humans, if nothing else, have the good sense to die (Zusak 491).” Death is immune to expiration, which is what Death desires most. 

The uniqueness of Death’s role in the story allows the audience to observe mankind’s compass of both good and evil. Death passes his time by entering the world of ordinary lives, living through extraordinary circumstances. From the beginning of the story, Liesel Meminger faced obstacles that led Death to invest in her story. Death uses Liesel’s story as a distraction from the existence of unceasing mayhem.

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The Book Thief

Markus zusak, everything you need for every book you read..

Death in The Book Thief Essay Example

Death? Who or what is Death? Death, as we know it in the real world, marks the end of a person’s life, yet as presented in the novel, Death isn’t all that horrific. The novel, ‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak, is a story narrated by an omniscient figure, Death. Who watches over Liesel and tells us her tale. He describes her as a little girl growing up in Germany during World War Two. She collects books, teaches herself to read, and finds solace in words. During the war, she befriended Max, a Jew, who was being sheltered by her family since they didn't want him to be persecuted. In the end, Max and Liesel are the only main characters who escape the war. Death plays an essential role in this novel because we perceive the world through the eyes of Death, providing the readers, with a new and distinct viewpoint on 'death.' In the novel, Death is presented as a human individual and is capable of experiencing grief, sympathy, and expressing humour. Death, as a narrator, demonstrates that he does not always have to be terrifying, but can also be nice.

Death's personality demonstrates that Death, too, has a heart. Death has so much compassion and affection for Liesel since he has been watching over her for a long time. Shortly after Liesel's brother dies, Death intervenes and says, "I wanted to say: "I'm sorry, child," and he truly meant it. "But that is not allowed." (Zusak 13). Death’s grief is emphasized in these lines, as he sincerely cares about Liesel and is devastated by her circumstance, but has no choice as his presence cannot be discovered. As a part of his job he is merely a bystander, and no matter how much he wishes to, he is unable to act. As a result, despite his affection for them, he is not obliged to show his feelings and comfort Liesel. He must only observe from the sidelines, and watch as tragedy is struck for those around him. Most people regard death as a sombre and even frightening figure. But for Death to offer love and compassion to a regular person reveals a lot about his nature and demonstrates that he truly does care. Death has a great deal of sympathy for humans and people who are dying throughout the novel. He despises his job and does not want to see anyone die, so he goes on to say, “Please believe me when I tell you that I picked up each soul that day as if it were newly born. I even kissed a few weary, poisoned cheeks….I took them all away, and if ever there was a time I needed distraction, this was it. In complete desolation, I looked at the world above.” (Zusak 350) This demonstrates Death's sympathy for all the victims he takes away since he is troubled by the sight of their lifeless corpses and feels the urge to console and soothe each soul he collects, carefully resting them in his arms. Not only was Death torn about his job, but he also suffered from remorse and humiliation over his life's purpose. To add to Death’s personality, it is revealed that Death also has a quite dark sense of humour, which he expresses in this statement, “Mystery bores me. It chores me. I know what happens and so do you. It’s the machinations that wheel us there that aggravate, perplex, interest, and astound me” (Zusak 243). This phrase expresses humour because Death teaches us that when we think about our own deaths, we may laugh about it or make each day of our lives significant since we never know when it will be our last. This is demonstrated when Death reveals when certain characters die, since the characters' deaths are not as significant as how they spend their lives. Death also discloses when characters die before describing how they die, implying that we must know the endpoint before embarking on a trip, but it is the journey that is important. To live a meaningful life, goals must be set, and how those goals are accomplished is more important than whether or not they are met. Death does have a sense of humour and utilizes it brilliantly, but he also delivers powerful messages. Ultimately, Death's personality demonstrates that the way Death is pursued in the real world demonstrates that Death isn't what most people think of him to be, that he isn't someone to fear, but rather someone to admire.

Death is portrayed as a person, capable of feeling grief, sympathy, and expressing humour. As a narrator, Death proves that he does not always have to be frightening, but can also be nice. Death instills that, death, is more than simply the end of someone's life; it may also be the beginning of a new existence, the afterlife. Overall, Death has completely shifted the reader's perspective of ‘death’ throughout the novel.

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Themes and Analysis

The book thief, by markus zusak.

‘The Book Thief’ is a historical novel based on the events of the Holocaust and Second World War and the suffering and death experienced by people.

About the Book

Article written by Juliet Ugo

Former Lecturer. Author of multiple books. Degree from University Of Nigeria, Nsukka.

When analyzing The Book Thief , there are several themes one needs to look at. The majority are themes of the power of words, kindness, and cruelty of humans, reading and writing, the duality of the Nazi era, mortality, and love.

The Book Thief Themes

The power of words.

In The Book Thief , we see that words and, in extension, stories are among the most powerful ways people connect. So many examples show how the words connect people up throughout the story. Through learning the alphabet and how to use it to make words, Liesel and Hans Hubermann began developing their deep bond. Liesel’s descriptions of the weather to Max later in the novel also help establish a bond between them. 

In the book, the greatest gift Max gives Liesel is words in the form of the ‘The Word Shaker,’ the story he writes for her. In the story he wrote, he suggests that words are the most powerful force there is. He said that Adolf Hitler uses just words and not guns or money or some other instrument to take over the world.

The story shows how Liesel has used words to create a refuge for herself amid Nazism and later uses words to calm her neighbors during the air raids by reading from her book. Again, the power of words is seen in the book she left behind, giving her a connection to Death as we saw at the end of the story.

The Kindness and Cruelty of Humans

We see the various degrees of human cruelty and kindness in the novel, from the slight to the most extreme examples.

One of the small acts of kindness we see in the novel includes hiding and caring for Max by the Hubermanns even at great risk to themselves, Rudy giving the teddy bear to the dying pilot, Ilsa Hermann inviting Liesel into her library. Liesel is specially kind to Max, and the two share a strong bond. Because of the political context of the time, with hatred and violence against Jews being rampant, Max finds Liesel’s kindness to be extraordinary. On the contrary, we also see acts of cruelty, like the treatment of Rudy by Viktor Chemmel and Franz Deutscher. Again, the concentration camps linger unseen in the book’s background as the most extreme example of cruelty.

There was a scene that showed both kindness and cruelty at once. There, Hans Hubermann tries to help a weak Jew suffering hunger and deprivation, being marched through town on the way to Dachau. Hans reaches out to him and gives him a piece of bread, a small act of great kindness. Immediately though, one of the Nazi soldiers mercilessly whips Hans and the Jewish man, a great act of cruelty heightened by the fact that it comes in response to Hans’s kindness.

We can not analyze the themes in The Book Thief without talking of mortality as Death is the book’s narrator. The book shows us that mortality is very present in the lives of each character as Death introduces the book to the reader. All through the novel, the deaths of the main characters reaffirm the presence of mortality. Since The Book Thief story takes place during World War II, Death and genocide are almost omnipresent.

Death is presented in a less distant and threatening manner as he narrates and explains the reasons behind each character’s destruction. Again, Death expatiates how he feels that he must take each character’s life, so there is a sense of care instead of fear. At a point Death states, ‘even Death has a heart.’

Reading and Writing

We see language, writing, and reading presented as symbols of expression and freedom all through the novel. Reading and writing provide identity and personal liberation to those characters who have them and provide a framework for Liesel’s coming of age. At the start of the story, shortly after her brother’s funeral, Liesel finds a book in the snow, but she cannot read. Learning under her foster father Hans, she slowly learns to read and write. By the time the novel comes to an end, her character arc has been shaped by her progress in reading, writing and learning a language. 

Writing and reading skills also serve as social markers since wealthy citizens are literate, owning books and even their libraries. On the other hand, the poor and illiterate do not own books or libraries. Rosa Huberman’s harsh and, at times, scathing remarks towards her family and others are an example of the despairing lives of the poorer classes. In contrast, Liesel’s repeated rescues of books from Nazi bonfires show her reclaiming freedom and also refusal to accept being controlled by the all-pervasive state.

The Dualities of Nazi-era Germany

We notice that the characters often have two sides or faces starting from the time Rudy paints himself black in imitation of Jesse Owens.

Superficially, Rudy looks like an ideal Aryan, such that the Nazis try to recruit him into a special training center. However, deep inside him, he is similar to an African-American, which directly contradicts Nazi ideology. Max also does something similar when he travels from Stuttgart to Molching when he pretends to be a non-Jewish or gentile German, calmly reading MKPF, while on the inside, he is a terrified Jew who finds the book despicable. This clearly shows the theme of duality in the book.

The Hubermanns are part of the theme and started living double lives immediately after they started hiding Max.

To their neighbors and friends, they pretend to be law-abiding citizens to their friends and neighbors; they harbor their dangerous secret inside. Hans teaches Liesel about this double face after he slaps her for saying she hates Hitler in public. He told her that she can hate inside the house but once they are outside, she must behave in a certain way. In fact, duality is a theme of life in general for Liesel and Rudy as they both spend a lot of time engaged in typical teenage activities like playing soccer in the street. However, these moments are broken up with events like the parade of Jews through town or the bombings that threaten and ultimately destroy Himmel Street. 

In spite of the fact that war, Death, and loss caused a lot of damage to Liesel and the others, love is seen as an agent of change and freedom. This is because love is the only way of forming a family where real freedom exists. Liesel got the best of her traumas by learning to love and be loved by her foster family and her friends. At the start of the novel, Liesel is traumatized by the Death of her brother and her separation from her only family and the larger issues of war-torn Germany and the destruction wrought by the Nazi party. 

Liesel’s relationship with her foster father Hans helps create healing and growth reflected in the relational dynamic between the Hubermann family and Max. The Hubermanns’ association with Max defies the Nazi regime in a society governed by policies that presume to judge who is really human. Furthermore, the love that Max and Liesel develop through their friendship creates a strong contrast to the fascist hate in the story’s backdrop.

Analysis of Key Moments in Animal Farm

• When Liesel’s brother died. This event marked the start of the story, which led her to foster parents. It also started Liesel’s stealing of books when she picks up The Grave Digger’s Handbook at the site of her brother’s burial.
• Arrival on Himmel. This event sets the stage for the rest of the book as it marks Liesel coming to live with Hans and Rosa Hubermann after the loss of her family.
• Early school failure. Liesel didn’t succeed in school when she tried earlier and she became determined to learn how to read.
• Book burning day. The event of burning books on Hitler’s birthday helped Hans discover that Liesel is stealing books. 
• Arrival of Max Vandenburg on Himmel Street. This event changes the Hubermann’s lives when Max arrives on their doorstep in 1940. Hiding him put their lives in immense danger.
• Max writing The Standover Man for Liesel. This event helped to bring Max and Liesel together and they not only read words but also share them.
• Giving bread to the Jew. The event of Han giving bread to a weak Jew is significant because it leads to Max’s departure and Hans being sent away to fight in the war.
• Rudy idolizing a black man despite his perfect Aryan features. Rudy used the Jesse Owens event to exemplify the views of the main characters of the book.
• The Nazi recruiting Rudy. The Nazis noticed Rudy’s physical and mental capacities and therefore recruited him to go to school to become the perfect German. His parents refuse, and Alex Steiner is sent to war.
• Bombing of Himmel Story. This is a major event in the book where Liesel’s street is bombed and she lost most of her friends and family.
• Death of Liesel. This marked the final major event in the book when death came to her soul. 

Style, Tone, and Figurative Language

The style and language of The Book Thief is simple because it was primarily meant for young adults. He used a lot of foreshadowing to give the reader a sense of what is coming up in the story.

In the book, the narrator of the story, Death, uses foreshadowing in many different events to keep the reader focused on how the characters meet their ends. In Death’s side notes, foreshadowing is constantly scattered throughout the book in boldface text. A good example is when Death alludes to the death of Rudy, who is Liesel’s best friend. …He didn’t deserve to die the way he did.” 

The tone of The Book Thief is serious most of the time and mocking or hopeful the rest of the times. When you have death talking about humans in the time of war, the tone will be serious and somber. Death spends a lot of time mocking, or making fun of, humans. For instance, when Death talks about humans and destruction in the quote above, he is making fun of how people like to see things get destroyed.

In the book, we see so many figurative languages used in The Book Thief . These are vivid and stimulating word choices that author’s use to add color and meaning to their work. In the book we have many of the likes of simile, metaphor, contrast, hyperbole, personification, etc. Even the narrator, death, is personified. Here are examples of other figurative languages used in the book. 

She would wake up swimming in her bed, screaming, and drowning in the flood of sheets.

This quote from The Book Thief shows metaphor as the figurative language when death was describing the nightmare Liesel was having.

She did have it easy compared to Max Vandenberg. Certainly, her brother practically died in her arms. Her mother abandoned her. But anything was better than being a Jew.

Here, the figurative language is contrast as death is trying to tell the readers that any hardship is better than being a jew.

Within seconds, snow was carved into her skin.

The figurative language used is hyperbole. Sure, snow was all over her body but it was extreme exaggeration to say it carved into her skin.

Analysis of Symbols

The Book Thief uses symbols extensively because it is not just a story about a little girl. It is an important historical novel that delved into the suffering of people who lived in Germany during World War II. The story has a lot of lessons especially in mortality, kindness and love and the symbols embody all these.

Giving bread anywhere is a sign of care and comfort. Once you give bread to somebody, you have shown absolute compassion for that person. You have also comforted the person and probably solved his hunger issues. It is a symbol of empathy in the story and it was clearly demonstrated by Max when he offered bread to the weak Jew as they were marching to the gas chamber.

The accordion in the novel was inherited by Hans Hubermann from Max’s father during World War I and it became part of Han’s identity. He played regularly to those around him to give them comfort. He plays it during trying times to give comfort and care to those who hear it. Example is when Liesel realises that her mother is not coming back again and when she first came to their house.

Books were a source of comfort to Liesel and later Max. It is another major symbol in The Book Thief and it was the source of Liesel’s transformation from a weak girl to an empowered young woman. She developed a great relationship over books when she learned how to read and write and thus got the power she needed from the books. This power helped her to develop a strong character, mature emotionally and became kinder and more understanding to those around her.

What is the main theme of The Book Thief ?

The Book Thief has many themes and they include love and kindness as expressed by Liesel and her foster family; literacy and power, as seen when Liesel learns to read and explore the world of words, cruelty and suffering as experienced by the Jews in the hands of the Nazis.

What is an example of a theme?

In most literature work, we have themes that the author uses to pass his message across. Some of the common themes that run through them are love, mortality, war, peace, revenge, grace, betrayal, fatherhood, patriotism, life, isolation, cruelty, motherhood, forgiveness, treachery, wartime loss, rich versus poor, and appearance versus reality.

Is survival a theme in The Book Thief ?

There are many themes in The Book Thief like love, mortality, kindness, etc. One of the themes you will find in the book is the theme of survival. Most of the major characters in the book namely Liesel, Max, Rudy, the Hubermanns, passed through many awful ordeals but they still survived. 

How do you identify a theme?

A theme is the idea the writer wishes to convey about an event, subject, or person. It is from the theme that you learn about the author’s view of the world. To identify the theme, you have to be sure that you have first identified the plot of the story, the way the story characterization, and the primary conflict in the story.

What are the steps in analyzing a theme?

Generally, here are the ways in which you can begin to analyze the theme of any literature you read. First, you look for recurring images in the story or poem, then ask questions about the author’s message. Through your answers, you’ll be able to identify the different tools the author uses to express the theme

About Juliet Ugo

Juliet Ugo is an experienced content writer and a literature expert with a passion for the written word with over a decade of experience. She is particularly interested in analyzing books, and her insightful interpretations of various genres have made her a well-known authority in the field.

Cite This Page

Ugo, Juliet " The Book Thief Themes and Analysis 📖 " Book Analysis , https://bookanalysis.com/markus-zusak/the-book-thief/themes-analysis/ . Accessed 9 April 2024.

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The Book Thief

By markus zusak, the book thief essay questions.

Consider Zusak's use of foreshadowing. By revealing how characters die early on, or the outcomes to certain events, does Zusak make the novel less suspenseful or more?

A proper response should cite specific examples of foreshadowing and make some explanation of why the technique is used. This could be Death's rationale: "It's the machinations that wheel us there that aggravate, perplex, interest, and astound me" (243). An essay arguing that the novel is more suspenseful because of foreshadowing should involve Death's selective and incomplete revelation of facts and should compare instances of foreshadowing with the actual descriptions of the events being foreshadowed.

Why do Max and Liesel become friends? What do they have in common?

Initially Max and Liesel are apprehensive around each other, but they discover that they have something important in common: both have recurring nightmares involving the last time they saw their families alive. Both are political refugees evading Nazi persecution: Max is a Jew, Liesel's parents were Communists. Their similar backgrounds make Max's initial gift of The Standover Man important, as Max ultimately helps Liesel realize the power of words to delight and to harm others.

Hans manages to survive two World Wars, seemingly by luck. Is Hans merely a fortunate man, or does he have other qualities that help him survive?

The argument that Hans is indeed lucky should be bolstered by references to other instances of luck or fate saving characters' lives: that the Nazis fail to find Max when inspecting the Hubermanns' basement, that Hans does not formally withdraw his application to join the Nazi Party and is thus spared from being sent to a concentration camp. One quality that helps Hans is his amiability. His friend Erik Vandenberg saves him in World War I, while his willingness to give up his seat to an antagonistic young soldier saves him again in World War II.

Evaluate the pros and cons of Hans giving bread to an elderly Jew condemned to a concentration camp. Were the consequences worth the benefits?

Hans' action results in him and the frail, moribund Jew being whipped. Max is forced to leave because Hans' basement is no longer safe for him, and Hans is ultimately conscripted into a physically dangerous position in the military. Yet Hans' public compassion towards the Jew gives the man the feeling of humanity in a nation that has dehumanized him. Hans also sets an example for other German citizens in the crowd, some of whom help him after he is attacked.

Why does Rudy seem to love Liesel immediately after they meet, and why does Liesel not recognize that she loves him until years after?

Rudy is introduced as "one of those audacious little bastards who actually fancied himself with the ladies," and he is an impetuous character. He has a strong sense of justice and compassion, and early on he decides to take care of Liesel, an anxious new girl. Liesel is initially annoyed by Rudy's requests for a kiss, but her feelings towards him begin to change after Rudy gallantly retrieves Liesel's book from the icy cold river. Liesel's fixation on Rudy's physical exam is a rare moment of eroticization in the novel, one which might coincide with Liesel reaching puberty. Two important scenes where Liesel becomes nervous and desirous of Rudy: when Liesel gives Rudy a navy blue suit from his father's store, and when Liesel tells Rudy about Max.

When Liesel reads aloud to the others in the bomb shelter for the first time, a voice inside her says, "This is your accordion." What does that mean?

Hans' puts his soul into his accordion playing, and the music he produces is joyful. Through reading, Liesel is also able to bring comfort to others. More importantly, Liesel learns towards the end of the novel the capacity for words to cause both pain and happiness. This scene is part of Liesel's realization that she, like Max, can soothe others through words of friendship.

The mayor's wife Ilsa Hermann strives to help and encourage Liesel throughout the novel, even after Liesel verbally abuses her. Why does Ilsa seem to take such a liking to Liesel?

Although Ilsa may not actually realize it at first, both she and Liesel have experienced great losses in their lives: i.e., Ilsa's son, and Liesel's brother. Ilsa is an educated woman with her own library, and she might see a part of herself in Liesel's precocity and love of reading. Ilsa has been tormented by her son's death for over two decades, and she urges Liesel at the end of the novel not to let sorrow consume her life.

Compare and contrast the two stories Max writes for Liesel, "The Standover Man" and "The Word Shaker." Why does Max only want Liesel to have the latter "when she's ready?"

Both stories reference Max's persecution and his friendship with Liesel. "The Standover Man" is a more heavily illustrated story that Max gives to Liesel as Liesel is still just starting to read. The story is an early affirmation of their friendship. By contrast, "The Word Shaker" contains more text, and the political message is more serious and explicit. Max thinks Liesel might be too old for the allegory, but nevertheless does not want to frighten her with his caustic depiction of Hitler hypnotizing her entire country.

What is the significance of Hitler's book Mein Kampf within the novel? How do different characters use it?

Liesel realizes that Mein Kampf and Hitler's propaganda are the source of her misery: the reason for her parents' deaths, the reason for the war, and the reason Max is sent to a concentration camp. Max has a more ironic view, dryly telling Liesel that it "saved his life," as Hans used the book to help Max reach Molching. Max later whitewashes the pages of the book and uses them to write stories for Liesel.

Why does Death tell Liesel that it is "haunted" by humans?

Death has witnessed humans commit both acts of great cruelty and acts of great compassion. Death is unable to judge humanity because it cannot understand how humans are capable of both. Death considers the fate of survivors to be more tragic than the fate of the dead, perhaps because of Death's obvious familiarity with dying and blase attitude towards it. It can be argued that Death itself represents just one extreme between life and death, and is thus unable to comprehend the human condition of the living.

The Book Thief Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Book Thief is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What Death mean when he says “one wild card was yet to be played.” And what is the wild card???

Death means that If anyone finds out a Jew is at Liesel's house, her parents could get taken away.Wild Card in this context means: a person or thing whose influence is unpredictable or whose qualities are uncertain.

What idea does Hans have after he discovers Liesel’a new book? Why do you think he does this?

When Hans discovers that Liesel doesn't know how to read, he begins teaching her the alphabet, and together they make their way through the book Liesel stole from the gravedigger.

What is Leisel's age?

In the beginning of the story Liesel is nine-year-old. By the time the story concludes, she is an old woman.

Study Guide for The Book Thief

The Book Thief study guide contains a biography of Markus Zusak, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Book Thief
• The Book Thief Summary
• Character List

Essays for The Book Thief

The Book Thief essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

• Liesel's Emotional Journey Through the Book Thief
• Zusak's Death Breaks the Mould
• Guilt in The Book Thief
• The Toil of Good and Evil: Multi-Faceted Kindness in The Book Thief
• Stealing the Narrative: The Irony of Reading in The Book Thief

Lesson Plan for The Book Thief

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Book Thief
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Book Thief Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for The Book Thief

• Introduction
• Recognition

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Peter Higgs, who proposed the existence of the so-called 'God particle,' has died

The Associated Press

The University of Edinburgh says Nobel prize-winning physicist Peter Higgs, who proposed the existence of the Higgs boson particle, has died at 94. Sean Dempsey/AP hide caption

The University of Edinburgh says Nobel prize-winning physicist Peter Higgs, who proposed the existence of the Higgs boson particle, has died at 94.

LONDON — Nobel prize-winning physicist Peter Higgs, who proposed the existence of the so-called "God particle" that helped explain how matter formed after the Big Bang, has died at age 94, the University of Edinburgh said Tuesday.

The university, where Higgs was emeritus professor, said he died Monday "peacefully at home following a short illness."

Higgs predicted the existence of a new particle — the so-called Higgs boson — in 1964. But it would be almost 50 years before the particle's existence could be confirmed at the Large Hadron Collider.

Higgs' theory related to how subatomic particles that are the building blocks of matter get their mass. This theoretical understanding is a central part of the so-called Standard Model, which describes the physics of how the world is constructed.

The Large Hadron Collider will embark on a third run to uncover more cosmic secrets

Edinburgh University said his groundbreaking 1964 paper demonstrated how "elemental particles achieved mass through the existence of a new sub-atomic particle″ which became known as the Higgs boson.

In 2012, in one of the biggest breakthroughs in physics in decades, scientists at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, announced that they had finally found a Higgs boson using the $10 billion particle collider built in a 17-mile (27-kilometer) tunnel under the Swiss-French border.

Higgs won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work, alongside Francois Englert of Belgium, who independently came up with the same theory.

Edinburgh University Vice Chancellor Peter Mathieson said Higgs, who was born in Newcastle, was "a remarkable individual – a truly gifted scientist whose vision and imagination have enriched our knowledge of the world that surrounds us."

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

At cern, hunting for invisible worlds.

"His pioneering work has motivated thousands of scientists, and his legacy will continue to inspire many more for generations to come."

Higgs' work helps solve one of the most fundamental riddles of the universe: how the Big Bang created something out of nothing 13.7 billion years ago.

Finding corroboration wasn't easy. It took more than two decades, thousands of scientists and mountains of data from trillions of colliding protons.

And it needed the world's biggest atom smasher CERN's Large Hadron Collider to produce the extreme surge of energies simulating those 1 trillionth to 2 trillionths of a second after the Big Bang.

The Two-Way

Weasel apparently shuts down world's most powerful particle collider.

One highlight of Higgs' illustrious career came during the 2013 presentation at CERN in Geneva where scientists presented in complex terms — unfathomable to most laypeople and based on statistical analysis — that the boson has been confirmed. He broke into tears, wiping down his glasses in the stands of the lecture hall.

Born in Newcastle, northeast England on May 29, 1929, Higgs studied at King's College, University of London, and was awarded a PhD in 1954. He spent much of his career at Edinburgh, becoming the Personal Chair of Theoretical Physics at the Scottish university in 1980. He retired in 1996.

Higgs received honorary degrees from more than a dozen universities, including Edinburgh (1998), Swansea (2008) Cambridge (2012), St Andrews and Manchester (2013).

In 2013 he was appointed a Companion of Honor by Queen Elizabeth II.

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Comic Book Artist Dies By Suicide, Blames Online Bullying in Final Letter

Comic book illustrator and author Ed Piskor has reportedly died after being accused of sexual misconduct and grooming by two women.

The death of comic book artist Ed Piskor is being mourned online, albeit under complicated circumstances.

Piskor, who was the illustrator and author of the comic book series Hip Hop Family Tree , as well as an artist for Marvel 's X-Men: Grand Design , reportedly died by suicide last week. The 41-year-old was accused of sexual misconduct by two women, including comic artist Molly Dwyer, 21, who claimed that Piskor began sending her private messages when she was 17. The second woman, Molly Wright, alleged that Piskor propositioned oral sex from her in exchange for his agent's phone number.

Piskor vehemently denied the allegations in a final letter shared to Facebook, where he mentioned both women, writing that he "should never have talked" to Dwyer.

"The whole pile of my dms she collected to show is just awful to look at. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to offer professional favors to anybody or use my “position” (what a joke) to get into anyone’s pants," he wrote.

Piskor then asked that Wright be "held accountable." He alleged that the two "had sex twice and she initiated both times," and claimed that after ending the relationship, Wright turned into a "petty woman scorned."

"Reputation destruction is her form of aggression and there were very real consequences. My lawyer is Harris Miller. Is it possible to subpoena all texts and dms I had with her?" he wrote.

The letter came after an exhibition of Piskor's work was suspended from 707 Penn Gallery, originally slated to begin on April 6, in addition to Piskor losing a $75,000 deal.

"I have no friends in this life any longer. I’m a disappointment to everybody who liked me. I’m a pariah," he wrote. "News organizations at my door and hassling my elderly parents. It’s too much. Putting our addresses on tv and the internet. How could I ever go back to my small town where everyone knows me?"

View this video on YouTube

"I was murdered by Internet bullies," he concluded. "Massive amounts of them. Some of you out there absolutely contributed to my death as you were entertaining yourself with gossip. I wasn’t AI. I was a real human being. You chipped little bits of my self esteem away all week until I was vaporized. Maybe I’ll be able to haunt you dorks as a ghost. I come from Gypsy heritage and I’m definitely cursing a lot of you."

Piskor's sister confirmed his death on Facebook, and a Pittsburgh funeral home shared his obiturary .

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — The Book Thief — A Review Of ‘The Book Thief’ By Markus Zusak

A Review of 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak

• Categories: Book Review The Book Thief

About this sample

Words: 649 |

Published: Feb 8, 2022

Words: 649 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Works Cited:

• Bieger, T., Wittmer, A., & Wittmer, D. (2015). The economics of tourism destinations. Springer.
• Chen, X., & Petrick, J. F. (2013). Health and wellness tourism: A state-of-the-art review. Tourism Review, 68(1), 3-18.
• Cohen, E. (2013). Authenticity, authenticity, authenticity!’’: Tourism and the quest for authenticity. Current Issues in Tourism, 16(3), 195-202.
• Hall, C. M. (2013). Tourism and regional development: New pathways. Routledge.
• Hall, C. M., & Williams, A. M. (2019). Tourism and innovation. Routledge.
• Holden, A. (2017). Tourism studies and the social sciences. Routledge.
• Lawton, L. J., Weaver, D. B., & McCleary, K. W. (2014). Sustainable tourism: A global perspective. Routledge.
• Medlik, S. (2013). Dictionary of travel, tourism, and hospitality. Routledge.
• Mowforth, M., & Munt, I. (2015). Tourism and sustainability : Development, globalisation and new tourism in the third world. Routledge.
• Pforr, C., & Hosie, P. (2015). Tourism and water: Interactions, impacts and challenges. Channel View Publications.

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Mango. Gun. Handcuffs. Could a Story Get Any More Floridian?

Annabelle Tometich’s “The Mango Tree” provides an unvarnished look at her mother, who shot a BB gun at the truck of a purported fruit thief.

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THE MANGO TREE: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony, by Annabelle Tometich

When her 64-year-old mother was arrested in 2015 for shooting a BB gun at the truck of someone who she believed had stolen fruit from her Florida property’s mango tree, one of Annabelle Tometich’s colleagues called to check in.

Because Tometich worked at The News-Press, a daily newspaper in her hometown, Fort Myers, this colleague had more than her well-being on his mind. “You have to write something, huh?” she asked, pausing to take the call outside the courthouse where her mother, Josefina, had just appeared. But Tometich knew the answer: A story is a story, and this one had a Floridian ripeness no local reporter could deny.

A writer’s loyalties, Tometich also understood, exist in tension with a hunger for story — which is to say, her need for coherence, a means of control. Tometich’s nonfiction debut, “The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony,” bears out this tension. In reclaiming Josefina from the mug shot and clickbait headlines that followed her arrest, the author opens the door to something even more lasting, and possibly more severe: a daughter’s unflinching gaze.

For the better part of “The Mango Tree,” that gaze belongs to Tometich as a shy, recessive child, a girl whose longing for “normality” — a consuming wish to belong — is spawned by her eccentric, tumultuous family, but comes to extend well beyond it.

In large measure this wish is a product of Tometich’s biracial identity: Josefina, who left her family in the Philippines to work as a nurse in the United States, married a privileged, white American man.

Though both sought to escape their families of origin, they were bound to them in opposite ways: “Dad lived off his parents most of his life,” Tometich observes. “Mom supported hers until the days they died.”

The early chapters are haunted by the presence of Josefina’s mother-in-law, Josephine, a sickly and increasingly horrid woman who refers to Josefina as, among other slurs, “that Mongoloid.”

Using the present tense to convey her preteen and adolescent perspectives, Tometich adopts a tone of tart remove, a mix of knowing and wide-eyed intrigue. This is a narrator who notices that although her mother is strong and capable while Josephine is frail and weak, “Gramma is white” — and whiteness entails a greater proximity to power, if not the thing itself.

Keeping us close to the child’s-eye view of her formidable mother and the tragedies that befall their family — including her father’s sudden, mysterious death when Tometich was 9 — yields moments of unexpected humor and stinging truth.

She writes scene and dialogue with the metronomic precision of a seasoned broadsheet reporter, her ledes and kickers often bearing a sly, precocious slant. “Tito Gary’s funeral falls somewhere between Dad’s and Gramma’s in terms of attendance,” she begins one chapter, following her uncle’s suicide in their home. To the 10-year-old narrator, this latest death makes even less sense than the others: “Why would anyone want to leave America? We’ve got liberty and justice for all.”

Later, when Josefina takes her children on their first trip to Manila, Tometich’s initial alienation from her extended family — and their poverty — cedes to a creeping admiration for her mother, who appears poised and self-assured in her native element, able “to shame her siblings into doing her bidding with the mere tilt of her head.” Unlike her daughter, Josefina does appear to have “a place where she is normal. A home where she belongs.”

Occasionally, Tometich will slip out from behind her child’s perspective to let us know, for instance, what she believes now about the unresolved circumstances surrounding her father’s death. These moments are brief, and grow more conspicuous as the story progresses. Few scenes depict Josefina and her adult daughter together: We learn in a stroke that Tometich didn’t see her mother for the six months between the shooting, which shattered the rear window of the plaintiff’s truck, and Josefina’s sentencing hearing.

Increasingly strange in her habits and behaviors (at one point Tometich refers to her mother as “manic-depressive”), Josefina remains a staunch but elusive figure, remorseless about the felony charge for which she served five years of probation.

Tometich’s reclamation of the mother whose jailing she fantasized about as a child hinges on a dawning sense of her own internalized shame. “The justice system does not see her as a whole person, worthy of leniency and redemption,” Tometich writes, late in the book, of the harshness of Josefina’s punishment. “And up until this point, neither did I.”

The reader clamors for a sense of what has proceeded from that reckoning, a story as yet untold.

THE MANGO TREE : A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony | By Annabelle Tometich | Little, Brown | 320 pp. | $30

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