Books of Great Power

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Introduction

Ray Bradbury once remarked, There are

worse crimes than burning books. One of
them is not reading them (Bradbury).
Bradburys concern with literature and
the power it possesses is poignantly
captured in Markus ZusaksThe Book
Thief.The destruction, as well as the
creation, of books within the novel
illustrates how text can be used as both
negative and positive influences on
society. Zusak demonstrates the immense
power of books through his vivid plot and
intricate characters, to show the deep
emotions that words express and evoke.

The Destruction of Books

Books can contain a lot, from peoples lives, to

their experiences, their stories, and even entire
cultures, by burning books you destroy all of this.
At the book burning on Hitlers birthday, the orator
remarked, [] we also stop our enemies once
again. We stop them reaching into our minds
(Zusak, 110). As civilians threw books into the fire,
they destroyed an important facet in which Jews
could fairly portray themselves, and have their lives
and views shared. By having these book burnings,
Hitler prevented their experiences from reaching
the people, Hitler got rid of Jews ability to
convince people of their humanity. Due to the
limited ability to reproduce print media at the
time, the original copies would often be all people
has. As soon as an original copy was burned, its
contents were gone forever, no matter what
memories, stories, or facts were within.

Mein Message

Maxs destruction ofMein Kampf, and subsequent

creation ofThe Standover Manwas symbolic of
his message of friendship being stronger than
Hitlers message of hate. Although there were
many copies ofMein Kampf, by destroying his
copy, Max was trying to erase and destroy Hitlers
message and the impact it had already had on his
life: There were the erased pages ofMein
Kampf, gagging, suffocating under the paint []
(237). Instead of just destroying, Max decided to
create, by painting over the pages ofMein
Kampf, and writing and illustrating his own book.
Maxs positive message, about his journey, and
budding friendship envelops Hitlers message,
making it part of his story, amplifying his
messages strength.

The Power of Words

The ability to form words and write books, gives
you the power to influence and manipulate people,
through their thoughts and beliefs. Hitler used
various forms of propaganda to influence people,
most importantly, his words: Yes, the Fhrer
decided that he would rule the world with words. I
will never fire a gun, he devised. I will not have
to. (445). Hitler did not need to threaten the
people of Germany, for them to accept his ideology,
he merely needed to use his words.The Word
Shakerdepicts Hitler, as he plants words throughout
Germany, creating a nation of farmed thoughts,
chosen by Hitler. This story illustrates how easy it
was for Hitler to manipulate his way into power,
through the powerful symbols and words he used
and spread throughout Germany.

Conclusion

Overall, the immeasurable power of books is an evidently

present idea within The Book Thief. Zusak uses his
complex characters and striking plot, to show the deep
emotions that words express and evoke. The book
burning highlights a loss of experiences and memories,
and how that can gradually hurt an entire culture. The
creation of The Standover Man, and the destruction of
Mein Kampf symbolizes the power Maxs message has
over Hitlers. Finally, Hitlers rise to power, as depicted in
The Word Shaker, illustrates how words and books in the
form of propaganda can be used to influence and
manipulate people. Books are more powerful than the
words they contain, they transcend them, reaching into
our mind, giving us the experience of the author or
characters within; you will never be able to measure the
exact power and impact a book can have on a life.

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Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Print.