Theme of the Power of Words: "the Book Thief"

Imagine how the world would be without words. Words help shape our everyday lives. They can help us, but they can sometimes also hurt us. This is shown in The Book Thief, by Mark Zusak, when a girl named Liesel is growing up in Nazi Germany. She moves to a new house and meets her foster parents. She grapples with the fact that everyone supports Hitler, and reading helps her get through her hard times. Not only can words comfort and help people, but they can also be used to spread ideas that can turn people against each other. They can give people ideas that are untrue, and they can also encourage people and make them feel better. We can still see this in our everyday lives.

First, words can be used to circulate false information, and false information can make people argue or get into danger. For instance, in The Book Thief, on page 445, the author writes “Yes, the Führer decided that he would rule the world with words. ‘I will never fire a gun,’ he devised. ‘I will not have to.’... His first plan of attack was to plant the words in as many areas of his homeland as possible. He planted them day and night and cultivated them. He watched them grow until eventually, great forests of words had risen through Germany.”  This quote states that the Führer, or Hitler, takes control only by using his words. He spreads his ideas around, and most people believe them because everyone else does. This helps him gain power. This shows that words can be used to distribute information everywhere, even if they are not true. The effects of these words can be seen later in the book when an old woman says “‘Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I wish they wouldn't bring them through. These wretched Jews, they’re rotten luck. They’re a bad sign. Every time I see them, I know we’ll be ruined.’” on page 501. The lady is saying that the Jews shouldn’t come through their block because something bad always happens after they are there. This shows that many people in Germany were biased against Jews, even though they were no different than most other humans. Hitler’s ideas spread to a lot of citizens. His ideas are used to hurt Jews because so many people believe them. If he hadn’t used his words and spread his ideas, fewer people would think that Jews are inferior to other races, and not as many people would’ve gotten hurt.

Second, words can also be used to make people more comfortable. This is shown when Liesel learns how to read as a way to comfort herself after her nightmares. On page 85, the author writes “And she loved the fact that despite her failure in the classroom, her reading and writing were definitely improving and would be on the verge of something respectable. All of this resulted in at least some form of contentment and would soon be built upon to approach the concept of being happy.” Liesel is very excited about her reading skills, even though there has been so much tragedy in her life. Reading helps her get over this tragedy, and it cheers her up. Writing can also help people feel better about their lives. This is shown on page 527, when the author writes “For hours, she wrote, attempting each night to complete ten pages of her life. There was so much to consider, so many things in danger of being left out. Just be patient, she told herself, and with the mounting pages, the strength of her writing fist grew.” This quote is saying that Liesel is writing down the story of her life. She wants to be very thorough, and she really enjoys writing. One reason why Liesel likes writing is because it helps her get over her grief and process her life. Both reading and writing help Liesel with the changes in her life. Words can be very powerful to many people.

The power of words can also be seen in people’s present day lives. Even though words help people share their ideas and stand up for themselves, they can also hurt people. For example, many people use social media each day, but some people don’t realize the dangers of misinformation. One illustration of this was when some people on social media said that the COVID-19 vaccine was dangerous, but there was no real evidence to support that. This resulted in people refusing to get the vaccine and putting themselves and others at risk. When words that incorrect spread everywhere, they can cause a lot of damage.