The Book Thief - Character Max
A Brief description of Max..
Now for a change of scenery…
Max is a Jewish person in hiding. We first meet Max in a dark room, he seems powerless and Venerable. Max is a symbol of the Jews in World War II, hungry, lonely and constantly in darkness. Max is given the chance to be free from his dark room and into the Hubermann’s home. He is given a ticket from ‘Stuttgart to Munich to Pasing’ this ticket is concealed, along with the house key, within Mein Kamp. The book is about Hitler’s struggles and is used to disguise Max and minimize the chance of being caught. This is ironic as the book against Jews condemning them to death, is actually saving a Jews life.
What is Max’s role and who does he represent?
Max represents all of the suffering and venerability of the Jews of World War II. This is shown by him being constantly scared, in the darkness of the basement. “ To your left, perhaps your right, perhaps even straight ahead you find a small black room. In it sits a Jew. He is scum .He is starving. He is afraid. Please-try not to look away.’
Max’s role in the novel is the ‘secret’ never said in the family. Max is also like an Older brother to Liesel, she cares for and trusts him. Liesal always goes to Max throughout the novel when she is upset or unsure of something (she seeks reassurance in Max).
How does Max Change externally and Internally?
Max starts off in the book afraid of the world he is in, he feel everyone will know straight away- he is a Jew. Max feels as though he is being selfish and is undeserving to the people who are keeping him safe and risking their lives by hiding him. “Of course there was also the scratchy feeling of sin. How could he do this? How could he show up and ask people to risk his lives for him. How could he be so selfish?”
He feels like a burden and a liability to these people; but at the same time he doesn’t want to be captured and die. Internally Max struggles with the compromising issue of endangering the lives of the H either alive or dying in their care. With his own survival instinct telling him to stay.
He also realises he cannot win against the Fuhrer, we are shown this with his fantasies of fighting Hitler in the boxing ring. ‘Unless, of course, Herr Hitler, you begin to lose should this occur. I will be quite willing to turn a blind eye to any unconscionable tactics you might employ to grind this piece of Jewish stench and filth into the canvas.’ He knows the unfairness and brutality of the world, this is shown when He begins nailing into Hitler’s moustache, having a sense of victory, only to be stopped and cheated once again. “As we speak, he is plotting his way into your neighbourhood. He’s about to take you over.” … “Will you climb into this ring with me?” … “Will you climb up in here so that we can defeat this enemy together?” In the Basement of 33 Himmel St, Max Vandenburg could feel the fists of an entire nation. One by one they beat him down. They made him bleed. They made him suffer.”
Liesal helps Max heal internally as she makes him fell human again. After so long being in the dark, thinking he’s a discusting, disease ‘they were not men and women, they were Jews’ “He’s moving next door, and infesting your family and he’s about to take you over.” when Liesal first sees him she sees him as a person and not as a Jew. This makes Max feel human again, he feel loved by Liesal and accepted, wanted as part of the family. ‘His most distinct feeling was of disappearance.’‘He often checked if his skin was flaking, for it was as if he were dissolving.’ For so long in the dark Max felt he was in a nightmare forgotten by everyone unaccepted by everyone slowly disappearing into nothing. Liesel cares for Max, she constantly brings him small gifts a newspaper, a leaf, a broken football.
How does his relationship form with Liesel and how does it change?
At first Liesel is afraid of Max as he appears a stranger late at night in her home. Liesel’s curiousity is stronger than her fear, she stays in the room even after being asked to leave. Max is also afraid of Liesel. “ Don’t be Afraid’ she heard Papa whisper. ‘she’s a good girl.’ For the next hour, the good girl lay awake in bed, listening to the quiet fumbling of sentences in the kitchen. One wildcard was yet to be played.’ The last sentence in this quote seems to be a metaphoric symbol for a game of cards with the cards seeming to be the idea of gambling, the gamble of having a Jew in the house.
Gradually as time passes Liesel and Max realise they have more in common than they think. ‘Trepidation found its way onto his face and he made a confession to the girl.’ This creates a new trust and confiding in each other between Max and Liesel. Fist with the similarities of the nightmare they both experience and confide in one another. ‘Both the hidden Jew and the girl slept, hand to shoulder’. Secondly when Liesel watches over max when he sleeps forming a bond between them both Liesel and Max both feel protectively over each other. This is evident when Max becomes ill, and Liesal constantly stays by Maxes side, giving him small gifts, and reading him, The Whisperer and The Dream Carrier. ‘She gave The Dream Carrier to Max as if the words alone could nourish him .’ Max also Cares for Liesel he shows this by making her a birthday present even though he has very little of his own in the world he still makes her a book out of the pages of Mein Kampf. A story of a Jewish boy and a little girl saving him, written with the pages of an anti-Jewish book.
A Brief description of Max..
Now for a change of scenery…
Max is a Jewish person in hiding. We first meet Max in a dark room, he seems powerless and Venerable. Max is a symbol of the Jews in World War II, hungry, lonely and constantly in darkness. Max is given the chance to be free from his dark room and into the Hubermann’s home. He is given a ticket from ‘Stuttgart to Munich to Pasing’ this ticket is concealed, along with the house key, within Mein Kamp. The book is about Hitler’s struggles and is used to disguise Max and minimize the chance of being caught. This is ironic as the book against Jews condemning them to death, is actually saving a Jews life.
What is Max’s role and who does he represent?
Max represents all of the suffering and venerability of the Jews of World War II. This is shown by him being constantly scared, in the darkness of the basement. “ To your left, perhaps your right, perhaps even straight ahead you find a small black room. In it sits a Jew. He is scum .He is starving. He is afraid. Please-try not to look away.’
Max’s role in the novel is the ‘secret’ never said in the family. Max is also like an Older brother to Liesel, she cares for and trusts him. Liesal always goes to Max throughout the novel when she is upset or unsure of something (she seeks reassurance in Max).
How does Max Change externally and Internally?
Max starts off in the book afraid of the world he is in, he feel everyone will know straight away- he is a Jew. Max feels as though he is being selfish and is undeserving to the people who are keeping him safe and risking their lives by hiding him. “Of course there was also the scratchy feeling of sin. How could he do this? How could he show up and ask people to risk his lives for him. How could he be so selfish?”
He feels like a burden and a liability to these people; but at the same time he doesn’t want to be captured and die. Internally Max struggles with the compromising issue of endangering the lives of the H either alive or dying in their care. With his own survival instinct telling him to stay.
He also realises he cannot win against the Fuhrer, we are shown this with his fantasies of fighting Hitler in the boxing ring. ‘Unless, of course, Herr Hitler, you begin to lose should this occur. I will be quite willing to turn a blind eye to any unconscionable tactics you might employ to grind this piece of Jewish stench and filth into the canvas.’ He knows the unfairness and brutality of the world, this is shown when He begins nailing into Hitler’s moustache, having a sense of victory, only to be stopped and cheated once again. “As we speak, he is plotting his way into your neighbourhood. He’s about to take you over.” … “Will you climb into this ring with me?” … “Will you climb up in here so that we can defeat this enemy together?” In the Basement of 33 Himmel St, Max Vandenburg could feel the fists of an entire nation. One by one they beat him down. They made him bleed. They made him suffer.”
Liesal helps Max heal internally as she makes him fell human again. After so long being in the dark, thinking he’s a discusting, disease ‘they were not men and women, they were Jews’ “He’s moving next door, and infesting your family and he’s about to take you over.” when Liesal first sees him she sees him as a person and not as a Jew. This makes Max feel human again, he feel loved by Liesal and accepted, wanted as part of the family. ‘His most distinct feeling was of disappearance.’‘He often checked if his skin was flaking, for it was as if he were dissolving.’ For so long in the dark Max felt he was in a nightmare forgotten by everyone unaccepted by everyone slowly disappearing into nothing. Liesel cares for Max, she constantly brings him small gifts a newspaper, a leaf, a broken football.
How does his relationship form with Liesel and how does it change?
At first Liesel is afraid of Max as he appears a stranger late at night in her home. Liesel’s curiousity is stronger than her fear, she stays in the room even after being asked to leave. Max is also afraid of Liesel. “ Don’t be Afraid’ she heard Papa whisper. ‘she’s a good girl.’ For the next hour, the good girl lay awake in bed, listening to the quiet fumbling of sentences in the kitchen. One wildcard was yet to be played.’ The last sentence in this quote seems to be a metaphoric symbol for a game of cards with the cards seeming to be the idea of gambling, the gamble of having a Jew in the house.
Gradually as time passes Liesel and Max realise they have more in common than they think. ‘Trepidation found its way onto his face and he made a confession to the girl.’ This creates a new trust and confiding in each other between Max and Liesel. Fist with the similarities of the nightmare they both experience and confide in one another. ‘Both the hidden Jew and the girl slept, hand to shoulder’. Secondly when Liesel watches over max when he sleeps forming a bond between them both Liesel and Max both feel protectively over each other. This is evident when Max becomes ill, and Liesal constantly stays by Maxes side, giving him small gifts, and reading him, The Whisperer and The Dream Carrier. ‘She gave The Dream Carrier to Max as if the words alone could nourish him .’ Max also Cares for Liesel he shows this by making her a birthday present even though he has very little of his own in the world he still makes her a book out of the pages of Mein Kampf. A story of a Jewish boy and a little girl saving him, written with the pages of an anti-Jewish book.