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what happens at the end of the book thief

by Ms. Marianna Swift Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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At the end of The Book Thief, Molching is bombed and many people die. Liesel mourns for Rudy and her foster parents but she survives the war, reunites with Max, and moves to Australia where she dies of old age.Jul 22, 2022

Full Answer

How does Liesel die in the Book Thief?

Liesel dies a natural death in Death's presence. She is an old woman. After Liesel dies, Death walks down the street with her and shows her The Book Thief, which Death has kept all these years. Death says that it read Liesel's book many times. Liesel asks if Death could understand it; Death does not respond.

What happens at the end of the Book Thief?

What happens at the end of Book theif? In 1945, Max finds his way back to the shop, and has an emotional reunion with Liesel. Death resumes his narrative and says that The Book Thief is just one of the many stories he picks up in his work. … His final words are delivered both to the book thief and to the reader: Death is haunted by humans.

What books did Liesel Meminger steal in the Book Thief?

What books did Liesel Meminger steal? In The Book Thief, the books Liesel steals are The Grave Digger’s Handbook, The Shoulder Shrug, Mein Kampf, The Whistler, The Dream Carrier, A Song in the Dark, and The Last Human Stranger. Why are books so important to Liesel? Stealing books is important to Liesel as books are her escape from the outside ...

How did Rudy die in the Book Thief?

Rudy dies when Himmel Street is bombed.

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What happens to Liesel at the end of the book?

He reveals that Liesel died “just yesterday,” at an old age, far from Himmel Street in a suburb of Sydney. She had three children and many grandchildren, as well as lots of friends, but always remembered Hans, Rosa, Rudy, and her brother.

Does the book thief have a happy ending?

And it's brief. At this point, we've already learned that Liesel dies in Sydney, Australia (Markus Zusak's hometown) after a long, happy life which includes a husband, three kids, and even grandbabies. But Max's story ends when he and Liesel are reunited shortly after the war.

Do Max and Liesel end up together?

Answer and Explanation: In The Book Thief it is not said whom Liesel marries, only that she does and has a family. Shortly after the war has ended, she sees Max at the end of the story in an emotional, joyful reunion.

Is Max alive at the end of the book thief?

Although he comes close many times, Max does not actually die in The Book Thief. He survives the narrative and reunites with Liesel after the war has ended.

Why does Liesel's mother abandon her?

Liesel Meminger She is fostered by the Hubermanns after her biological father "abandons" their family due to being a Communist, her brother dies, and her mother is forced to send her to a foster home to avoid Nazi persecution.

Who does Liesel fall in love with?

MaxLiesel begins to love Max when he gives her The Standover Man. Death is the most loving character in the novel.

What does Death think of Liesel?

Liesel is particularly interesting to him because of her courage and her personality. Stories like hers help keep him going. He retells these stories, he says, "to prove to myself that you, and your human existence, are worth it" (4.33).

What is the age difference between Max and Liesel?

Max and Liesel? Obviously, there's a big age difference here—ten or eleven years. Still, some readers find their relationship romantic. Some wonder if they get married after their reunion in 1945.

Does Liesel kiss Rudy?

"How about a kiss, Saumensch," (45.41) are the words Rudy said to her that day he rescued her book from the Amper River. The day he stopped asking. Liesel's moment in the river and her kissing Rudy's lips when he's dead definitely suggest that she regrets not kissing him.

Was Liesel's mom a communist?

Liesel's parents were communists, which is another group that was rounded up and taken to concentration camps. She was probably worried about what would happen to her children if she was arrested, so she wanted to make sure they were taken care of before she was taken away.

What did Death say at the end of the book thief?

The last line of The Book Thief is something that Death tells Liesel when he goes to collect her soul. He also shares his thought with the readers. He says, ''I am haunted by humans. '' The line is unusual at first glance since it is usually the living who are haunted by the dead and not the other way around.

How was Max killed?

“Stranger Things 4” put Sadie Sink's Max Mayfield through hell. The fan-favorite character ended the season in a coma with her bones broken and eyes blinded at the hands of Vecna.

Is The Book Thief sad ending?

The ending of The Book Thief is very sad, with Liesel losing almost everyone she cared about in Molching. It serves to show how unpredictable and often terrifying life was during the Second World War when everything was uncertain and people could die at any time.

Is The Book Thief a sad story?

It's worth acknowledging that movies set in Germany during World War II are inherently difficult to talk about with sensitivity and understanding. The Book Thief is sad. Almost too sad, so be careful if you're not in a good place to handle those feelings.

Are there multiple endings in Thief?

According to this post, there is just one ending, so, no, your play style and/or choices do not affect it. Show activity on this post. There's only one ending, but the girl lives.

How old is Liesel Meminger at the end of the book?

about fifteenLiesel is nine years old, almost ten, at the start of the novel. She is about fifteen toward the end of the novel when the bombs destroy her home and kill her loved ones.

What does Death say about Liesel?

Death makes the comment just after explaining that he wished he could tell Liesel about the glories and atrocities, wonders and horrors humans are capable of, and it’s clear that what haunts him most is humanity’s capacity for both extreme good and extreme evil.

What happened to Liesel after the bombing?

Death then flashes back to the events immediately following the bombing. Liesel, having no family and nowhere to go, is taken to the police, clutching Hans’s accordion. After three hours, the mayor and Frau Hermann arrive and take Liesel home with them. At the mayor’s house, Liesel sits in a room talking to her.

What does Death say about the world?

Death says that the world is a factory run by humans, and he is a worker whose job is to carry their souls away when they die. He is very tired and will tell the rest of the story in as striaghtforward a manner as possible. He reveals that Liesel died “just yesterday,” at an old age, far from Himmel Street in a suburb of Sydney. She had three children and many grandchildren, as well as lots of friends, but always remembered Hans, Rosa, Rudy, and her brother. Death then flashes back to the events immediately following the bombing. Liesel, having no family and nowhere to go, is taken to the police, clutching Hans’s accordion. After three hours, the mayor and Frau Hermann arrive and take Liesel home with them. At the mayor’s house, Liesel sits in a room talking to her. She refuses to bathe and keeps the ash of the Himmel Street bombings on her skin through the funeral of the victims. Then she walks into the river where Rudy rescued her book and says her final goodbye to him, washing herself in the water where he rescued her book years before.

Why is the quote "Death the Narrator" ironic?

The statement is full of irony because it’s a feeling people often have regarding death. Death the narrator reverses it back onto us, meaning humans, making us the frightening and mysterious phenomenon. Previous section Part Ten. Test your knowledge.

What is significant about Liesel's book?

It is significant that Liesel drops her book to go Rudy, but she is too late, and their first and last kiss is heartbreaking. Active Themes. Next Liesel finds Rosa and Hans, and she repeats out loud her best memories, and she truly breaks down at the sight of her Papa.

Why does Liesel use the accordion in the book?

Now the accordion comes to symbolize everything that Liesel has lost, and to act as a small representation of the tragedy of the bombing.

What does Hans look at Rosa after the bombing?

Then he comes for the Hubermanns, and Hans looks at him with his silvery eyes, unafraid. Rosa is still snoring, and Death reminds his audience of her huge, courageous heart. After the bombing Death lingers, and he sees the men of the LSE pull Liesel from the rubble.

Why does Liesel wander around?

Liesel wanders around, confused because none of the buildings are there. She carries her book with her, looking for Hans and Rosa and Max. Then she sees the broken accordion and starts to accept reality. She sees Rudy 's body, and she drops her book and runs to him.

Why is the death of the characters important?

Why? The death of the characters really works within the framework of the story, and it really helps to highlight how many innocent civilians the "good guys" (i.e. the Allies in WWII) actually killed.

Who said "That was the big debate in my book club. I really didn't have the notion they were?

Tami wrote: "That was the big debate in my book club. I really didn't have the notion they were a couple until the others mentioned the hints. I figured they were just close friends. "

Is Max and Liesel a couple?

Yes, I don't think Max and Liesel were a couple. I never even had the idea that they could be a couple until I saw this discussion. I guess I just pictured Max as an adult and Liesel as a child. They never seemed to have a love that a couple does. Liesel was a friend to Max when he was going through a hard time. Their similar interests helped them become closer friends, but Max could not have been her husband. He was her friend.

What happened the first time Death saw the book thief?

The first time he saw her was on a train where he had come to collect the soul of a small boy. The book thief watched him take the boy with tears frozen to her face. The next time Death saw the book thief was years later, when a pilot had crashed his plane. Death arrived for the pilot’s soul and watched as a boy took a teddy bear from a toolbox ...

How many times has Death seen the book thief?

He lists the main elements of the story to come, and reveals that he has seen the main character, the book thief, three times.

What does Frau Hubermann tell Liesel?

After a few weeks, Frau Hubermann instructs Liesel to call her and her husband Mama and Papa. Liesel complies. From the beginning of her time with the Hubermanns, Liesel is plagued by nightmares of her dead brother. Often she wakes up screaming, and Papa comforts her.

Why is Liesel so wary of the Hubermanns?

Because her mother is sick and her father has been taken away for being a Communist, Liesel understands that the Hubermanns represent a form of salvation for her , but at first she is very wary of them, especially Frau Hubermann, who calls Liesel saumench, meaning “pig girl.”.

What book did Liesel steal from the gravedigger?

When Papa comes to change the sheets, he finds the book Liesel stole from the gravedigger who buried her brother. The book is called “The Grave Digger’s Handbook.”.

What is the book that Papa reads to Liesel?

The book is called “The Grave Digger’s Handbook.”. When Papa discovers Liesel can barely read, he begins teaching her the alphabet by writing on the back of a piece of sandpaper. The lessons progress, and Papa begins taking Liesel with him during the day to study by the river.

Where does Liesel meet her neighbors?

Liesel begins meeting her neighbors on Himmel Street, including her next door neighbor Rudy Steiner.

What does Liesel show in the book?

Books have become that precious to her, almost like characters – but she also does this as her first subversive act against Hitler and the forces that destroyed her family.

What is the book called in Hans and Liesel?

Then she realizes that the mayor's wife saw everything, and she curses to herself. Hans and Liesel finally leave, and the book, which is called The Shoulder Shrug, burns against her skin.

What happened in the beginning of The Book Thief?

From the beginning of The Book Thief, Death, the narrator, for eshadows the bombing of Himmel Street. This terrible event kills all of Liesel's friends and loved ones.

Where does Death take Liesel's soul?

At the very end, Death takes Liesel's soul to Anzac Avenue (which is a real place) but maybe Death means an afterlife version. Anyhow, he takes her there and shows her The Book Thief, her book. We are told: A few cars drove by, each way.

Where does Max walk in the epilogue?

But, the real surprise comes after World War II has come to an end, when Max walks through the door of Alex Steiner's tailor shop, looking for Liesel. This happy reunion takes places in the Epilogue. And it's brief.

Where did Liesel die?

At this point, we've already learned that Liesel dies in Sydney, Australia (Markus Zusak's hometown) after a long, happy life which includes a husband, three kids, and even grandbabies. But Max's story ends when he and Liesel are reunited shortly after the war. Some readers find this really exasperating.

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1.The Book Thief Epilogue Summary & Analysis | SparkNotes

Url:https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/the-book-thief/section11/

3 hours ago At the end of the novel, the theme of the power of words rises to the fore again as Death reveals to Liesel, who has passed away as an old lady, that he found and kept her book.

2.Videos of What Happens At The End Of The Book Thief

Url:/videos/search?q=what+happens+at+the+end+of+the+book+thief&qpvt=what+happens+at+the+end+of+the+book+thief&FORM=VDRE

16 hours ago  · She eventually went down to the basement and started writing a book she would call “The Book Thief”. This was when the bombing happened and she survived because she …

3.The Book Thief Part 10: The End of the World (Part II) …

Url:https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-book-thief/part-10-the-end-of-the-world-part-ii

13 hours ago She lays the accordion next to his body and imagines him standing and playing, and she thanks him for teaching her to read and saving her, and promises she'll never drink champagne again. …

4.The Book Thief Part 10: The End of the World (Part I) …

Url:https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-book-thief/part-10-the-end-of-the-world-part-i

5 hours ago Liesel will survive because she is in the basement reading over her own life story. Later the local LSE will pull her from the wreckage and she will scream for her Papa, still clinging to the book …

5.The Book Thief: Epilogue: Death and Liesel Summary

Url:https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-book-thief/epilogue-death-and-liesel

25 hours ago Analysis. Death describes the world as a factory run by humans, and his job is to carry them away. He is very weary, so he will be as straightforward as possible with the rest of the story. …

6.The Book Thief - question about the ending. Showing 1 …

Url:https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/122254-question-about-the-ending

28 hours ago  · Jun 19, 2011 10:04AM. Beth wrote: "I think they did get married because at the end of the book it says "In her final visions, she saw her three children, her grandchildren, her …

7.The Book Thief Prologue and Part One Summary

Url:https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/the-book-thief/section1/

5 hours ago As the book thief dreams of Adolph Hitler, Werner dies suddenly. Liesel and her mother get off the train with Werner’s body at the next station and bury him in the town. One of the …

8.The Book Thief: Part 2: Book of Fire Summary & Analysis

Url:https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-book-thief/part-2-book-of-fire

29 hours ago Hans and Liesel start to walk home, but they are stopped by a man who asks Hans if he has joined the Nazis yet. Liesel walks over and examines the ashes of the bonfire, which officials …

9.The Book Thief What's Up With the Ending? | Shmoop

Url:https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/book-thief/analysis/ending

35 hours ago At the very end, Death takes Liesel's soul to Anzac Avenue (which is a real place) but maybe Death means an afterlife version. Anyhow, he takes her there and shows her The Book Thief, …

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