Mark Zusak employs a vast amount of literary techniques throughout The Book Thief. Zusak uses these techniques to give the reader a better understanding by using modern day language and literary devices. Markus uses personification, paradox, foreshadowing, and metaphors throughout the novel.
One literary technique Zusak uses throughout The Book Thief is foreshadowing. The narrator, Death, uses foreshadowing to hint at events that come later in the book. One instance is in the prologue Death says, “The book thief had struck for the first time-the beginning of an illustrious career”(22). There are more than a few instances when the narrator, death, uses foreshadowing to keep the reader interested in the story. For example, death says that “Hans Hubermann was not granted membership in the Nazi Party. Not yet, anyway” (183). It is being foreshadowed that Hans Hubermann will be forced to join the Nazi Party at some point in his life. By giving us this piece of information, the narrator is causing the reader to be curious and wanting to know more. Zusak uses foreshadowing to give the reader a sense of what is to come. At the beginning of each part of the story, Zusak places a list of events that occur in that part. He writes the list of events to tell the reader what is going to happen which is another example of foreshadowing.
Another literary technique Markus Zusak uses is paradox. Death is a paradox in the book because in reality death is not living. Death cannot have emotions, cannot decide and cannot form opinions about those who live and die. Since Markus Zusak gave death the voice of the narrator and a character in the book, it is paradoxical. Another example of a paradox is when Death says, “She was the book thief without the words”(80). A book thief implies that the thief has a way with words;due to the fact that she is stealing a book. As the books are being stolen however, the thief still does not have the words even though she should.
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Personification is yet another literary technique used in The Book Thief. Death is also personified as well as paradoxical. Zusak takes the concept of death and makes it a character and gives him human characteristics. After Rudy Steiner dies it is described as death ‘ taking him away’, but Death expresses sadness. Death does not have a heart, but as a personified character Death does. An additional use of personification is in the prologue as death explains the bombing he describes, “…apartment blocks that look nervous”(21). This shows personification by giving the apartment blocks feeling such as nervousness.
Another literary technique Markus Zusak uses in The Book Thief is irony. Markus uses all three types of irony, emotional, verbal, and dramatic irony.
References
- Shmoop: Literary Devices in The Book Thief
- Gradesaver: Themes in The Book Thief
- CliffsNotes: The Book Thief Summary and Analysis
- Literary Devices: Foreshadowing
- Literary Devices: Personification
- Literary Devices: Paradox
- Literary Devices: Metaphor/li>
Cite this paper
Literary Techniques in “The Book Thief”. (2022, Apr 01). Retrieved from https://samploon.com/literary-techniques-in-the-book-thief/
