The Book Thief

How do the early events in the story shape Liesels' personality?

For example: The death of her brother, finding the grave diggers handbook, and being abandoned by her mother. How do these turn her into "The Book Thief".

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Last updated by Aslan
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I think all of your mentioned instances turn Liesel into the survivor that she becomes. Liesel goes from an isolated illiterate girl to a heroic and stoic artist of words. I think Liesel already had these traits within her but it took the horrors of war to mould her into a heroine that even Death admires. Her feelings of abandonment and helplessness give Liesel the tools to cope with the tragedies that she was yet to face. Having her brother die watching Max suffer and losing Hans makes Liesel not only empathetic but tenacious as well.