The Book Thief

memorable quotes

and their significance

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The last time I saw her was red. The sky was like soup, boiling and stirring. In some places it was burned. There were black crumbs and pepper, streaked across the redness. (4.1)

This early passage describes the sky over Himmel Street when it's bombed in 1942. Have you ever seen a bomb-filled sky? How do you feel about Death's soup analogy?

That was one war started. Liesel would soon be in another. (12.15, 16)

This passage refers to Hitler's invasion of Poland and Liesel's bad day in school, where she's beaten multiple times by her teacher and then beats up two other kids herself. Do you ever feel like you're in war, in battle when you are at school?

In fact, on April 20 – the Führer's birthday – when she snatched a book from beneath a steaming pile of ashes, Liesel was a girl made of darkness. (13.8)

Here we see Liesel moments after she's declared war on Hitler himself. Her way of fighting him has to do with rescuing at least one of the many books he's burned.

There are a number of quotes available at the site listed below if you need them. Each has an analysis;

Source(s)

http://www.shmoop.com/book-thief/war-quotes.html

Here's one to get you started:

"The book thief has struck for the first time – the beginning of an illustrious career" (Chapter 5).

This is important because Liesal finally has an occupation: namely, reading the books she steals.