The Book Thief

What inferences can we get from Death about his characteristics from the text?

Could you please put textual evidence,pg/line number if you can, and the commentary about how does the text and the inference about the character connect? Thank you.

Asked by
Last updated by jill d #170087
Answers 1
Add Yours

Death seems to be human..... just like us. We see his happiness and sadness, and we also see him attempt to distract himself from unpleasant tasks. He is curious, but he is not human; death is our guide from this life into the next. He sees himself as fair and treats everyone in like manner. He is not a judge. Note, he's our guide..... he doesn't decide when or how we die, he simply escorts us from this life to the next.

"I witness the ones that are left behind, crumbled among the jigsaw puzzles of realization, despair, and surprise. They have punctured hearts. They have beaten lungs."

"I'm nothing if not fair."

“The consequence of this is that I'm always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both."

“People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and ends, but to me it's quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spot blues. Murky darkness. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them.”

Source(s)

The Book Thief