Young Adult Book Reading Challenges discussion
The Book Thief
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Catamorandi
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Apr 09, 2008 09:19AM
Who are your favorite and least favorite characters so far?
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What is significant about the people Death comes to get?
My favorite characters are Liesel, Rudy, Max, and Hans. Rosa used to be my least favorite character but she has grown on me.
Kirsty, There's another thread with this question and I think that your answer is there. Sorry, I have no time now to find it. But look; I'll bet your post is still there.
Kirsty, Yeah, I finally did see Andi's message. Glad you were able to repost!
There are so many to choose from. I was thinking and out of all of the characters I have read about, I think that my favorite is the Nazi soldier who was checking basements for shelters. His reaction to Liesel was totally opposite of what he represented. He allowed himself to get lost in her before he remembered what he was there for. It gave the whole family a little bit of a relief before he went down there. My least favorite character so far is Max. He is using Hans' friendship a long time ago to put him in total danger now. Max hid in the basement for a long time, all the while making the Hubermann's life a pure hell wondering when they would get caught and Max knew what he was doing.
Andi and Everybody,Well, I've read a lot about the holocaust and many non-Jewish people hid Jewish people from the Nazis. Many, many were complete strangers. Anne Frank & her family were hidden by her father's employees. I can understand how you feel but a Jewish person not being hidden (or escaping out of Nazi occupied Europe) could mean death, in some areas of Europe almost certain death. I admire greatly the Hubermanns, but they did what many decent people did back then. I hope I'd have the courage to do such a thing. But re Max: I wonder what most people would do under his circumstances. I can't fault him although I respect how you feel. (Since this is in the reading vs. read section, I won't say some things I ended up liking about Max.)
I have never read about the Holocaust in fact or fiction before. I see what Lisa means, though. I may have been a little quick in my impressions of my two characters. Actually, Max was a pretty good guy. He befriended Liesel almost immediately. The two of them had a lot of things in common. He did need a place to hide. He was understandably glad to stay with the Hubermanns. I think Hans is probably my favorite character. He had such a caring heart. He let Leisel into his heart so she could trust and love him. That was a big step at the time. He let Max stay in his basement. He was usually able to calm Rosa down. Just an all right guy. I'm not sure who my least favorite character would be among the main ones. Probably just the Nazis in general.
It so surprising to me to hear anyone say they dislike Max. For me, he's an incredibly sympathetic character. Especially if you're at all familiar with stories of hiding Jews during the Holocaust, it's hard to blame their level of desperation. And even if you're not familiar, the author does an excellent job of painting a picture of Max's situation... and although initially he may not seem like the most likable character, his plight, his bravery, and his humility make him very sympathetic and even likable.After finishing the book, I can't help but love Rosa. She was the most surprising of all the characters. She doesn't wear her heart on her sleeve, but she subtlety shows a surprising level of depth that develops through the book. All of the other characters are shown as they are from your initial meeting.
And of course Hans - you can't help but love Hans from the beginning. He proves himself time and time again to be worthy of the respect and love the author obviously has for this character from the very beginning. An obvious character, but beautifully developed.
Jen - you stole my answer! hehI know a lot of people don't like Rosa because she is considered "mean", but I think her strength as a human is far greater than most give her credit. She didn't even bat an eye that Hans asked her to do the most dangerous thing at that time--hide a Jew. When her dreaded nemesis was told her son died, she was over there giving comfort. But the thing that made me love Rosa most was her willingness to put her own vanity aside and show up at Liesel's school to tell her about Max. She was willing to be mocked and laughed at to give her daughter some good news. THAT is a mother's love.
I think there were so many good characters in this book, which greatly contributes to the greatness of this story.
