2019 Year 12 IB Extended Essays

gmb723

Extended Essay

English A: Literature

emotions, but human anguish and pain. As an observer, Death does not have the capability to influence life’s events, and as such can be just as affected as the people experiencing them. To prevent this, he focuses on the colours, and on maintaining the façade that even he himself acknowledges:

‘Death. Making his way through all of it. On the surface: unflappable, unwavering. Below: unnerved, untied, and undone.’ (p.331)

The notion that a powerful character such as Death can be just as affected by humanity’s actions as humans is a concept that has rarely been explored before this novel's publication. Zusak’s representation of Death as a being that is emotionally rattled by his daily task removes the fear that readers would associate with the character, given the vulnerability that Death is presenting throughout the narrative – a vulnerability that they themselves may often experience. Zusak’s decision to use the character of Death as the narrator of The Book Thief is one that literary critics have deemed to be an obvious response to the overwhelming number of deaths that occurred in World War II. According to Erin Gipson, “the novel mirrors the pervasive sense of death felt by those living under the Nazi regime by using the intrusive narration of Death himself” (Gipson, 2017). Liesel’s narrative depicts the life of a young girl in Nazi Germany, a regime that caused the deadliest war in human history. However, rather than just reflecting the number of deaths in this time, Zusak seeks in The Book Thief to explore the impact that carrying 70 million souls over six years has on his narrator. In an interview with the Huffington Post, the author stated that the concept of Death’s narration came from the common adage, ‘war is death’s best friend’, and that after realising this connection, he wanted to approach Death’s involvement in war from a different angle (Huffpost.com, 2016). This expression is included in the novel, and Death’s reaction to it acts as a platform to how he truly perceives war:

‘They say that war is death's best friend, but I must offer you a different point of view on that one. To me, war is like the new boss who expects the impossible. He stands over your shoulder repeating one thing, incessantly: 'Get it done, get it done.' So you work harder. You get the job done. The boss, however, does not thank you. He asks for more.’ (p. 331)

8