2019 Year 12 IB Extended Essays

gmb723

Extended Essay

English A: Literature

between Death and humanity even more. This allows the reader to see Death as a person, rather than a concept.

Death’s Relationship with Liesel

In order to determine Death’s significance to the novel, it is necessary to analyse how the relationship that he forms with Liesel humanises his character. According to Death, he and Liesel are in close proximity to each other ‘three times’ (p.6) – during her brother's death; when she and Rudy come across the dying body of an enemy pilot; and during the bombing of Himmel Street. Death, as he always attempts to do in his line of work, associates these three meetings with different colours: the white snow in which Liesel’s brother is buried, the black smoke of the plane crash, and red sky as Himmel Street burns. These colours are presented in the novel as a reference to the Nazi Germany swastika flag, as demonstrated by the excerpt below: Zusak uses this reference and its association to Liesel to symbolise the effect that the Nazi regime has on even the most innocent people. The elements of the relationship between Death and Liesel are viewed contrastingly by the two characters, as is revealed in the book thief’s diary. Whilst Liesel associates their three interactions as being some of the most significant events in her life, she is not aware of Death as a personification, only as a concept. However, the influence that he has on her, and vice versa, cannot be denied. Death is aware of the pain and anguish associated with humanity, and needs to shield himself against it in order to adequately carry out his role. However, there are ‘a small legion of stories – each extraordinary in their own right’ that he carries with him. These are the stories that he deems to be ‘an attempt to prove to [him] that you, and your human existence, are worth it’ (p.16). To discover the reason why humanity exists, and is willing to go through the negative human emotions, is Death’s eternal question. Given his ability to see himself reflected in humans, he longs to understand both them and himself. It is the search for the answer to this that gravitates him towards the humans that are left behind. (p.10)

10