Part Five
Quotations
"In truth, I think he was afraid. Rudy Steiner was scared of the book thief's kiss. He must have longed for it so much. He must have loved her so incredibly hard. So hard that he would never ask for her lips again and would go to his grave without them."--Death, Part Five (303)
This quote tells me that Rudy has been in love with Leisel so long that he doesn't even want to kiss Leisel since he knows that it will probably never come. And he accepts that. Sadly Rudy never does get that kiss since he Dies before Leisel has a chance to give him one.
"In the basement of 33 Himmel Street, Max Vandenburg could feel the fists of an entire nation. One by one they climbed into the ring and beat him down."--Death, Part Five (254)
This quote tells me that the Holocaust and all of the deeds done by Nazi Germany in World War II weren't determined & performed by a single leader, but a whole nation as one.
"He laughed. 'Good night, book thief.' It was the first time Liesel had been branded with her title, and she couldn't hide the fact that she liked it very much. As we're both aware, she'd stolen books previously, but in late October 1941, it became official. That night, Liesel Meminger truly became the book thief."--Death & Rudy, Part Five (292)
This quote shows the first time of Leisel actually being called "the book thief". Not only does she find the name interesting, she embraces it and takes it as her own.
Images
This photo shows me what the potato that Rudy tried to steal would have looked like. This potato was special since even though Rudy got caught trying to steal it, he still was going to try and have one victory. He sadly didn't succeed, which this failure was added to the list of the other recent failures that Rudy has experienced.
The photo of this apple reminds me of the apple that was given to Rudy and Leisel. It shows that times were currently tough and you must make do with what you got.
Connections and Historical Context
In Part 5, the character Victor Chemmel asks Rudy, "Who was the last Olympic discus champion, In Berlin?" That man's name would be Ken Carpenter.
Also, if you would like to see the Discus event that Ken Carpenter wins gold in, go and watch the video below.
Also in Part 5, Leisel's book The Whistler is thrown into the Amper River by Viktor Chimmel.
Questions
What might have been Leisel's motive to go and steal The Whistler from the the mayor's house?
What are some emotions that could have been floating through Ilsa Hermann's mind after Leisel's outrage?
What could have happened to Tommy if Rudy didn't stick up for him?
Do you think the mayor would have been mad if he saw Leisel trying to take The Whistler from his home?
My Thoughts and Response
Part 5 was a very interesting section of the novel where you see more of an action packed side to the story. We get to see some more thievery from Rudy and Leisel. One such case is when Leisel goes and takes The Whistler the mayor's house and gets away with it completely. I felt pretty happy that Leisel got the book that she has been reading for quite some time now, even though this is the second chance of having it. As well as that, I have no clue as to why Leisel would be so cruel to Ilsa Hermann in a way that probably destroyed her feelings.
I also saw some more things that were focused around the story between Max and Leisel. One such situation that I found the most intriguing was the imaginary boxing match between Max and Hitler. After I read this I felt sympathy for Max since he is always kept locked up and can't be seen by the outside world. Because of this situation that Max is in, it restricts his abilities and he results in using his imagination to make the time pass by. He even starts to write/draw a new book that we only got to see two pages of. I wonder what else his book might hold, but from what we are shown it could be something that might be horrifying or even something extraordinary.
I also read more about Rudy and some stories about him, and I was especially shocked when Death said that Rudy dies in the end. I find it kind of funny how Zusak is giving us a spoiler in the book that i was hoping to find out as I read. I also read about Rudy's three dumb acts of stupidity which included a beating, getting pooped on (kind of), and the skipping of Hitler Youth. I do feel sad for Rudy since he has had so many fails and hasn't been able to have some time of victory which probably lowered his self-esteem. If I experienced situations like that I would probably be feeling the same way that he did. I also can't wait to see if the friendship between Leisel and Max becomes deeper and more meaningful in some sort of way.
I also saw some more things that were focused around the story between Max and Leisel. One such situation that I found the most intriguing was the imaginary boxing match between Max and Hitler. After I read this I felt sympathy for Max since he is always kept locked up and can't be seen by the outside world. Because of this situation that Max is in, it restricts his abilities and he results in using his imagination to make the time pass by. He even starts to write/draw a new book that we only got to see two pages of. I wonder what else his book might hold, but from what we are shown it could be something that might be horrifying or even something extraordinary.
I also read more about Rudy and some stories about him, and I was especially shocked when Death said that Rudy dies in the end. I find it kind of funny how Zusak is giving us a spoiler in the book that i was hoping to find out as I read. I also read about Rudy's three dumb acts of stupidity which included a beating, getting pooped on (kind of), and the skipping of Hitler Youth. I do feel sad for Rudy since he has had so many fails and hasn't been able to have some time of victory which probably lowered his self-esteem. If I experienced situations like that I would probably be feeling the same way that he did. I also can't wait to see if the friendship between Leisel and Max becomes deeper and more meaningful in some sort of way.