Point of veiw

[hannahdorros]

What is your opinion on death being the point of view? Why do you think Markus Zusak made it like this? Could the story have been told better if the point of view was from another character? Why/Why not?

[hannahdorros]

I am a fan of the point of view coming from death. I believe that it could not have been told better because there are many advantages of having the book be written this way. For example, "death" can be wherever he wants, meaning he can listen into any conversation, whereas if the point of view was from a human this would not have been possible. I think the author wrote the book this way to remind the reader of all the death that occurred in the war. It as well gives the reader an unsettling feeling but at the same time the author was able to add in a bit of dark humor to a sad situation by making death almost humorous and sarcastic.

[claireaspeitia]

I agree that the plot of the story was told extremley well by Death. Not only was it very creative and unique, but Zusak had a way of writing Death's character that made him very human-like. He had lots of personality, as well as emotions and feelings for the characters.

[alexhammond]

Zusak writing the story from deaths perspective was quite unique. It made all the death in the story, almost, decrease in cruelty. It showed just how human dying really is. Made it in a way, much less scary, and much more personable. Death's narration added a dark twist to a devastating subject. It added humor and almost mocked your sadness about death in it's entirety. I believe any other narrator would have given the story an entirely new tone, making it so different from the odd story it is.

[alexhammond]

Zusak writing the story from deaths perspective was quite unique. It made all the death in the story, almost, decrease in cruelty. It showed just how human dying really is. Made it in a way, much less scary, and much more personable. Death's narration added a dark twist to a devastating subject. It added humor and almost mocked your sadness about death in it's entirety. I believe any other narrator would have given the story an entirely new tone, making it so different from the odd story it is.

[parisadonohoe]

I think Zusak made a fantastic choice in deciding to make Death his narrator. Death becomes a full-fledged, complex character in the story, who shows both compassion for humans and disgust for many of their actions. He also has a sardonic sense of humor that reveals his wit and intelligence. For example, when Reinhold Zucker dies after taking Hans Huberman’s place on the bus, Death writes, “It kills me sometimes, how people die” (464). Death notices the irony that the bully who forces Hans out of his seat ends up dying as a result of his unkind action. The cleverness of Death talking about how “it kills him” lightens what otherwise might be a thoroughly dark novel. It also shows how Death uses humor to cope with how depressed his job can make him.

[benjaminconnor]

Deciding to use Death was an excellent choice by the author. By using Death he was able to add a complete other layer to this story. Death was able to show gradual change as a character. Death couldn't decide whether humanity is cruel and evil, such as the Nazi regime, or kind and good, such as when Hans Hubermann gave the Jewish man some bread at great risk to himself. Death eventually decides that humanity is somewhere in the middle. By adding monologues by Death and allowing Death to interject his own opinions, the author gave a completely new and refreshing take on narration. Death adds portions of foreshadowing that dragged the reader further into the story, along with revealing the fates of most of the characters beforehand, particularly the details of their deaths. This creates a completely different kind of suspense, where the reader knows some of the story's end but still wants to know how the characters arrive there.
The author decided to make this decision because of the unique perspective of Death. Death saw the Holocaust as many others did, a horrific loss of life that effected millions, if not billions of people, but he also saw the other side, the side with the few who stood up to those in power. Had the narrator been anyone but Death, passages like "I am haunted by humans"(Doerr 550), wouldn't exist, subtracting from the brilliance of this novel.

[aidanrolstad]

Using death as a narrator in the book thief could have gone one of two ways. One way could have been a cheap trick to push out foreshadowing and plot points. Because Death isn't a person living in the story he can just say what ever he wanted to. He could tell the end of the book and other parts at any point. The second way was a new perspective that not many stories have as they are moving through the story. I felt that the author walked a thin line between the two options, it was close to a lazy cop out of writing the true story. But the author manged to sway toward the later option nearing the end and pulled the narrating choice through in his favor.