“It’s pathetic, how a man can stand by and do nothing while a whole nation cleans out the garbage and makes itself great again”. This is the mindset Hitler was able to make Germans have through the power of his words.In the novel, ‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak, Magical Realism is illustrated. Magical Realism is the genre of creating a realistic picture, while adding magical or surreal elements to it. Zusak in the book therefore makes Molching a fictional place, personifies Death and then how words can be good and bad and how they are presented through the symbol of books. The impact this has on the reader is it can make them re-think what they have been told. He trying to show the reader to not be like a five year old who doesn’t question things, but to be always curious and have a questioning mentality. It makes the reader think that if that wasn’t real or is normal now, what else is different. Making a surreal element seem normal can also make the reader associate with the character more. This can therefore show human existence in different ways, being the power of words or what was ordinary in society and what wasn’t.

Molching in the book is a fictional place. It seems so real until you search it up on the web and nothing comes up. Zusak was able to do this through his words. “Quite a way beyond the outskirts of Munich was a town called Molching”. This is the first time in the book Molching is referenced. Zusak has related his fictional town to a real place. Because of this it doesn’t scream any alarm to the reader that this place isn’t real. Zusak also relates Molching to real events that were happening in the time of world war 2, Germany. “Molching, like the rest of Germany, was in the grip of preparing for Hitler’s birthday.” Zusak has created a image to the reader that like any other town, Molching is doing the same things like preparing for a big event so it must just be another ordinary town in Germany. The impact Zusak then made on the reader by making Molching fiction is re think and question what they have been told. He has done this by showing how sometimes words can hide the truth, even if actual facts are involved. The effect this had personally on me is it made me question more on what Zusak was saying. This therefore made me more intrigued in the book. From this, it illustrates the power of words. Zusak was able to persuade all his readers that Molching was true though his word choice. It showed that as humans, we are persuade to easily and make assumptions too quickly. This can be related to real life scenarios like Hitler gaining power over Germany in World War 2. Through his persuasiveness and words he convinced a whole nation that he would lead them to victory. This is what Zusak conveyed with the fictionalization of Molching.

In normal society, Death is often looked at as a surreal thing. In ‘The Book Thief’, Zusak normalizes Death. He does this by personifying him, making him seem like a human-like creature. “I do not carry a sickle or scythe… I don’t have those skull-like facial features… You want to know what I truly look like? I’ll help you out. Find yourself a mirror “. Zusak is canceling out the common perception of death as a character. Instead he is personifying Death and making him human-like. Zusak uses “find yourself a mirror” as a way to show the reader that Death may look just like you, a normal human being and doing this it creates a greater connection the reader can have with Death. Zusak also personifies Death in turning his soul collecting into a job with “For two days, I went about my business. I traveled the globe as always, handing souls to the convey or belt of eternity”. His ‘job’ of soul collecting could just be like a normal 9-5 job. “Handing souls to the conveyor belt” makes it seem like Death is working in a factory. The impact that Zusak makes on the reader by personifying Death is they can make a greater connection. From this it gives Death point of view and words more powerful. This the readers will now have more trust in him. He isn’t some mythical creature that we are seeing some of the book through. Instead Death is looked at as a normal human being that the reader can connect with and trust. Another way this contributes to the idea of the power of words is how words can turn a surreal element into something society can associate with. This therefore shows what Death was like in World War 2 Germany. Death wasn’t an unusual thing, it was common. Death in that time wasn’t the surreal element, so what was? It was the nation that Hitler had created. The idea that a nation could be turned into killing millions of people because of the words one person had said. That shows the human nature of society and how narrow minded we can become.

Words in ‘The Book Thief’ are used in good and bad ways. The are strongly presented through the symbol of books. The symbol of books in the novel show the greatness and downfall words can have on someone or people. The reader is taken through the story mainly from what’s happening in lisel’s life, which is associated to books. She experiences the ups and downs with books and the affect they can have. Lisel experiences the down side of what words can do when she finds out that the world is how it is because of words. “Those images were the world, and it stewed in her as she sat with the lovely book and their manicured titles.” This is Lisel finding out that the world around her was created by the power of words. All the bad things she has experience like the passing of her brother, her close friend being taken away because of his race was because of words. Books seemed ‘lovely’ to Lisel but behind cover with the ‘manicured titles’ isn’t. Behind the cover and on the pages is bad things that the world has become through words. Lisel also experiences the positives side of words. She writes her own book and her life experiences. She finishes her book with “I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.” At the start of the book, she didn’t know how to read and it was embarrassing for her. But throughout the book she started to read better to the point she was able to write her own. She went from not knowing the true meaning and effect words can have to understanding the power they can have and loving them.

Zusak intentions throughout ‘The Book Thief’ were to display the power of words. Zusak used different elements like making Molching fictional, Death seem normal and then showing in different instances the effect words can have, either positive or negative. These elements showed the ups and downs that the power of words can do, and present idea about human existence to the reader. The idea about how words can persuade a whole country into a mindset that this is true and the right thing. Just like Zusak did to us as a reader in believing Molching was a real place. How words can turn a surreal idea into reality, like Hitler did with creating his nation into killing millions of people or how Zusak made Death a human being. And lastly how words can affect someone, either in a good or bad way.”..there would be punishment and pain, and there happiness, too. That was writing”.