Analyse how language features were used to deepen your understanding of a theme.

In his novel, “The Book Thief”, Markus Zusak communicates his ideas about the vulnerability of all societies to colluding in atrocities by re-framing the events of the Nazi Holocaust in the mid-20th century. Like many texts in the genre of Magical Realism, a variety of techniques are used by Zusak to help the reader to look at something familiar with new eyes. Through a selection of language features, those being the personification of death, the symbolism of books and ONE MORE LANGUAGE FEATURE to deepen our understanding of the power of words. Through this, Zusak develops the readers view on the linkage between the power of words and how the events of the Nazi Holocaust turned out.

Zusak uses conventions like personification to create an image that death is an normal human being and through this was able to demand the reader to construct new views on the novel.

The symbolism of books was portrayed in the novel relating to Lisel and her literature journey. The symbol of books was used to illustrate the development of Lisel’s understanding of the Nazi Holocaust and the persuasive and power words can have.

Zusak through using the symbols to convey the power of words he was able to illustrate a wider concept. The concept on how the power of words was used in Nazi germany