Jewish Fist Fighter

SUMMARY:
Max Vanderburg. Walter Kugler. They are the fist fighters. We go to the past of Max who was always a fist fighter and fought against Walter. They became good friends. War started, and a Nazi beat Max´s house, time was lost, the family didn´t know what to do, they let Max escape and gave him a piece of paper. He left with Walter, since then they were always hiding from the Nazis. What was written on that piece of paper? One name, one adress:
Hans Hubermann
Himmel Street 33, Molching
They finally decide to approach him, Walter goes to Hans Hubermann, comes back with some money, and tells Max that Hans is a good man. Max shows up to Hans´ house, they sit, and talk for a while.


TEXT RESPONSES:

"He was nearly two years old when his father died, shot to pieces on a grassy hill. When he was nine, his mother was completely broke. She sold the music studio that doubled as their apartment and they moved to his uncle´s house. The he grew up with six cousins who battered, annoyed, and loved him. Fighting with the oldest one, Isaac, was the training ground for his fist fighting. He was trounced almost every night. At thirteen, tragedy struck again when his uncle died."
When a person, especially growing up, has gone through so much tragedy and drama he obviously develops a permanent psycholgical trauma. I believe that fist fighting was Max´s defense mechanism and a way to let out all the negative energy. For me, exercise always works when I´m feeling anger, sadness, and rage.

"Somehow, between the sadness and loss, Max Vanderburg, who was now a teenager with hard hands, blackened eyes, and a sore tooth, was also a little disappointed. Even disgruntled. As he wathched his uncle sink slowly into the bed, he decided that he would never allow himself to die like that.
I believe that a person who is internally and externally destroyed and sees a person who gave him hope, love, and inspiration, for him the world comes to an end. Especially when you are growing up, and you see such death you decide to make changes in your life. Max was a fist fighter, instead his uncle was a quiet sufferer, Max probably thought that he died in such a lame way, so he promised himself never to live like that or die like that.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Death tells us about Max Vanderburg´s past, and its tragedy. Finally, Max shows up in Hans´ house. Since Max was young he has carried along trauma of his father´s and uncle´s death. I believe that after such trauma fist fighting has had more meaning to him, the best way to get out eveything he hasn´t taken out in other ways, Finally, he decides never to live and die like his uncle did. NEVER.

Hans and Hitler´s Party

SUMMARY:
Once again, Death, takes us to Hans´ past, however a recent past. Hans was very close and thankful to Jews, since one of them saved his life, and a lot of his friends were Jews, as well as many of his costumers. Hans was a painter FYI. Okay, back to basis, Hitler rises up to power and many join his party. This was a time right before Liesel came into the picture. Hans made a wise decision of not joining the party, however he started losing costumers and life became harder, so he decided to sign up to join it. e began saying "Heil Hitler" and waving the flag. One day one his friend´s shop who was a Jew was being distroyed by Nazis. So Hans had second thoughts about joining the party, he bumped into the Nazi chief of the town and tells him that he won´t join, however he says "forget it", and keeps walking. What do you think happened? Then, one day, six months over Liesel´s arrival, an event occured which altered Hans´ life. At the work site a young stranger walked up to him, asked him if he was Hans Hubermann, and if he plays the accordion by any chance. They set up a meeting for later in the night.

TEXT RESPONSES:

"Like many of the Jews believed, he didn´t think the hatred could last, and it was a conscious decision not to follow Hitler. On many levels, it was a disastrous one."
I´m grateful that I live in this time, where so much change has been done. Before, being different was not accepted, society was so closed-minded, and many were afraid to speak up. Now today´s parties are promoting differences such as in protests, manifestations, and campaigns, society has realized that we can´t lead lives like in the 1940´s. Now I understand why it was so hard for Hans, especially work and the decision of joining or not. It must´ve been so HARD.

"In sloppy lettering, the words JEWISH FILTH were spilling over at their edges."
Each day that passed, the Nazi party was getting worse and worse and worse. How can Jews be mistreated like that? It´s unbearable! They were treated like animals or objects, they are not filth! They are human beings, and that´s very hard for Nazis to admit. I believe that Nazis which were from Hitler´s party nowadays must feel a deep deep deep guilt...

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Hans joining Hitler´s party? Ummm, second thoughts. Unknown event, stranger walks up to Hans. Whaaat? Jews are being extremely mistreated by the Nazi party, unfairrrr. Differences were not acccepted, nowadays this situation has improved in great levels!

Deep from the Past

SUMMARY:
Liesel and Rudy start stealing, literally, stealing, in a boy´s group, Arthur. They are stealing so that they can eat, then they tried it on their own, and it went well. Hans Hubermann´s past and survival is being uncovered. Death lets us know that Hans Hubermann scaped from it twice, and reveals his survival. He was at the army, and a Jew, Erik Vandenburg which was a great friend of Hans saved his life, he went into battle instead of Hans, none of the men that went came back, and there it is, Hans is still alive. Erik Vanderburg actually taught Hans how to play the accordion. Next event in the book: Max Vanderburg, Erik´s son, which I infer was in the army, shows up in Hans´house. 2 questions he made: "Hans Hubermann? Do you still play the accordion?"

TEXT RESPONSES:

"In the good weather months, he worked vigorously, and even in winter, he often said to Rosa that business might not be pouring, but it would at least drizzle now and again."
I believe that for people who were in low or middle society class during thaat period of time, work was HARD, especially in the not so good weather. As Hans said, work drizzled, sometimes he was able to work, sometimes he wasn´t. I think the lack of job of Hans due to their economic situation and the bad weather, took Liesel to steal since she didn´t receive enough food, then Hans would get worried about Liesel, and spend time with her, and wouldn´t have so much time work=less money. VICIOUS CIRCLE.

"I´ve seen so many young men over the years who think they´re running at other young men. They are not. They´re running at me."
For starters, the character who states this quote is Death, FYI. What I believe Death means with this quote is that men of the army think they are in search for other men to kill them and fight them, however they don´t realize that by going to war they are aiming at Death, not at other men.


FINAL THOUGHTS:
For food, Liesel and Rudy are stealing. And Death gives us a rewind of Hans Hubermann´s life, SO interesting. Death lets us know that a Jew, which was his friend in the army, Erik Vanderburg, saved his life, and taught him to play the accordion. And the guy that appears in Hans´ house is in fact, Erik´s son. Work is hard for Hans and among that, he worries about Liesel. Finally, Death believes that war is stupid, they are aiming at it!!

The Introduction to Books and Thievery

SUMMARY:

The narrator introduces himself as death telling the story of Liesel Meminger, an 11 year old girl who is given to foster parents by her mom due to their economic situation, Liesel´s brother had just died. Liesel gets to know her new parents. Mama is mad and CRAZY, Papa is such a good man. She meets a group of kids who play soccer in the street in the neighborhood, that´s where she meets her best friend Rudy who apparently likes her. Liesel is behind her classmates in school because she doesn´t know how to read. Every night has nightmares regarding her brother´s death and sometimes wets her bed, therefore Papa goes to her room, calms her down, changes her sheets, lays with her and reads parts of the Grave Digger´s Handbook, the book she stole. Papa is teaching her words and its meanings, and how they are correctly written, she is very close to him, she rolls his ciggarettes and listens to him playing the accordion. Mama and Liesel go everyday to pick up the the dirty laundry of diffferent people to wash them and iron them. Liesel receives from Papa two books for her birthday. As time goes by, Liesel steals 2 more books, and the war begins, Hitler is in power. She becomes friends with the mayor´s wife who gives Liesel her laundry, Liesel stays sometimes in her house and reads her collection of books.

TEXT RESPONSES:

I would like to respond to the following texts from the Book Thief:

"The mayor´s wife, having let the girl in for the fourth time, was sitting at the desk, simply watching the books. On the second visit, she had given permission for Liesel to pull one out and go through it, which led to another and another, until up to half a dozen books were stuck to her, either clutched beneath her arm or among the pile that was climbing higher in her remaining hand."

I think that Liesel´s passion for reading is extraordinary because books take you to another world, and make you wiser. I think that probably Liesel loves reading because when she lived with her mother she was restricted from books and reading since their economical situation didn´t allow them neither to buy books or educate the children to be able to read books. The second reason I believe that Liesel loves reading is because she´s had so much pain in her life and so much suffering, that books make her happy and take her to another world, a world in which she forgets about everything else, and has her moment of happiness. 

"After another ten minutes, the gates of thievery would open just a crack, and Liesel Meminger would widen them a little further and squeeze through."
I think that Liesel is now in the center, THE CENTER, of the world of books, and she can´t leave it, she can´t stop reading. Sometimes, when we enter in a world we love which blinds us from the real world it may become an addiction, an addiction that can lead us to do anything to stay with it, an addiction that can make us feel great. In my opinion, Liesel has reached the addiction of books, since they take her to another world and make her forget for the moment, the precious moment, her problems.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Liesel is testing the waters with her new parents, she LOVES Papa, everything is doing normal and well. Liesel reaches the wonderful world of books, FINALLY! And guess what? She loves it! However, she loves it TOO much since she starts stealing books. Books take her to heaven and back, and she gets the most out of heaven. Liesel´s passion for books is beautiful, extraordinary and fascinating, and reading is such a great coping skill, however it has taken her to the other extreme, to THIEVERY.