The Book Thief- Blog Entry 1

   Narrated by Death, The Book Thief is the story of Liesel Meminger, a nine-year-old German girl in the midst of Hitler’s regime. Death first meets Liesel at her brother’s funeral; her brother died on the train ride to the Hubermann’s house. Liesel and her brother are given up by their mother to live with Hans and Rosa Hubermann for reasons unknown to the reader. It is after the burial of her brother that Liesel steals her first book, The Grave Digger’s Handbook, after it is dropped in the snow. Although Liesel is uneducated for her age and unable to read the book, she keeps it as a final memory of her brother. Originally, Liesel does not want to live with the Hubermanns. She is haunted by nightmares about her family that she left behind. She finds solace and comfort through Hans Hubermann, with whom she grows close to.

   The main protagonist of the book is Liesel Meminger. She is fostered by the Hubermanns when her father abandons their family and her mother is forced to give her up for adoption. Her younger brother, Werner, dies on the way to the Hubermanns. She has a close relationship with her foster father, Hans, who comforts her and plays the accordion. Liesel has a rough but loving relationship with her foster mother, Rosa. The story takes place in Munich, Germany between 1939 and 1943. I infer that the town was a Nazi stronghold, and the Hitler ideologies had support from the residents of the town. 

   One of the recurring problems in Liesel’s life is her lack of education. She is unable to read, but is slowly learning with the help of her foster father. Another problem Liesel faces is the trauma from her brother’s death; she frequently has nightmares about his death. 

Sarah's Key- Blog Entry 2

   In the book, Sarah’s Key, there are multiple inferences about the events in the book that can be made. One of my inferences is that the houses that both characters live in are the same; the characters just lived in them at different times. I think this because both houses are in Paris and they are both apartments, Julia also talks about how old the apartment is. She says, “My husband’s grandmother had lived here for ages.” (p.11) The great-grandmother is in her 90s, so she could have moved to the apartment when she was a teenager. One of my questions about this inference is did the Tezacs know that they were moving into a house from the infamous roundup? Did they know that the house’s previous occupants had been victims of the Vel' d'Hiv roundup?

   In addition, another inference I made is that some Parisians were against the roundup of Jews. When Sarah and her family were being taken away, one of her neighbors spoke out in defense of the family. He said, “But you can’t do this…they’re honest, good people! You can’t do this! (p. 19) I also know from history that some Europeans hid and protected Jews during the Holocaust. I also wonder why people that Sarah’s family had good relationships with were willing to stand back and let the family continue to their deaths? There may have been up standers to the discrimination but I infer that some French disliked Jews and agreed with the roundup. Sarah demonstrates this point by saying, “That awful boy at school, Daniel, who had whispered horrible things to her under his breath, horrible things about her mother’s accent, her father’s accent.” (p.13) I wondered how a child would think it is okay to discriminate against Jews? What could make a child think they are inferior? 

   I also think that there will be some marriage problems in the future for Julia and Bertrand. Julia says, “Today, for some obscure reason, for the first time, I felt I had had enough.” (p. 21) Bertrand makes fun of Julia for being American and moving to France, he believes that Julia doesn’t care about what he says. One of my questions is what will Julia ever confront him or stand up for herself? 

Sarah's Key- Blog Entry 1

   In the beginning of the book, we meet the two main characters from both time periods. The reader is introduced to Sarah’s family; the French police take Sarah with her parents as they go to various houses arresting Jews. Sarah is a little girl and doesn’t understand what is happening, she believes that they will come back. Her little brother doesn’t want to go, so Sarah locks him in a cupboard believing she will we back to save him. In 2002, we meet a modern-day Parisian family who is moving into their grandmother’s house. The family consists of Bertrand, Julia, and Zoe. Julia is the main protagonist from that era; she is investigating the roundup of the Jews in Paris.   

   The protagonists both live in Paris, just in different time periods. Sarah’s family is from Paris in 1942, during the Holocaust. Julia’s family lives in Paris in 2002, Julia is originally from America. I infer that the two houses that both protagonists live in are the same.

   There are a lot of major and minor problems in the book so far. One of the main problems for Sarah’s family is that they are being taken away from their homes, and are probably not coming home. Another problem is that Sarah’s little brother is trapped inside the cupboard, and he probably won’t ever come out. In Julia’s family, there are not any major problems, but there are some minor ones. Julia is starting to get irritated because her husband is making snide comments about Julia being American.