Introduction
The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, is a memorable novel telling a story of a family living in Nazi Germany. The author introduces dynamic and believable characters to convey the message of hope in the setting filled with fear and uncertainty.
Hans Hubermann is Liesel’s foster father who opposes the Nazi oppression and teaches his daughter about the world through the power of language and communication. Moreover, he shelters Max Vandenburg – a Jewish young man – despite the multiple risks to the family’s safety.
Ultimately, Hans acts as the mentor for Liesel and protector for Max, transparently indicating the significance of his role in the narrative of the story. Hans Hubermann is Zusak’s chief vehicle for the conveyance of the novel’s message of hope, connection, and the empowering effects of language because of his role as Liesel’s mentor and courage to protect his family.
Critical Context of Hans Hubermann
While Hans Hubermann is not the protagonist or the focus point of the narrative, he arguably plays the most significant role in the character development process of Liesel and Max. Immediately after the adoption, Liesel had constant nightmares – “she would wake up swimming in her bed, screaming, and drowning in the flood of sheets” (Zusak, 2005, p. 31). Nevertheless, Hans soothed her and ensured that Liesel was safe from the past horrors of the war.
As Zusak (2005, p. 31) puts it, “trust was accumulated quickly, due primarily to the brute strength of the man’s gentleness, his thereness.” In other words, Hans always supported Liesel and became the catalyst of her transformation. Liesel’s development is essential to the narrative of the novel, and Hans plays an irreplaceable part in her personal growth by mentoring, supporting, and teaching her.
Consequently, Hans provided shelter for Max and kept it a secret from the government party to save the young man’s life. Thus, in the context of the Hubermanns’ household, Hans acted as the mentor and protector, who played an invaluable part in the growth and development of Liesel and Max.
Mentorship Role
Arguably, the primary role of Hans Hubermann in the narrative is that of a mentor. He opens the world of opportunities for Liesel by teaching her how to read and write, encouraging education through example. In the setting of Nazi Germany and Liesel’s harsh past, she needed a beacon of hope, and Hans provided it in the form of the language. Education became vital to Liesel as a means of escapism from the past and an instrument of establishing a closer bond with Hans.
To prove this point, Zusak (2005, p. 57) writes, “between school and home, from the river to the basement, from the good days to the bad, Liesel was learning to read and write.” Moreover, Hans and Liesel spent many nights painting the walls in the basement with new words that the girl was learning. These education sessions became a safe haven for Liesel, filled with a sense of security and the smell of cigarettes and kerosene, which she loved and associated with “friendship” (Zusak, 2005, p. 57). Thus, Hans’s mentorship is essential for Liesel’s character development and the representation of the empowering effects of the language.
Protector Role
Moreover, Hans provides emotional support for Liesel and stands for her interests, conveying the message of hope and connection. The secondary role of Hans is that of a protector, concerning both the physical and emotional aspects. In the setting of the Nazi Regime, Hans protected Liesel and Max materialistically, providing shelter and food while minimizing the influence of the regime. However, he also established deep connection bonds with Liesel and Max, ensuring them that the family home of Hubermanns was a safe place.
It was particularly significant for Max Vandenburg since, being a Jewish person in the 1930s in Germany, he risked his life on multiple occasions. At the time, Jewish people were prosecuted in Nazi Germany on the basis of ethnoreligious affiliation and nationality.
Thus, Max Vandenburg required protection, and Hans was ready to provide it, as per his promise to Max’s father. As a result, Max also established a deep bond with Hans and Liesel, who helped him during this challenging stage of his life. Ultimately, Zusak transparently demonstrates the importance of Hans’s role as a protector to the narrative and the message of hope and connection.
Child-Adult Narrative
A different perspective on Hans’s role in the narrative concerns the duality of the child-adult relationship. The author emphasizes the difference in perception of the relevant situations from the worldview of Liesel and Hans. Consequently, Zusak creates this separation for readers since the novel was published for all age groups, including teenagers and adults (Adams, 2010).
In this sense, the younger audience can understand Liesel’s perception to a greater extent while also recognizing the peculiarities of the situation from Hans’s perspective. This approach creates a more captivating narrative, and Hans Hubermann acts as a counterpart for Liesel in the child-adult relationship (Adams, 2010). Moreover, Zusak acknowledges the importance of duality when Liesel breaks down the character after Hans’s death.
At the time, she states, “Papa was a man with silver eyes, not dead ones. Papa was an accordion!” (Zusak, 2005, p. 405). In this passage, Zusak illustrates the return to the child’s perspective from an already grown Liesel, thus, emphasizing the importance of Hans in her life. Ultimately, Hans Hubermann is essential not only to the character development of Liesel but also to the representation of the child-adult narrative.
The Role of Environment
Consequently, Zusak brilliantly utilizes the setting and the environment of Nazi Germany to emphasize the good qualities of family members. In this context, Hans Hubermann is the central character who opposes the political regime and risks his life by saving Max and teaching Liesel. Moreover, Hans has adapted to the reality of the Nazi regime by learning how to blend in the background, not invoking unnecessary attention from the government party. Zusak (2005, p. 29) describes him, “He was always just there. Not noticeable. Not important or particularly valuable”.
However, on the next page, the author immediately dissolves this perception, “The frustration of that appearance, as you can imagine, was its complete misleadence” (Zusak, 2005, p. 29). The two passages transparently demonstrate that Hans mastered the ability to comply with the existing regime in order to protect his family. While it might seem like cowardice to some, it takes utmost courage to go against one’s principles to save close people.
Consequently, it is essential to analyze the role of Hans’s house as a sanctuary for Liesel and Max. As mentioned briefly before, the family home and, particularly, the basement became a safe haven for Liesel and Max. According to Koprince (2011), the basements are generally described as dark and unsafe places in fiction, making Zusak’s interpretation highly irregular. However, after a more thorough examination, it is evident that the basement is the continuation of Liesel’s utmost belief in Hans, attaching positive connotations to the place (Koprince, 2011).
The basement itself is not a special location, but Liesel and Max associate it directly with protection and hope, precisely because of Hans. Therefore, Zusak further demonstrates the importance of the environment to character development based on the positive connotations with the basement and the family home of the Hubermanns. Ultimately, Hans Hubermann acts as a beacon of hope for Liesel and Max in the hostile environment of Nazi Germany, conveying the positive message of the novel.
Power of Words
Having analyzed the character development and the role of the environment, it is essential to focus on the empowering effects of the language. As mentioned briefly before, education and language play a vital part in Liesel’s personal growth. However, according to Dominguez-Rué (2019), another powerful message of the novel is that words can be used to tell stories. The author describes most characters as “silenced” people – the ones who died without sharing their stories (Dominguez-Rué, 2019).
On the other hand, Liesel is particularly determined to use the acquired knowledge from Hans to preserve the legacy of her close people. As Dominguez-Rué (2019, p. 522) puts it, “it crystallizes with <…> her awareness of the power of words and simultaneously vindicates the stories of those who are absent.” Ultimately, the power of words plays a vital part in the character development of Liesel, and Hans’s role in her education cannot be underestimated.
Conclusion
The current research essay has demonstrated that Hans Hubermann can be rightfully considered the chief vehicle for the conveyance of the novel’s message of hope, connection, and the empowering effects of language. His role as the mentor for Liesel and the protector for Max is essential to the character development and the progression of the narrative. Hans emotionally supports Liesel, stays with her during the countless nightmares, and opens the world of opportunities by teaching her how to read and write.
Moreover, he provides shelter for Liesel and Max, protecting them from the hostile environment in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Thus, the family home of Hubermanns becomes the sanctuary directly associated with safety and connection, precisely because of Hans. Ultimately, Hans is the symbol of hope for Liesel and Max, transparently conveying the positive message of The Book Thief.
References
Adams, J. (2010). “Into eternity’s certain breadth”: Ambivalent escapes in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. Children’s Literature in Education, 41, 222-233. Web.
Dominguez-Rué, E. (2019). Shaking words: Memoir as confrontation in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. Holocaust Studies, 25(4), 514-527. Web.
Koprince, S. (2011). Words from the basement: Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. Notes on Contemporary Literature, 41(1).
Zusak, M. (2005). The book thief. Picador.