Power In The Book Thief

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affection towards males simply because society’s conventions require it. However, it can be argued that Liesel appears autonomous through the guidance of the male figures that encourage her passion to read. Although the fatherly authority that Hans provides is not biological, it is the closest thing that Liesel has to a father and this can be perceived as a form of paternal authority. Zusak utilises the concept of Liesel being independent through the power of words as she takes on the role of education-“Papa would say a word and the girl would have to spell it aloud and then paint it on the wall, as long as she got it right. After a month, the wall was recoated. A fresh cement page.” It is Hans who first encourages her to learn how to read…show more content…
Not only this, but throughout The Book Thief, Markus Zusak, uses Liesel to demonstrate that the moment when she realises she’s learned how to read fluently, she touches on the sense of power that people can feel with the use of words and the power she gains through them: “Once words had rendered Liesel useless, but now she felt an innate sense of power.” Zusak uses this to illustrate that Liesel receives power…show more content…
Zusak hints at how Hans wishes he could be defiant through Liesel, as he himself suffers silently against the Nazi regime. Liesel is the most important part of his life and so he will do anything it would take to protect her- “but you have to promise me something...If I ever ask you to keep a secret for me, you will do it." Zusak indicates that Hans keeps his beliefs of the Nazi Regime and the hiding of Max in secret, as to be open about it would get him and his family killed. In the same way, in Much Ado about Nothing, Beatrice can also be shown to be autonomous through the supervision of Leonato, her uncle. As referenced before, although this is not Beatrice’s biological father, he is the closest to paternal authority she has. Throughout the play, Leonato reinforces social conventions of the Elizabethan era especially through his daughter, Hero. However, Shakespeare differentiates how Leonato feels towards Beatrice in comparison to Hero. It's clear from the beginning that Leonato would like to see Beatrice married, but he does not attempt to control who she marries but rather participates in working things out so

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