Kiersten Mead 4th hr Mrs.

Mazany January 14, 2014

Novel Compare/ Contrast The Book Thief by: Markus Zusak and Night by: Elie Wiesel There are numerous novels, biographies, memoirs and reference books written about the people and events of the World War II time period. Very few are as powerful as Markus Zusaks The Book Thief and Elie Wiesels Night. Both novels focus on the events and stories of the same time period, but they do so in a way that is unlike others out there. Zusak shares the story of what is was like being a German citizen during the war, but with a character that doesnt have the traditional German mindset. Wiesels novel is dramatically different, as his is a memoir of his own personal experiences as a Jewish person and Holocaust survivor. To understand what makes these stories so powerful and so alike, it is necessary to understand where the inspiration behind the books came from. The back-story behind both acts as both a similarity and a difference. Both authors had very powerful connections to the work that they chose to write. For each book, personal memories and stories allowed the authors to create pieces of literature that leaves readers feeling as though they have truly lived in that time period. Markus Zusak was not a first-hand witness to the World War II time period, but both of his parents were. His entire childhood was filled with stories that his mother would tell him about growing up as a child in Munich, Germany. Two of the stories stood out for him, and acted

Mead 7

as a large influence for his work. One was his mothers recollection of the day that the sky burned when the city was bombed, and the other was his mothers account of a young German boy being whipped for feeding a poor, homeless Jewish man. Zusak decided to take these raw memories and turn them into a fictional piece of literature. He had always been a fiction writer so he decided to stick with what he knew, but in a way that the message would not be construed (panmacmillan.com). Elie Wiesel on the other hand, gained the information for his memoir first hand. Wiesel was born in 1928 in a town called Sighet, Transylvania. At the mere age of fifteen, he and his entire family were deported by the Nazis to Auschwitz. During his time there, he witnessed the death of his mother and seven year-old sister and was forced to watch his father slowly deteriorate before his eyes as they both fought to remain together and stay alive. He and his two older sisters were the only ones to survive from their family of six. After the War, Wiesel studied in Paris to become a journalist. He would not have even written the novel had it not been for the encouragement from a French writer Francois Mauriac (eliewieselfoundation.org). Wiesel decided to take Mauriacs advice and write it, not only for fame and notoriety, but more so as a way to heal and validate his survival. He feared that one day, people would forget all of the stories, or even go along with the conspirators that said the entire Holocaust never occurred. He decided to write the book as a way to preserve not only his voice, but also the voices of the millions that died (Wiesel). The time period for both novels is entirely the same. Both books focus on the time periods before, during, and after World War II. In 1933, Adolf Hitler began his rise to power. He became Reich Chancellor and from that point on, his power began to expand (history.com). Both books begin just years after. The Book Thief begins first chronologically. Zusak explains that

Mead 7

Liesel goes to live with the Memingers in the year 1939 when the war first began (Zusak 27), while Wiesel begins his story in approximately 1942. For the majority of both books, all actions occur within a three year span. The Book Thief extends to mainly 1942 while Night goes through the year 1945. The authors use these time periods to allow them to vividly describe events that caused World War II to be as violent and disturbing as it was. In both novels as well, the authors briefly describe what happened after the main time frame of their story. The most interesting thing about these two books is the view from which they were written. Not necessarily their point of view, but more so the side of the war that the main characters had to witness. This also acts as one of the most obvious differences. Zusak tells the story of a young German girl during the early years of World War II. This characters name is Liesel Meminger. Liesel is not the typical German girl however. After being pulled from her family, who readers later learn were Communists, and witnessing her little brother and only friend die on the way to her foster familys home, she is bitter toward the world. She sees all of the flaws in German society. Zusak did a fantastic job of creating a character that does not allow her judgment and morals to be clouded by Hitler and his Nazis. Liesel and her family are on the Jewish side. They believe it is wrong to turn their backs on people that they have known their entire lives, and this becomes apparent when they hide a Jewish man named Max. The family that usually does everything that is expected of them decides to follow what they believe is right to help out a friend. They risk their lives to help someone else. Very few authors tell the German side of the story through the eyes of the people that still saw Hitler and his Nazis as wrong. By telling the German side of the story through a character like Liesel, Zusak does just as he had hoped. He creates a memorable character with a story unlike anything in literature today.

Mead 7

As said before, Elie Wiesel tells his accounts of this time period through the eyes of a Jewish Holocaust survivor. He, much like Liesel turns his back to everything he once believed in upon entering Auschwitz. The horrific events at the death camp left him questioning his faith and questioning his reason for living. He witnessed people being burned alive in crematoriums, people digging their own graves, Jewish babies being thrown in large fires while they were still alive and even Jewish men killing one another in order to survive (Wiesel). His personal recollections of the story as a Jewish prisoner allow for a very raw and emotional story. Readers cannot help but become emotionally involved in his struggle to stay alive. The thing that makes his story so powerful is the way that he holds absolutely nothing back from the readers. Every gritty detail of Auschwitz and various other work camps are shared regardless of how horrible it may be. Very few authors have the ability to tell such compelling stories from such different sides in history. As if telling the stories from such contrasting views wasnt a big enough difference, the point of view that the two novels are written from contrast even more. Despite the difference in narrators however, the message that the narrators send to readers is exactly the same. Zusak writes his novel with Death as the narrator. His version of Death however is not like most readers would expect. He is nothing like the emotionless Grimm Reaper. Instead, Death is afraid of humans more than they are afraid of him. Death has to witness every horrible thing that humans do that result in the loss of a life. He witnesses first-hand how horrible humans are capable of being. Wiesel on the other hand tells his story as himself. While this is an apparent difference, both narrators are forced to see the same way. They experience how horrible human nature can be.

Mead 7

The points of view and the reason that each of the books were written all stand as general supporting details for the simple fact that one of the books is non-fiction while the other is fictional. Zusak knew that he did fiction best and so thats what he decided to do with his novel. It made the most sense to him as an author and because he made it a fictional novel, it allowed him to create an even stronger character and an even more interesting back story that really grasped what it would have been like to be in a situation like Liesels. It comes as no surprise that people all over the world have fallen in love with his bestseller. The novel has gained so much popularity that in 2013 it was released as a movie. For obvious reasons, Wiesels book is non-fiction. It would have completely taken away his purpose for writing the memoir if he would have made it fictional. Sharing his personal story was an important way for him to move forward and heal after such a traumatic experience. His ability to captivate readers leaves no question as to why Night has been added to book lists and curriculum all over the word. The amazing thing is though that regardless of the fact that one is fiction and one is not, both books are equally as compelling and powerful. Neither would have been as successful if they would have been written and approached differently. The Book Thief and Night are two of the most powerful and well written books on the Holocaust. Even though the books contrast so greatly, the message that they both send is the same. Both are a reminder of how absolutely horrific World War II and the Holocaust truly were. Both Zusak and Wiesel agree that the events that occurred are too important to not be talked about. It is said that history repeats itself if people do not learn from their past. Thanks to authors like Wiesel and Zusak, it is possible to learn. Readers born after this time era would never fully understand what it was like back then if it wasnt for pieces of literature like these. The only way for people today to understand it is by survivors and their families sharing their knowledge. Elie

Mead 7

Wiesel once said To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time (Wiesel). Unless stories like these are shared, people will never learn and people will forget. Zusak and Wiesel did the world a favor by writing such memorable novels. Both leave readers with a greater understanding of what humans are capable of allowing.

Mead 7

Works Cited "The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity." The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. Wiesel, Elie, and Marion Wiesel. Night. New York, NY: Hill and Wang, a Division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006. Print. "World War II." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. Zusak, Markus. "Pan Macmillan Australia." Interview. Pan Macmillan Australia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. <http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/>. Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print.