After almost completing the novel, I noticed that there was one particular theme that managed to escape me before. This is the lesson that nothing is as it seems. The most potent example of this theme can be seen by Zusak’s portrayal of Death the narrator. Instead of being a heartless and cruel creature or event, Death is seen as compassionate and caring. Death demonstrates this time and time again, although his kindness is seen most effectively when Death carries Rudy’s soul past Himmel Street after he was killed during a bombing raid. Death “… carried [Rudy] softly through the broken street...With him [he] tried a little harder [at comforting]. [He] watched the contents of [Rudy’s] soul for a moment and saw a black-painted boy calling the name Jesse Owens as he ran through an imaginary tape. [He] saw him hip-deep in some icy water, chasing a book, and [he] saw a boy lying in bed, imagining how a kiss would taste from his glorious next-door neighbor. [Rudy] does something to [Death], that boy. Every time. It's [Rudy’s] only detriment. He steps on [his] heart. He makes [him] cry” (page 531). This quote demonstrates that Death truly cares about every being which he ferries into the next world. He is not focused on just getting his job done and over with, as he takes the time to comfort Rudy and watch the events of his life, resulting in Death experiencing “human” emotions by making the narrator feel sympathy and sorrow for Rudy’s lost soul.
As well as Death being seen as a surprisingly empathetic being, Hans Hubermann’s actions convey that not every German living within Germany at the time of Hitler’s reign believed in Hitler’s ideals, thus emphasizing yet again the idea that nothing is as it seems This point is conveyed when Hans convinces his wife to hide a Jewish man named Max in their basement, an action so consequential and dangerous that if Max was ever discovered, the Hubermann’s including Max would be killed. By doing this, Hans resists Hitler’s decree that all Jewish people should be persecuted and tortured because, instead of giving Max to the Nazi Party, Hans chooses to save and protect a Jewish person himself. Another action which shows resistance against Nazi tyranny is the fact that Hans refuses to join the Nazi Party and continues to service Jewish customers. Both of these actions are shunned upon heavily by the Party and the townspeople, simply because all citizens are expected to be members of the Party and those who support Hitler should not be servicing Jewish customers because they are seen as “filth.” Even though these actions make him lose business and slip into the depths of poverty as well as making him a victim to constant antagonization and alienation at the hands of Molching’s townspeople, Hans firmly reinforces his beliefs and refuses to bend to Hitler’s will and conform to society’s expectations.
These two examples are important to the novel because they help convey the fact that one cannot cast judgments based on exterior qualities. These examples are also especially significant to me, simply because it forced me to think outside of my metaphorical box while reading the novel and also helped me examine the depth of the nature of people living in Nazi Germany.
I can connec tthis theme to me through my experience of eating oranges. While eating fruit for an afterschool snack, I avoided the oranges that were slightly bruised, misshapen and a little softer than the rest; however the firmer, brighter and more orb shaped oranges which I chose to eat were found to be incredibly sour and full of small seeds. After the disappointment about realizing how terrible they tasted, I decided to choose the less eye-appealing oranges only to discover that they definitely tasted better than the ones that I had eaten before. The next time I ate oranges for a snack, I had learned my lesson: exterior appearances can be deceiving.
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