Death as a Narrator
Markus Zusak, in The Book Thief, takes a different approach to writing. He does this by introducing a narrator that is death personified. This is effective because
“Death” gives a different perspective than one a human could provide. Since Death is the narrator, he can talk about events that the main character may not have known about, which deepens your understanding of the story. Death is not cold-hearted; however, he is indifferent to human emotions and actions, which leaves you to interpret the events whichever way you want. The use of Death as a narrator is effective in deepening your understanding of the story. Seeing as Death is an entity, rather than a human being, the perspective in which he tells the story is unique and thought provoking. “People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and ends, but to me it’s quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations, with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spat blues. Murky darknesses. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them” (Zusak, 4). This shows Death’s perspective and how it differs from that of a human. He compares his point of view with what humans see, and gives examples of the how the way he sees things is different than humans do.. Death, contrary to popular belief, is not “cold-hearted” or “evil”. “The survivors. They’re the ones I can’t stand to look at, although on many occasions I still fail. I deliberately seek out the colors to keep my mind off them, but now and then, I witness the ones who are left behind…” (5). Markus Zusak portrays Death as compassionate and even somewhat relatable. Death tells the story and portrays the events exactly the way they happened. He takes note of his surroundings, but doesn’t get caught up in the reasoning and emotions, the way a human might. “Hans took out two paint cans and invited him to sit down. Before he accepted the invitation, the young man extended his hand and introduced himself. “My name’s Kugler. Walter. I come from Stuttgart” (184). Death doesn’t use metaphors to describe situations; he describes the events exactly the way they transpire. Since Death’s job is to collect the souls from dead bodies, he travels all over the world. Because of this, he has experienced events relevant to the story that the main character, Liesel, may not have even known about. The extra insight Death can provide as a result of this adds to the depth of the story. Most of the story is about Liesel’s experiences growing up, however, when her foster father, Hans, gets sent away to help with the war effort, Death steps in. “In late November, he had his first smoky taste of an actual raid. The truck was mobbed by rubble and there was much running and shouting. Fires were burning and the ruined cases of buildings were piled up in mounds” (433). Markus Zusak’s use of Death as the narrator in The Book Thief is effective for many reasons. As a narrator, Death offers a unique perspective, one that is different than any a human could provide. Death tells the story exactly as it happened; he doesn’t exaggerate or use metaphors, this means the story is to-the-point and only consists of the most pertinent facts and events. Lastly, Death adds a level of depth to the story that a human perspective wouldn’t be able to, because of the nature of his “job”. |