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Part 8: The Thought of Rudy Naked
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Book Thief, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Death
Words and Language
Books
Stealing and Giving
Color, Beauty, and Ugliness
Summary
Analysis
Death describes Germany's inevitable punishment of Hans Hubermann for helping a Jew. First it is only his conscience that suffers. After that, he is accepted to the Nazi Party, which seems like good news at first, except that two days later he gets a letter drafting him into the army. Rosa cries and Liesel feels sick as she reads the letter. Later Liesel describes the sky sadly to the nonexistent Max. The Steiners are also grieving next door, as Alex Steiner has been drafted as punishment for not letting Rudy go away to Nazi school.
It has come slowly but inevitably, and now the war strikes these two families right in the heart. This is more fuel for Liesel's hatred of Hitler and the Nazis, and it will turn Rudy defiantly against the Party that wants to recruit him. Like Death and Max, Liesel distracts herself from her sorrow by looking at the sky and putting her vision into words.
Themes
