The Importance Of Names In The Book Thief

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Names are used everyday, they signify a person or things and often have meaning behind it. William Shakespeare once said, “What's in a name? that which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet,” in the play Romeo and Juliet. This means, that if a rose were called by a name other than the one it is most commonly called by, it would not smell, nor look any different. Therefore, Shakespeare asks, “What’s in a name?” Names are used as reminders of the past, or of other people. They often signify things that have happened in the past or important figures, and the name a person is given does not correctly symbolize the person whose name it is. In The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, the names given to the characters correctly describe the …show more content…
Hans was a very kind man who always put others before himself. For that reason, his name which means, “Gift from God,” suits Hans extremely well. In The Book Thief, his kindness can be shown a countless amount of times. However, the time when is kindness is perhaps the most apparent is when the first parade of Jews takes place. As the Jews are forced to walk along the street, “Papa reached into his paint cart and pulled something out. He made his way through the people, onto the road. The Jew stood before him, expecting another handful of derision, but he watched with everyone else as Hans Hubermann held his hand out and presented a piece of bread, like magic,” (Zusak 401). During World War II, being Jewish was a death sentence, and showing kindness to they was almost as bad. Despite that, Liesel’s foster father still gave the starving Jew a piece a bread, even though food was scarce. In reaction to this act of kindness, the Jew fell to the ground and thanked Hans in the space between his shins (Zusak 401). Another obvious reason that Hans’ name is well given based off his personality is when he housed a Jew, because of a debt he owed the man’s father. Therefore, Hans’ name is well-suited for Hans because of his numerous acts of kindness throughout the
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