Young Thieves

In The Book Thief Liesel and Rudy are involved with two young boys named Arthur berg, and Otto Strum. Arthur Berg is the leader of a thieving group of young boys (Zusak 150). Liesel and Rudy get involved with Arthur because they know the group of boys don't go hungry for long. Rudy's hunger and Liesel's love for her friend drove them to thievery with the group of young boys (Zusak 150).

Otto Sturm is a boy from Liesel and Rudy's school (Zusak 162). Rudy and Liesel noticed Otto doing the same exact things week after week. For a month they watched Otto ride his bike to church carrying goods to the priest (Zusak 162). They decided to set him up. "All those priests are too fat anyway," Rudy explained, "they could go without a feed for a week or so." Liesel could only agree, she was just as hungry as Rudy (Zusak 162). It was a frosty week in October when Rudy poured water on the road right where Otto turned the corner. Their plan to set up Otto for his goods was successful. As soon as Otto turned the corner he fell face down on the road (Zusak 163). Rudy went strait for the goods. The goods they retrieved were bread, eggs, and ham and they were very much grateful.

I do believe it's possible for people to be bad and good at the same time. For instance, the kids in The Book Thief are stealing food simply to survive their own hunger. At the same time, they're also taking from someone else. I can't necessarily relate to these young thieves. I've never had to steal for survival. I can definitely put myself in their shoes, and I can surely understand their ways.

Work Cited:

Zusak, Marcus. The Book Thief. NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Print.