Non Fiction

The text “The power of the mind” written by Malcolm Gunn explores the role of the brain and how different peoples brains, particularly their amygdala create different experiences and emotions to situations and environment due to past events that have occurred. The brain notices things for what they are, and the amygdala attatches your emotions to them. In this text Gunn uses language features such as word choice, contrast and …..

In “The power of the mind” Gunn chose words associated with danger and uncomfort such as unfamiliar, deadly, venomous, slippery, and damp to describe G’s feelings about the walking track that her and her husband were on. This word choice helped us to picture how her brain was perceiving her adventure. Her amygdala was telling her that this was too much and it was unsafe and she needed to get out. In addition to this word choice was also used to show her husbands reaction to their environment. Words such as magical, mellowed, pleasantly and mutual paint quite a different picture in our heads almost as if we are in another place entirely. G’s husband, the narrator of this story must have had good experiences with nature and bats in the past to be able to create this image of it for himself.

This leads us to the writer using contrast to show that the same thing can be experienced in different ways.

NCEA 2017

Choose a question: Analyse how one or more ideas were used to comment on an aspect of human nature.
Note: “Ideas” may refer to character, theme, or setting.

Plan your answer:

the setting of nazi germany in WW2 was used to comment on the idea in human nature that ALL humans are capable of great good and evil.

P1: how hitler was a leader and was seen as the one person who was evil looking back on it.

P2: how the peope who tried to help the Jews were treated like the enemy. How whie helping someone is good but sometimes the consequences are worse.

P3: people who either supported hitler or didn’t voice their opinions were the majority or the germans. how not saying anything added to the problem.

Intro:

The book Thief, a novel by Marcus Zusak, is set in a small town in Germany during WW2. In this novel the setting can be seen to comment on the idea that in human nature all humans are capable of being or acting both good and evil. Throughout The Book Thief Zusak makes us think about the power that words held in the second world war and the power they still hold now. We put a lot of importance into words and language because that is how we communicate with each other. Words being of great importance therefore hold a lot of power and can be used to reach a large audience. Zusak uses books stolen at a significant time by Liesel to symbolize the power words hold and their effect on humans. The first of these books is “the grave diggers handbook” , the second “the shoulder shrug” and thirdly “Mein Kampf.”

Quotes:

“There was something black and rectangular lodged in the snow. Only the girl saw it. She bent down she picked it up and held it firmly in her fingers.”

“Beneath her shirt, a book was eating her up.” metaphor, personification of the book

She was a girl. In Nazi Germany. How fitting that she was discovering the power of words.”

“The words. Why did they have to exist? Without them, there wouldn’t be any of this. Without words, the Führer was nothing.” Question

“You could argue that Liesel Meminger had it easy. She did have it easy compared to Max Vandenburg. Certainly, her brother had practically died in her arms. Her mother abandoned her. But anything was better than being a Jew.” 

“The Germans loved to burn things.”

“At the end of an afternoon that had contained much exitement, much beautiful evil, one blood-soaked ankle, and a slap from a trusted hand, Liesel Meminger attained her second success story.”

Beyond the outskirts of Munich, there was a town called Molching … That’s where they were taking her, to a street by the name of Himmel.

Question 2: Poetry Cloudburst

Analyse the way people cope with a flood.

Consider techniques used in the text and explain their effects. Could use: listing, allusion and personal pronouns.

In the poem Cloudburst the poet, Kevin Ireland, reflects on the experience of a flood. A flood is a “once-in-a-thousand-years disaster.” Kevin uses language techniques to show that the people of the township were lucky to have experienced a flood instead of a different more common disaster. But they were also unlucky because it was a rare thing. The people of the town coped with the flood by realising what they are grateful for.

“Lucky us; others in the same lottery drew bombs, pestilence, earthquakes, fire, terror and starvation.” This shows that Kevin was feeling lucky. The town had not experienced these more common disasters, yet they had experienced a very rare one. “others in the same lottery” means that they were all in the lottery of life. And life made their decisions, not them.

assembling quotes

Quote: “Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like the rain.”

Idea: The quote makes words appear as a physical thing. Whereas in real life they aren’t necessarily real. It reminds us the strong power that words hold and how we can harness their power.

Technique: simile the words are being compared to clouds and squeezing the rain out of them.

Quote: “On the other was the squat round shape of Rosa Hubermann, who looked like a small wardrobe with a coat thrown over it.”

Idea: A character quote describing the physical appearance of Rosa who was Liesel’s foster mum. We get a sense of toughness from this.

Technique: simile/comparison gives us the image of the type of shape Rosa was. She is very square and stocky.

Quote: “Yes the Führer decided that he would rule the world with words. “I will never fire a gun, I will not have to”

Idea: Words are so powerful you can fight with them. The Fuhrer made everyone scared of him by using his words and threats.

Technique: Irony

Quote: “First the colours, then the humans, thats usually how I see things or at least how i try.

Idea:

Technique:

Quote: “ I clearly remember that my breath was loud that day. I’m surprised the guards didn’t notice me as they walked by.”

Idea:

Technique:

Quote: “Tears were frozen to the book thief’s face.”

Idea:

Technique:

Quote:

“I waved.

No-one waved back.”

Idea:

Technique:

“But she did love Liesel Meminger.”

“Words fooled her.”

“The silver in his eyes, however, wasn’t warm, like Papa’s – they’d been Führered.”

“Beneath her shirt, a book was eating her up.”

“Mein Kampf.

Of all the things to save him.”

“When death captures me,’ the boy vowed, ‘he will feel my fist on his face.’

Personally, I quite like that. Such stupid gallantry.

Yes.

I like that a lot.”

NCEA 2.4 – Genre Investigation

The novel The Book Thief displays a key theme that shows the power of words and language. It is possible to rule the world with words. The Author, Marcus Zusak, uses features of language such as irony, simile, and personification to highlight the power that words contain. The Book Thief fits into the genre of magical realism. This provides a safety net for us because we are slightly removed from the story therefore it’s not as gritty as it would be if it was just realism. Zusak uses the character Death to narrate the novel and show his perspective on the happenings of World War 2 following the story of Liesel Meminger, using this as an example of a magical realism technique. Having a personified Death used as a narrator that feels normal to us while reading The Book Thief shows the effect of magical realism. The humanized Death feels normal to us, even though it is clear we don’t have the character ‘Death’ in our world. Magical realism was a good genre for The Book Thief because it created a perspective of WW2 that we don’t see that often. It made the story interesting, while still providing us with believable and real scenarios. This made us have trust in the book.

There is a strong sense of irony in The Book Thief, which is shown in more than one way. The character Death is a kind being, and doesn’t have evil or malicious intent contrary to humans popular belief. Liesel’s obsession with stealing books is ironic too. It’s as if Liesel is trying to fight an army by herself by stealing back the books that Hitler is murdering one by one. In The Book Thief, Max writes a book for Liesel. In this he uses irony when talking about the Fuhrer. “Yes, the Führer decided that he would rule the world with words. “I will never fire a gun… I will not have to’” This is ironic because it has since been revealed that Hitler shot himself in April 1945. He had decided that he would “rule the world with words.” While that had been true through the war, and he had effectively enforced control over Germany, there had come a time when worlds failed him. It is ironic that he got to the peak of dictatorship without needing to fire a gun, but felt that he had to fire a gun to end his life. He realized that the power of words can go both ways. Marcus Zusak officially got the book thief published by 2005. It is probable that Zusak knew about Hitler’s death and included this in the book that Max wrote because he saw the irony in the situation.

In The Book Thief words are portrayed as Liesel’s rescuer. Marcus Zusak used similie to enhance the power of words, again adding to the magical part of magical realism by making words appear as an object. Figuratively speaking words rescued Liesel, as in they were her comfort while she was struggling with the past few incidents that had brought her pain. “Certainly, her brother had practically died in her arms. Her mother abandoned her. But anything was better than being a Jew.” Liesel had had a rough few years, and even though it was considerably better than being a Jew, she needed a crutch. Her interest in words became that crutch, she became determined to learn how to read and write even though she didn’t yet know how. “Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like the rain.” This simile has the insight that words are a physical thing, whereas in our world they are not. Once her reading started becoming more comprehensive she became more confident around the school. “Once, words had rendered Liesel useless, but now… she felt an innate sense of power. It happened every time she deciphered a new word or pieced together a sentence. She was a girl. In Nazi Germany. How fitting that she was discovering the power of words.” However, words also literally saved her. If Liesel hadn’t been writing in her book down in the basement she would have died among the rubble along with everyone else on Himmel street. The personification of the words allows us to believe that words in themselves have the power to save us rather than them just being somewhere we can release our feelings. Although that is powerful in its own right too. They make us feel like we have a purpose because they are important.

The word choice and the personification in The Book Thief shows us that words can be loaded with pain. “The injury of words. Yes, the brutality of words. “ The right word can make you hate, empathize, and mourn for a character all at once. Once Liesel had discovered how to use words, she began to realize that she could use them to her advantage. She didn’t always use them to inflict pain, but when she did they were used like daggers. “…More spiteful and evil than she thought herself capable. The injury of words. Yes, the brutality of words.” When the Mayor’s wife, Ilsa Hermann, informed Liesel that they would no longer be needing Rosa Hubermann’s services, Liesel experienced the true power of words. “Tears grappled with her face.” Marcus Zusak’s use of “grappled” makes us feel like we right there feeling the pain of Liesel when she found Rudy dead on the street. This is an example of how well words were chosen. The personification in these quotes from The Book Thief adds to magical realism seeming realistic. In this instance personification has been used to blur the line between words having their own life, being real and humanized, (magical), and the story of a little girl during the time of WW2 (realism). “…but there would be punishment and pain, and there would be happiness, too. That was writing.”

Marcus Zusak displayed how powerful words are in The Book Thief. Not only are they capable of making us empathize and feel for characters in books that we don’t know, but they also allow us to control everyday life. However, they can be manipulated to do evil. The Fuhrer was an example of that. When they are in the right hands, they have the power to change lives, and they can be very brutal. It is important that we know how much power words contain. If we look at some of the top leaders in the world today, the ones who are most popular are the ones who have used their words. Zusak showed us that words can be used both negatively and positively, however, in the case of the book thief particularly antisemitism we see the negative power of words. We are all able to see the influence of both in the world. “*** THE BOOK THIEF – LAST LINE *** I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.”

NCEA 2.4 – Plan The Book Theif

Plan:

Introduction

  • introduce power of words
  • magical realism
  • you can rule the world with words
  • helps give perspective
  • introduce: irony, through liesels story (how words effectively rescued her), the pain in words?
  • in each paragraph say about magical realism like why

1st paragraph

  • irony
  • “Yes the Führer decided that he would rule the world with words. “I will never fire a gun… I will not have to’”
  • talk about fuhrer
  • liesel stealing books while hitler burning them – almost like shes trying to go against nazi germany single handedly
  • death

2nd paragraph

  • liesels story (how words rescued her)
  • magical realism feature that showed that is deaths narration
  • “Once, words had rendered Liesel useless, but now… she felt an innate sense of power. It happened every time she deciphered a new word or pieced together a sentence. She was a girl. In Nazi Germany. How fitting that she was discovering the power of words.”

3rd paragraph

  • used good word choice to show words held pain
  • “You could argue that Liesel Meminger had it easy. She did have it easy compared to Max Vandenburg. Certainly, her brother had practically died in her arms. Her mother abandoned her. But anything was better than being a Jew.” – could maybe use this quote to show that words rescued her. she had had a hard life but she was okay because of words.
  • “…More spiteful and evil than she thought herself capable. The injury of words. Yes, the brutality of words.” – Liesel reacts to the mayor’s wife telling her that they no longer needed Rosas services.
  • “…but there would be punishment and pain, and there would be happiness, too. That was writing.” – what the mayor’s wife said

Conclusion

  • “*** THE BOOK THEIF – LAST LINE *** I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.”

Planning for 2.4 The Book Theif

What key ideas did Marcus Zusak want to portray?:

  • ordinary people can do extremely bad things, there is collective power in evil?
  • show us that words are very powerful. You can rule the world with words. Hitler did.
  • he is showing us different perspectives on Nazi Germany and getting us to think about our opinions and where they come from.
  • humans have a lot of power in the world, even “death” in the novel was wary of us.
  • doing bad things doesn’t always mean you want to be malicious towards something/someone malicious actions can come from fear.
  • humans are also incredibly able to be compassionate and there for each other during tough times.

Starting to gather quotes: *need to put where from in the book and relations after gathering them

“Once, words had rendered Liesel useless, but now… she felt an innate sense of power. It happened every time she deciphered a new word or pieced together a sentence. She was a girl. In Nazi Germany. How fitting that she was discovering the power of words.”

“…More spiteful and evil than she thought herself capable. The injury of words. Yes, the brutality of words.” – Liesel reacts to the mayor’s wife telling her that they no longer needed Rosas services.

“The words. Why did they have to exist? Without them, there wouldn’t be any of this. Without words, the Führer was nothing.”

“Yes the Führer decided that he would rule the world with words. “I will never fire a gun… I will not have to’”

“You could argue that Liesel Meminger had it easy. She did have it easy compared to Max Vandenburg. Certainly, her brother had practically died in her arms. Her mother abandoned her. But anything was better than being a Jew.” – could maybe use this quote to show that words rescued her. she had had a hard life but she was okay because of words.

“…but there would be punishment and pain, and there would be happiness, too. That was writing.”

“*** THE BOOK THEIR – LAST LINE *** I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.”

language quotes

“Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like the rain.”