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Dyanna San
Eng 111-30
Compare-Contrast Essay
March 21, 2016
The Book Thief
The Book Thief is a novel, narrated by Death, about a girl named Liesel Meminger in
Germany, during World War II. Liesels life changed when Hans and Rosa Hubermann adopted
her, and she learned about the cruel world of Nazi Germany. During her time with the
Hubermanns, she gained a love for books and began stealing them. The novel tells of her
struggle with fear and righteousness as she is growing up. The novel was later made into a film.
There are always review critics pointing out the differences for any book turned into a movie.
The difference between The Book Thief novel and film is much of the story is cut to fit into the
film's running time, such as, minor characters, foreshadowing, and scenes. Despite those
differences, I find the novel and the film to be very similar. The similarities between the movie
and the book are the plot, characters, tone, and narration.
The most striking similarity between the book and the movie is the plot. The plot in the
novel begins with Liesel being separated from her mother and getting adopted by Hans and Rosa.
The plot further continues to Liesels life in this working-class neighborhood and her trying to fit
in. The book also includes the atrocities of the Holocaust, and the struggle society went through
living in fear. Although the book included more foreshadowing, such as, when someone was
going to die, the movies plot was still just as anticipating. The plot in the movie followed the
plot in the book, and all of the scenes and details were like the way it was written in the book.
Watching the scenes as it was written in the book made the scenes all the more tragic and real.

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The characters in the book and the movie are very much alike. In the book, each character
is unique and has different characteristics. For instance, Hans Hubermann is a loving father to
Liesel, but he is also incredibly brave and compassionate. Rosa is a strict and harsh parent, but
she also has a big-heart that not everyone gets to see. Liesel is a very compelling character
because she is mature for her age, and she connects with everyone in her life. The movie portrays
all of the characters as they are in the book. The casting in the movie is fantastic because they did
a great job representing the character development of each character. Furthermore, in addition to
the characters, there were also similarities in the tone in both the book and the movie.
The tone in the book was also well portrayed in the movie. The tone is desperately
hopeful as the characters of the novel go through despair, but always manage to rise again with
renewed courage. For example, when Liesel first moved into the Hubermanns house, she had a
difficult time adjusting into her new home. She would have nightmares every night, and Hans
was always there for her. They would spend the whole night reading, which made Liesel feel
better over time. John Green, who won an award for his book Looking for Alaska, further
explains the tone of the novel in his review in The New York Times, in which he stated, The
Book Thief offers us a believable, hard-won hope. That hope is embodied in Liesel, who grows
into a good and generous person despite the suffering all around her, and finally becomes a
human even Death can love. The hope we see in Liesel is unassailable, the kind you can hang on
to in the midst of poverty and war and violence. His statement best describes the tone of the
novel and how Liesel is the root of all hope.
The tone in the novel was well transferred to the movie. The movie managed to capture
the heartache and humor of the novel by showing Liesels battle with hope and despair caused by
the war. Even though one movie critic found the tone of the movie to be often treacly and

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strangely dull the antithesis of what a wartime drama should be, I found the movie to be very
meaningful and emotional (Puig).
Along with the tone, the narration gave The Book Thief its emotional appeal. The
narrator, Death, is the most affected by the war, and it is interesting to see the war from Deaths
point of view. Death is very humane, which is the opposite of what people might think Death
would be. Deaths interest in Liesel gave the story more humor and drama as he followed her life
to distract him from the catastrophes of the war. Although the movie had a lack of narration, the
narration was still effective. The qualities of the narrator were still portrayed as humane and
sarcastic. The narration in the beginning of the movie is what engages the audience interest, just
like in the book. The point of view switches from the narrator to Liesel throughout the whole
movie until the end. The narration in the end of the movie had the exact same lines in the book,
which made a great conclusion, and ended the story on a sentimental and heartfelt note.
The similarities between the movie and the film surpass the differences. It is difficult to
convert plot, characters, narration, and tone into a film, yet The Book Thief film manages to make
it joyous, heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time. I personally prefer reading the novel
because the plot and the narration in the novel were more interesting. The plot had a lot of
foreshadowing, which made the story enthralling. The narration in the novel connects to the
readers, which was lost in the movie. I also agree with a movie critic that said the movie was left
feeling like the summary of a great story, rather than a full telling (Jagernauth). That is true
because much of the story is cut out to fit into the movie; however, the film did a great job
making it as similar as possible.

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Work Cited
Green, John. "Fighting for Their Lives." The New York Times. The New York Times Company,
14 May 2006. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.
Jagernauth, Kevin. "Review: WWII Drama 'The Book Thief' Starring Geoffrey Rush, Emily
Watson & Sophie Nlisse." The Playlist. N.p., 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
Puig, Claudia. "'Book Thief' Steals the Substance from Dramatic Story." USA Today. Gannett, 14
Nov. 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.