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Imagery
Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Part 1: The Jesse Owens Incident
Explanation and Analysis—Alex Steiner's Politics:
A motif in the novel is the situationally ironic way in which so many of the characters are kind, and yet most of them are members of the hateful Nazi party. In Part 1: The Jesse Owens Incident, Death uses the "contradictory politics of Alex Steiner" to explain this grim irony:
Point One: He was a member of the Nazi Party, but he did not hate the Jews, or anyone else for that matter.
Point Two: Secretly, though, he couldn’t help feeling a percentage of relief (or worse—gladness!) when Jewish shop owners were put out of business—propaganda informed him that it was only a matter of time before a plague of Jewish tailors showed up and stole his customers.
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Part 3: The Way Home
Explanation and Analysis—Hans's Idea:
In Part 3: The Way Home, Hans Hubermann has an idea and that leads him to buy a copy of Mein Kampf. The chapter ends with dramatic irony and foreshadowing:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[...]Hans Hubermann’s idea had not only sprung from Liesel, but from his son. Did he already fear he’d never see him again? On the other hand, he was also enjoying the ecstasy of an idea, not daring just yet to envision its complications, dangers, and vicious absurdities. For now, the idea was enough. It was indestructible. Transforming it into reality, well, that was something else altogether. For now, though, let’s let him enjoy it.
We’ll give him seven months.
Then we come for him.
And oh, how we come.
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Part 3: The Struggler, Continued
Explanation and Analysis—A Book Transformed:
In Part 3: The Struggler, Continued, Max travels to the Hubermanns' house with a copy of Mein Kampf that Hans has sent him as cover for the journey. Death comments on the situational irony:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Strangely, as he turned the pages and progressed through the chapters, it was only two words he ever tasted.
Mein Kampf. My struggle—
The title, over and over again, as the train prattled on, from one German town to the next.
Mein Kampf.
Of all the things to save him.
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Part 6: The Visitor
Explanation and Analysis—Basement Inspection:
In Part 6: The Visitor, a Nazi official shows up on Himmel Street to search basements, ostensibly looking for adequate bomb shelters. Intense dramatic irony pervades the scene where he searches the Hubermanns' basement:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[Papa] ordered Liesel to fetch a book and for Rosa to start cooking. He decided the last thing they should do was sit around looking worried. “Well, come on,” he said loudly, “move it, Liesel. I don’t care if your knee hurts. You have to finish that book, like you said.”
Liesel tried not to break. “Yes, Papa.”
“What are you waiting for?” It took great effort to wink at her, she could tell.
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Part 7: The Long Walk to Dachau
Explanation and Analysis—Something She Should See:
In Part 7: The Long Walk to Dachau, Liesel and Rudy find Hans in the crowd of onlookers as Nazi soldiers march Jewish prisoners through Molching to Dachau. There is dramatic irony in Hans's hesitation about whether or not he should send Liesel home, and it also foreshadows the important scene that is about to take place:
Unlock with LitCharts A+They both crossed and made their way up, and Hans Hubermann attempted at first to take them away. “Liesel,” he said. “Maybe …"
He realized, however, that the girl was determined to stay, and perhaps it was something she should see. In the breezy autumn air, he stood with her. He did not speak.
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Part 10: Confessions
Explanation and Analysis—Clueless Goodbyes:
In Part 10: Confessions, Liesel finally shows Rudy The Word Shaker and tells him about Max. Death ends the chapter on a note of both dramatic and situational irony:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Years ago, when they’d raced on a muddy field, Rudy was a hastily assembled set of bones, with a jagged, rocky smile. In the trees this afternoon, he was a giver of bread and teddy bears. He was a triple Hitler Youth athletics champion. He was her best friend. And he was a month from his death.
“Of course I told him about you,” Liesel said.
She was saying goodbye and she didn’t even know it.
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Part 10: Ilsa Hermann's Little Black Book
Explanation and Analysis—Door or Window:
In Part 10: Ilsa Hermann's Little Black Book, Ilsa Hermann shows up on Liesel's doorstep with a blank book for her to write in. When Liesel invites her in, Frau Hermann responds with verbal irony:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The girl opened the book and touched the paper. “Danke schön, Frau Hermann. I can make you some coffee, if you like. Would you come in? I’m home alone. My mama’s next door, with Frau Holtzapfel.”
“Shall we use the door or the window?”
Liesel suspected it was the broadest smile Ilsa Hermann had allowed herself in years. “I think we’ll use the door. It’s easier.”
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