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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... 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.
Related Themes:
Part 3: The Struggler, Concluded
Explanation and Analysis—Death's Asides:
Death's soliloquies are a motif in the novel. For example, at the start of Part 3: The Struggler, Concluded, Death promises that he will bring Max and Liesel together within "a few pages:"
Unlock with LitCharts A+The juggling comes to an end now, but the struggling does not. I have Liesel Meminger in one hand, Max Vandenburg in the other. Soon, I will clap them together. Just give me a few pages.
Related Themes:
Part 4: A Short History of the Jewish Fist Fighter
Explanation and Analysis—Defiant Friendships:
The Nazis exert control in every possible area of the characters' lives, but friendship is one thing they can never seem to control. This motif comes up in a conversation between Max and Walter in Part 4: A Short History of the Jewish Fist Fighter:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“Jesus,” Walter said one evening, when they met on the small corner where they used to fight. “That was a time, wasn’t it? There was none of this around.” He gave the star on Max’s sleeve a backhanded slap. “We could never fight like that now.”
Max disagreed. “Yes we could. You can’t marry a Jew, but there’s no law against fighting one.”
Walter smiled. “There’s probably a law rewarding it—as long as you win.”
Related Themes:
