Beyond+The+Text


 * Holocaust ** //(noun).//


 * 1) Great destruction resulting in the extensive loss of life, especially by fire.
 * 2) a. Holocaust - the genocide of European Jews and others by the Nazis during World War II.

b. A massive slaughter


 * 1) A sacrificial offering that is consumed entirely by flames.

[Middle English, burnt offering, from Old French holocauste, from Latin holocaustum, from Greek holokauston, from neuter of //holokaustos//, burnt whole : holo-, holo- + kaustos, burnt (from kaiein, to burn).]

[|**United States Holocaust Memorial Museum**] This site provides concise information and is a great quick reference for many of the events alluded to in the novel.

[|**The German Propaganda Archive**] We can't recommend this site enough if you are interested in the propaganda aspect of the Holocaust. Loaded with visual material, writings, and speeches, it helps us see the world that Liesel and her friends were living in.

[|**The Nazi Olympics, 1936**] If you want some background information on Rudy Steiner's "Jessie Owens Incident," this is a good place to start.

[|**Indoctrinating Youth**] Interactive slideshow about how the Nazi Party indoctrinated the German youth, including educating German children and the Hitler Youth organizations that we hear about in //The Book Thief//. Scroll over and click on images for more information. This is only a small portion of the USHMM's exhibit on Nazi propaganda – the rest of the exhibit is definitely worth checking out too.

[|**//The Holocaust Education and Archive Research Team// (H.E.A.R.T.)**] This site has lots of information about the Holocaust. A great source for your papers.

[|**World War II: Behind Closed Doors**] A provocative look at World War II, from PBS.

**Here are some areas to investigate to get you thinking beyond the text:** 1. What was “The Holocaust”? 2. Why did Germany start “The Holocaust? 3. What was the goal of “the final solution”? 4. What features characterised “The Holocaust”? 5. How was it implemented – what steps did the Nazis take? 6. What are Bergen-Belsen and Dachau? What were they used for? How were they different from extermination camps? 7. Auschwitz, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka are extermination camps. How did they operate? 8. Ghettos were developed – what are they and how did they work? 9. What are pogroms? Which was the most famous? 10. What occurred during the death marches?

What is genocide? Do you think that genocide like that experienced in the “The Holocaust” is possible again? Why? Why not? What happened in East Timor? Rwanda? Bosnia?

How has __The Book Thief__ been received by literary critics? Follow the links below to read a range of critical reveiws. Remember to keep these questions in your mind as you read each critique...

//Who is writing this critique, for what purpose and audience? // //Which website is presenting these ideas and what is the agenda behind that site? // //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">When a critical reveiwer mentions 'a/the reader', who is the implied reader they have in mind? // //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">What, if any, evidence does the critical reveiwer offer for their ideas? Do they need to offer evidence? // //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">What contextual knowledge does the critical reviewer seem to have? Is there any knowledge a reader of that critique might need to have, to understand the references made? //

Critical Review from The NY Times "Kirkus Reviews" The Book Thief David Malasarn from 'The Literary Lab' critiques TBT Critical Review from The Guardian

DISCOVER EPIC - open the door to databases that give us resources and supporting materials for many texts we study in English

…in this compelling story of a foster child's coming of age during World War II, Zusak alters and subverts the archetypal image of the basement, picturing it instead as a shelter, a home, and a setting in which words can provide salvation. When nine-year-old Liesel Meminger comes to Molching, Germany in 1939 to live with Hans and Rosa Hubermann, the couple's basement is converted into a make-shift schoolroom where Hans gives his foster daughter reading lessons…. …For Zusak's heroine, therefore, the basement is not only a sanctuary for words, but a setting which literally saves her life. During the course of the novel, the Hubermanns' basement also becomes a shelter for Max Vandenburg, a Jew hidden from the Nazis by the goodhearted Hans and Rosa. … …the basement actually becomes a place that Max "liked to call home" … …Max also transforms the Hubermanns' cellar into a setting for creative/political activity. He paints words and pictures on the cement walls, until the basement itself resembles a large, illustrated book. He develops a vivid fantasy of a boxing match between Adolf Hitler, "the champion of the world," and himself-"the Jewish, rat-faced challenger-Max Vandenburg" (251). Most importantly, Max becomes an author for the first time in his life, whitewashing the pages of Mein Kampf and then painting new words over the pages-literally erasing Hitler's language until it is "gagging, suffocating under the paint" (237). Max's underground writings-which include personal reminiscences, political commentaries, illustrated stories, and disturbing drawings-serve as his deepest form of self-expression and a means of surviving his ordeal. Indeed, for Max, the basement ultimately becomes a kind of writer's den or artist's studio… …The image of the basement as a refuge and a sanctuary for words is reinforced later in the novel through the portrait of the air-raid shelter in Liesel's neighborhood… …The fear in the basement dissipates, however, when Liesel begins reading aloud to the gathering. Her story distracts the adults, and the children are calmed by the sound of Liesel's voice. From then on, Liesel reads to her neighbors during every bombing raid--the words bringing comfort to all those present in the cellar. As Janet Maslin notes, //The Book Thief// is a figurative text whose story "unfolds as symbolic or metaphorical abstraction ("Stealing to Settle a Score with Life (New York Times on the Web 27 Mar. 2006. Aug. 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/27/ books/27masl.html). Indeed, in Zusak's novel, the world of Nazi-dominated Europe can itself be seen as a vast basement-a setting of tragedy, evil, and unspeakable horror. Not only do we learn of the deaths of Liesel's family and friends when the Allied bombs hit Molching, but we witness the costs of war after one of the Hubermanns' neighbors is maimed in Stalingrad, and his wounded brother returns home, only to hang himself. We watch Max's march to Dachau along with other weak, starving prisoners and receive accounts of exterminations at Auschwitz, where "the sky was the color of Jews" (349). Through his portrait of the Hubermanns' basement and the telling of Liesel's story, however, Zusak presents his readers with a counterbalancing, hopeful message: that any basement-whether real or metaphorical-can be transformed into a shelter where goodness reigns; that any place of darkness and "walled-in tragedy" can be transfigured, in the end, by the extraordinary power of words. Susan Koprince, University of North Dakota Koprince, Susan Koprince, Susan. "Words from the basement: Markus Zusak's The Book Thief." //Notes on Contemporary Literature// 41.1 (2011). //Student Resources In Context//. Web. 25 May 2013. EPIC is a venture between New Zealand libraries and the Ministry of Education, giving schools free access to a worldwide range of electronic resources. Through EPIC schools can access databases containing thousands of international and New Zealand magazines, newspapers, biographies, substantial reference works, and images. EPIC lets you access up-to-date full text articles covering a huge range of subjects. Who can use EPIC? EPIC supports the teaching and learning in New Zealand primary and secondary schools. It is intended for use by principals and teachers, library staff, and students. Teachers, students, and library staff may also access EPIC from home using their school's password and username login. Please note that we require that a school's username and password are kept confidential to your school community and all users must abide by the terms and conditions of use. (See your English teacher for the user name and password) =Literary Theories that may be applied to The Book Thief=
 * From EPIC New Zealand, **** Search: Literature and the Arts **
 * Student Resources in Context: **
 * Search: The Book Thief **
 * ‘Words from the basement: Markus Zusak's The Book Thief’ **
 * Full Text: ** COPYRIGHT 2011 Notes on Contemporary Literature.
 * Source Citation **
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EXISTENTIALISM
Existentialism involves the attempt to make meaning in a chaotic world. Sartre argued, "man makes himself." As a form of literary criticism, existentialism seeks to analyze literary works, with special emphasis on the struggle to define meaning and identity in the face of alienation and isolation.

Definition of ** existentialism ** // noun //// [mass noun] // > ====// (From Student Resources in Context, EPIC) //====
 * a philosophical theory or approach which emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will.
 * Existentialism is a twentieth-century philosophy more than a movement. It is the study of existence. In the nineteenth century, following World War II and the Great Depression, the Industrial Revolution peaked, and society turned to a way of thinking that focused on the role of the individual in control of leading a full and authentic life. As societal conditions changed, societies' ways of thinking changed, too.
 * Existential philosophy existed because of nineteenth-century philosophers and writers including Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, and Søren Kierkegaard. Frenchman Jean-Paul Sartre is notable for being the twentieth century's greatest existential thinker and literary contributor. Other existential writers include Franz Kafka, Albert Camus, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Gabriel Marcel, and Karl Jaspers. Existentialism also was evident in the theater—Samuel Beckett is most notable for his contributions, as are Chuck Palahniuk, Stanley Kubrick, and David Lynch. Many authors still cite existentialism as an influence. Post-modern beliefs have since pushed the philosophy aside in literature and the theater. Though existential inquiry continues today, as a cultural movement it is largely in the past. ** History of Existentialism ** Existential beliefs can be traced back to William Shakespeare. The popularity of the philosophy grew in the centuries following the famed writer, reaching its pinnacle in the twentieth century, after the period of romanticism. Existentialism grew from the catastrophic effects of wars and genocide. Between the first and second world wars, society needed help coping with feelings of nothingness and despair. Philosophers Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche are credited as the first philosophers to write about existentialism before it became popular in the twentieth century. In fact, Kierkegaard is known as the father of existentialism. The twentieth-century philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre is credited with moving the existential movement to the forefront when he published the philosophic work //Being and Nothingness// in 1943. He also wrote fiction that advanced the philosophy, including //Nausea// and //No Exit.// Sartre's friend, Albert Camus, coedited the left-wing newspaper //Combat// until 1948. He, too, contributed to the existential movement through his writings. The philosophy was widely evident during the postwar years in literature and art, including the works of Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning and the films of Ingmar Bergman and Jean-Luc Godard. ** Existential Themes ** Overall, existentialism is the search for the meaning of life; what is it to exist as a unique person? Existentialists believe that the meaning of life is sought through individual choices, free will, and personal freedom. Neither scientific thinking—including psychology—nor moral thinking can fully explain what it is to be human. Existentialists unite under several common themes: Absurdity—Existentialists believe that life is absurd and has no meaning. Existentialists, therefore, seek meaning in an absurd world, trying to define their place and the reason they are here. Once an existentialist realizes that the world is an absurd place, this causes anxiety. An existentialist does not believe in the explanations offered by religion, science, or society about the reasons for human existence. Alienation—Existentialists feel as if they have no place in the world; they feel like strangers in their own lives. Many existentialists feel a sense of depression because they realize that no one can help make sense of their existence; it is completely an individual quest. Responsibility—Existentialists believe that it is a person's sole responsibility to find the meaning in his or her own life, to make choices about his or her life, and to accept responsibility for the decisions he or she makes in trying to find meaning. Authenticity and individuality—A person must live as an individual and become his or her authentic self. Existentialists believe that reason, science, and religion deny individuality by forming guidelines and rules for living. A person may make the decision to live morally, however, thus successfully being one's self rather than fulfilling a role imposed by society. Engagement—To find authenticity and true individuality, existentialists believe that an individual must be engaged in life; a person must exist and be part of the world around him or her. Death—Existentialists believe death adds to the absurdity of life. A person spends his or her life trying to understand life's meaning and his or her place in the world, when in the end, the meaning does not matter because death is inevitable. This belief adds to the conviction that life is absurd.