The diction in this quote depicts how Death sees rain. It demonstrates the ironic innocence of Death. It also shows that even though the narrator is Death, he still makes humorous comments during horrific events. Here, Death is describing a battle scene. He says the "sky is dripping" with blood and it won't stop, meaning the war won't end. He tries his "hardest to turn it off, but hasn't quite managed" yet as the war persists.
The figurative language in this quote compares Liesel's hands to clouds full of rain. Metaphorically, she will soak up the words in the books she will steal. Death uses these words to foreshadow Liesel's future career in stealing books. The narrator uses an interesting way to write in a humorous tone, so that the book would not be as gloomy and sorrow as it would seem in 1943 in Nazi Germany. |
Zusak uses sorrowful, sad and touching diction in writing about the scene where Liesel sees the body of her dead best friend, Rudy Steiner. Liesel is portrayed as desperate through the words: "tasted like regret... trembling... losing control and misjudging it... teeth collided on the demolishes world of Himmel Street (Zusak 536)." The quote also shows how there is still a little trace of hope still left on Himmel Street. |
Through this quote, Zusak uses syntax as he changes in a pattern from long sentence to short sentences, but then back again to long ones. The longer sentences at the beginning and end sound hopeful and lively; however, the sentences in the middle are depressing and contribute to the fact that the Hubermanns are poor. There is also irony when Liesel says that the "greatest Christmas ever" involved little food and no present, but the amount of joy Max brought into Liesel's life made that Christmas unforgettable. |