“When death captures me […] he will feel fists on his face.” – I quite like that. Such stupid gallantry. Yes. I like that a lot.

Markus Zusak uses personification to normalise death. his novel The Book Thief is set in germany during world war II. By normalising the idea of death he is able to provide us with a unique perspective on an otherwise horrifying story. Deaths apparent curiosity focuses our attention When death says “Such stupid gallantry”, Zusak reveals how naive death, the narrator of the novel, is to the truths of human existence. the scale of the holocaust was so immense that many both now and at the time struggled to comprehend it the character death allows the reader to see this scale through new eyes.

The plane was still coughing. Smoke was leaking from both its lungs. When it crashed, three deep gashes were made in the earth. Its wings were now sawn-off arms. No more flapping for this metallic little birdie.

The pilots open mouth appeared to be smiling. A final dirty joke. Another human punchline.

personally, I like a chocolate coloured sky. Dark, dark chocolate.[…] I do, however, try to enjoy every colour I see – the whole spectrum. A billion or so flavours, none of them quite the same, and a sky to slowly suck on. It takes the edge off the stress. It helps me relax.

Marcus Zusak uses personification to normalise death. his novel The Book Thief is set in Nazi Germany during the second world war. bu personifying death we are able to understand the abstract nature of death and the way he is conveying his horrific story. When death says “personally, I like a chocolate coloured sky. Dark, dark chocolate.[…] I do, however, try to enjoy every colour I see – the whole spectrum. A billion or so flavours, none of them quite the same, and a sky to slowly suck on. It takes the edge off the stress. It helps me relax.”. This shows the reader how the narrator death is by the way he describes them as being an object that he can suck on

Marcus Zusak uses personification to help the reader connect and understand death. his novel The Book Thief is set in Nazi Germany during the second world war. by personifying death we are able to understand the abstract nature of death and the way he is conveying his horrific story. When death says “The plane was still coughing. Smoke was leaking from both its lungs. When it crashed, three deep gashes were made in the earth. Its wings were now sawn-off arms. No more flapping for this metallic little birdie “. This shows the reader that the narrator death sees the world in a childlike manner which makes us think of the character as naive by the way he describes the plane as a “Metallic little birdie”