This is an informal response: References to the text should be present, but quotes are not required
Why do you suppose the narrator flashed forward to Rudy Steiner's death? Do you think this knowledge improves or lessons your appreciation of the book? How does this action by Death support his characterization up until this point? Why do you think Markus Zusak has chosen this technique to employ at this stage in the book?
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Theodore C
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Death flashes forward to the death of Rudy because he knows this is a very important part of the story, and he wishes to inform us. He has told us already that suspense bores him, so this act fits in perfectly with his characterization. For me, the sudden reveal of what is to come improved my appreceation for the novel, because now I am on alert waiting for the bombing. I'm also frantically thinking, "Who else will die?". And lastly to address the question regarding Markus Zusak. He is an author that truly enjoys to throw the reader around. He spoils the plot at this point in the story because I believe like death, he despises suspense. Zusak's personality has bleeded off into the charater of death. Personal bias? All over the book.
Justin T.
ReplyDeleteI think the narrator flashes fowrad to Rudy Steiner's death to make the reader pay more attention to Rudy. The reader will continue to look at his actions and see what they represent. More attention is put on Rudy, so it is more likely that the author will try and display a message through him. I think this improves appreciation of the book. It is unique in the fact that it gives away a fragment of information about the end, but not the road that led to the end. This action by Death supports his characterization. He fails to fully understand humans. People like suspense, and Death took away some of it. I think Ausak chose this so the reader pays closer attention to Rudy. I think something very profound is going to happen to Rudy later on in the novel.
Cheyanne H
ReplyDeleteWell, I believe that he gives a little bit of "it" away. What I mean by this is that he gives away the main idea of an important event that will occur, but he doesn't go into the supporting, nitty gritty details of the event. I like the way he does this because it leads me to think that with each bit of suspense, the event he stated before is going to happen. It keeps my attention and makes me want to read on more and more. When Death flashes forward to Rudy's death, I think it causes the reader to get excited to read on and find more details about how it happened. I think that Markus Zusak does this so that more of the readers can't put his book down because they want to know the spacific details of the event that Death states.
Claire O
ReplyDeleteI think the narrator flashed forward to Rudy Steiner's death because it is going to be very important in the future. I think this knowledge can both imrove and lesson people appreciation for the book depending on how the person views it. For me I think it improves the book because this book isn't like most ones. I think it adds to its difference from other books. The way death also spoils Rudy's death shows so much of his child-like ways of spoiling things.
Abby G.
ReplyDeleteI think the knowledge about Rudy's death improves the appreciation of the book because it causes the reader to pay more attention to Rudy during the events leading to his death. If the reader didn't know about Rudy's death they would be less likely to pay extreme attention to the things Rudy says and does in the days leading up to his death. The reader knows Rudy will die,so there is no anticipation in this aspect. Explaining Rudy's death before it happens causes the things Rudy experienced before his death to be emphasized and show that those events are what is actually important, and not his death itself. The information Death gives supports his characterization because is supports that death is not a big deal in Death's eyes. He doesn't relize that the reader struggles to cope with people dying because its nothing new to him. Markus Zusak probably chose this technique to empasize the events in Rudy Steiner's life leading up to his death. Those events probably will be important to remember later on in the story.
Lynsey B
ReplyDeleteI believe Death flashed forward to Rudy Steiner's death because he wanted to warn us before it happened. Rudy is just a little boy and a main character in this book. If Zusak would have made Death take Rudy away in an instant I feel like it would have made people angry or sad compared to knowing his death is coming and just waiting for it. This is not a surprising action for Death, though, because he has revealed certain situations in the past before they have happend such as when Max was on a journey. Death said that he would find the girl (Liesel). By Death warning me of Rudy's death, my appreciation for the book was slightly lessened because I like it when shocking events come out of the blue in books.
Marissa R.
ReplyDeleteI believe the reason the narrator flashed forward to Rudy's death was because most books show forshadowing for a characters death but i think they did that so the reader will pay more attention the Rudy. Finding out Rudy dies will make the reader pay more attention to him and his actions. in doing that there will possibly be a message to give the reader a better understanding. Death is usually pretty funny and witty and just says things so this fits him by just giving us all the information with no explanation and no forewarning
Z A C H A R Y Z.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator flashed forward because he wanted to lead readers to think of when "it" is going to happen instead of "what" is going to happen. This supports death's characterization of being unknowing to the fear of death compared the human mind when he gives away Rudy's death. At this stage, Zusak didn't want more suprise for readers. He wants them to focus on something more important, I feel, but this something has not yet presented itself. Readers will now patiently await its arrival.
Mary R
ReplyDeleteI think the narrator flashed forward to Rudy’s death to shock the reader, which in turn causes one to pay more attention to the things that Rudy and Liesel do. It definitely improves the lessons that the book gives because it makes them seem more important and as if I had something to connect them to. It also gives me a greater appreciation for Rudy and Liesel as well, because after the incident she will now have to live her life without her best friend and partner in crime. This shows how Death lacks a full understanding of humans, mostly because he is not human. He gives away a lot but still continues to keep my attention by not giving away too much. When Death says that he does not like mystery because it bores him shows his lack of understanding because mystery excites me (and people in general). I think Zusak chose this technique to keep the reader in tune with what is going on and to direct more attention to the characters that he wanted more attention to be directed to. It also adds sarcasm and keeps me interested in the book.
Alyssa S.
ReplyDeleteI think that Death flashing forward to Rudy's death improves my appreciation towards this book. It makes me like Death more because he gives only a little bit away not the whole thing. Death makes you want to keep reading to find out what happens leading up to that point. He doesnt give it all away, this adds to how the reader views Death, he makes reading the book more enjoyable.
Whitney W
ReplyDeleteI think that death flashed forward to Rudy's death to recapture the attention of the reader. Death tells us Rudy's fate right at the begginning of the new section and it definitely grabs the readers attention. Some people say that this spoils the book when in reality it is causing the reader to pay closer attention and try to make connections to figure out how it happens. This act also just goes along with Death's character, you expect him to spoil something big because of the little things he has spoiled along the way. The author chose this tecnique to re-gain the readers attention, half way through a large book something has to happen to re-focus the reader. Zusak also wanted to make the reader look into the text more which can be done by spoiling because now you are more focused on finding the past and fuure conections to what was said about Rudy's death.
Zach P
ReplyDeleteI personally like that Death flashes forward occasionally. It’s different than any other narrator I’ve seen. It makes the reader care less about how the character, in this case Rudy, dies, and more about how they live up to that point. It’s a different, creative brand of suspense that I haven’t experienced in other books. Also, Death explicitly says that he doesn’t care for mystery. This adds to the characterization that he knows what is coming and doesn’t understand human distaste to a spoiled ending. Zusak spoiled part of the ending for us because we would find it out anyway, and at this point in the book the reader has grown to like Rudy. Telling us that he will die makes us want to read further to find out what takes place from now until then.
Courtney Cole
ReplyDeleteI think the narrator flash forwarded to Rudy’s death to add suspense to later events in the book. It also hints future events, such as when bombs will go off in Molching. This encourages readers to keep reading because it makes them want to read even more until they find out what happens to the main characters and their environment. This shows that Death shares a trait that many humans have, which is wanting to spoil the details. Zusak uses this technique at this point in the book to build up Death’s childlike personality even more, and also to keep readers interested so that they finish the story.
lessens*
ReplyDeleteEthan Turner
Death spoiling everything that happens in the book is confusing at first, and then leaves a huge senes of anticipation later. It's like having a stranger walk up to you and saying "Hey, that train's going to crash in a minute," and then in the mean time they talk about how they had purchased their groceries last Tuesday. You're first left wondering what this guy is talking about and once you realize, you spend the rest of the minute waiting for the train to crash. It ruins the flow of the book, and seems redundant really. Between Rudy getting beaten up and Leisel yelling at the mayor's wife, part five isn't at all boring and doesn't need to be spiced up by the anticipation of Rudy's death. But when you take the fact that the stranger telling you about their grocery shopping is Death, it makes sense. He's seen billions of people die, so Rudy dying is just another spreadsheet in his nine-to-five job.
So far, not much has been shown about why Nazis are bad, so perhaps Rudy and the rest of the town being bombed will advance the plot somehow and give Zusak the opportunity to show why Nazis are bad.
Brooklyn D.
ReplyDeleteI think Zusak spoils Rudy's death to show just how meaningless it is. The whole point of having Death as the narrator is because Death wants to show you there can be something meaningful before him. that life is worth something. By spoling Rudy's death your more curious and focoused on how he got there and what his life has been like .
Ian H.
ReplyDeleteDeath flashes forward to the death of Rudy Steiner as a means of characterization (how he can be a near omniscient figure, while at the same time behaving much like a child would when telling a story), and backing up his statement of “Mystery bores me.” Personally, this knowledge improves my appreciation for the book, because it is still surprises me like nothing I’ve ever read before. Zusak employs this to spark more interest, and add to the overall enjoyment of reading this book.