Discussion Guide for The Book Thief: Exploring Symbols, Storytelling, and Justice, Study notes of German

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DISCUSSION GUIDE | FEBRUARY, 2016

The Book Thief

Feature film directed by Brian Percival

(2013; 131 minutes)

by Alicia LeBlanc

Table of Contents

Introduction ........................................................................................................... 3

Session 1: Symbols .............................................................................................. 4

Session 2: Storytelling .......................................................................................... 7

Session 3: Justice in the World ............................................................................. 9

Leader Resources............................................................................................... 12

Leader Resource 1, Game Questions, "Easy"

Leader Resource 2, Game Questions, Harder

Leader Resource 3, Game Questions, Difficult

Leader Resource 4, Game Answers

Session 1: Symbols (60 minutes)

Goals

Participants will:

• Play a game to help them recall events from the film and begin a deeper conversation
• Discuss the definition of symbol in both historical and contemporary times as it applies to The Book Thief
• Explore how symbols are used in their daily lives as powerful tools that foster ideas
• Recognize that symbols can represent a reality; they can be instruments of both good and evil in the world.

Materials

• Newsprint, markers, tape, crayons, and color pencils
• Chalice (or LED/battery-operated candle)
• Construction paper in different colors
• Scissors, including left-handed scissors
• Magazines
• Table
• Leader Resource 1, Game Questions
• Leader Resource 2, Game Answers
• A small hourglass or timepiece device (10 seconds)
• Lined paper and pens or pencils
• A coin

Preparation

• Cut out Leader Resource 1, Game Questions. Thought bubbles with a non-bold outline have a 5-point value. Bold-outlined thought bubbles are worth 10 points and zigzags, 15.
• Review Leader Resource 2, Game Answers, before playing the game.
• Place construction paper, drawing implements, tape, scissors, and magazines on a table.

Opening (2 minutes)

Welcome participants to the meeting space. Invite a volunteer to light the chalice as you or a volunteer read aloud the opening words, “The Chalice Is a Symbol,” by Debra Faulk, from the UUA’s Worship Web: A chalice lit in our midst is a symbol of our liberal faith, A faith built on the foundation of freedom, reason and tolerance A faith sustained by acts of kindness and justice

A faith that visions a world flourishing, with equality for all her people A faith that demands the living out of goodness A faith that requires thoughtfulness A faith of wholeness This tiny flame is the symbol of the spark of all this within each of us.

Activity 1: Let’s Play a Game (20 minutes)

Form two teams. (If the group is small, conduct the activity as a whole group.) Say in these words, or your own: We are going to play a game as a way to review The Book Thief. Teams will take turns answering questions that will test your memory of the movie. A coin will be tossed to determine which team picks the first question. Each group picks from three categories: easy, medium, and difficult. Team A will have as long as the hourglass timer (or stop watch) to answer the question. If they do not answer correctly, Team B will have a chance to respond. If Team A answers correctly, then it is Team B’s turn to answer a question. The game continues until all questions have been answered. Easy questions are worth five points, medium are worth ten, and difficult are worth fifteen. If prepared questions run out and there is still time, invite the teams to write their own questions on lined paper and quiz each other. The facilitator will keep track of the scores. The team with the most points wins. Perhaps the winners can pick the next movie or book for the group to discuss, if the group has an ongoing commitment to meet. After the game, ask:

• Which scenes from the movie did you remember best? Why do you think this is so?
• Did you remember any more symbols while playing the game?

Activity 2: Discussion (15 minutes)

Share a definition of symbol with the group. From The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy , a symbol is defined as something that represents or suggests something else. Symbols often take the form of words, visual images, or gestures that are used to convey ideas and beliefs. All human cultures use symbols to express the underlying structures of their social systems, to represent ideal cultural characteristics, such as beauty, and to ensure that the culture is passed onto new generations. Prompt discussion with preliminary questions such as:

• What have you learned about World War II in school and other places?

Session 2: Storytelling (60 minutes)

Goals

Participants will:

• Discover that storytelling is a powerful mode of communication in times of joy or struggle
• Explore how and why Liesel uses stories in The Book Thief
• Write of a time when they used storytelling or words to comfort, support, or encourage someone in their life.

Materials

• Chalice (or LED/battery-operated candle)
• Lined paper and pens or pencils

Preparation

• If your meeting takes place in a space that is suitable for small group discussion, create areas for small groups to gather around tables.
• Place paper and writing implements on tables.

Opening (2 minutes)

Welcome participants to the meeting space. Invite a volunteer to light the chalice as the opening words by Ean Huntington Behr, from the UUA’s Worship Web, are read aloud: You are in the story of the world. You are the world coming to know itself. May you trust that all you will ever say or do Belongs in the story of the world.

Activity 1: Discussion (20 minutes)

The Book Thief delves into Liesel’s relationship with books, words, and storytelling. Prompt discussion with the following questions:

• How does Liesel use her knowledge of words and reading? Why do you think words or books are powerful? How are her words used: for good? For bad?
• Why does Liesel steal books? At some point in most of our lives, caregivers have told us that stealing is wrong. Yet, in Liesel’s situation, she steals for learning and, in doing so,

helps people through her gift of storytelling. Under what circumstances might stealing be okay? Have you ever been in a situation where you questioned what was right or wrong? What was the outcome?

Activity 2: The Power of Storytelling (35 minutes)

Describe the activity in these words or your own:

For the next 20 minutes, you will write about stories and storytelling. Have you ever had to create a story (for a friend, sibling, relative, a stranger)? What was the process like for you—difficult, easy, somewhere in-between? Think about words and how they can affect thoughts and actions. How are words used in poems? Songs? Books? Write about a time the act of storytelling made an impact on your life: Have words or stories ever comforted you, challenged you in some way, or changed your life? You may draw an illustration to complement your story.

When you have 15 minutes left in this activity, invite participants to stop and share their writing. If this is not enough time to allow the entire group to share together, form smaller groups for sharing. Say:

Storytelling, writing, and books are such an integral component of The Book Thief_. That is why we are going to spend these last 15 minutes reading our writing aloud. You may “pass” if you do not wish to share._

Closing (3 minutes)

If there is energy for continuing the conversation, explain that questions not covered in Session 2 can be discussed in Session 3. Conclude the session with the following words: Describe the day… If your eyes could speak, what would they say? — Max Vandenburg, from the movie The Book Thief Extinguish the chalice.

• Liesel’s actions supportive of justice? What type(s) of justice does she exhibit?
• What injustices, if any, take place in your community? Do people turn away from injustice? If you see injustices being ignored, why do you think this occurs? Have you been pulled into an injustice unwillingly?
• How have you worked to combat the effects of injustice in your community? Or in the wider world?
• Is the narrator, Death, a form of justice? Could the way people died at the end of the film be a type of justice? Why or why not?

Activity 2: Continuing the Conversation (30 minutes)

Take about 25 minutes to discuss ways participants can extend their responses to The Book Thief. Prompt with the following questions:

• Do you plan to bring the conversations from these discussions about World War II or the Holocaust to your family? To your friends?
• Is there one lesson or moral you have taken away from our discussions about The Book Thief? Would you be willing to share it, now, with the group?
• If you have read the book, how are the two art forms, film and book, different or similar? Why do you think the film is different from the book?
• What are some next steps you could take to further compassion and justice in your communities? What local social justice networks could you volunteer with, such as a shelter, a food bank, or a group planning a justice rally for a cause you are passionate about? Spend at least five minutes using the Internet to research social justice networks in your area. Form groups of three and ask participants to locate two or three opportunities to pursue following this discussion series. Invite them to share their results with the larger group. An alternative is to invite participants to explore the physical space of the congregation, including posted newsletters, social justice pamphlets, etc., to discover justice projects already embraced by the congregation. Make plans to participate in these projects in age-appropriate ways. Consult a member of the justice committee or the congregation’s religious educator if more ideas are needed.

Closing (3 minutes)

Thank everyone for their participation in the discussion. If participants show some energy for continuing the conversation, explain that questions can be discussed through email or at future

group meetings. Share the Find Out More links with participants. Conclude the session with the following reading from the UUA’s Worship Web: We have come into this room of hope where our hearts and minds are opened to the future. We have come into this room of justice where we set aside our fear to name freely every oppression. We have come into this room of love where we know that no lives are insignificant. — Libbie D. Stoddard Extinguish the chalice.

Find Out More

• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (New York: Alfred K. Knopf, 2005)
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (New York: Ballantine Books, 1979) explores the meaning of books in a world where book burning is a regular occurrence. There is also a movie of the same name.
• “Unitarian Couple Honored for World War II Heroism,” by Michelle Bates Deakin (UU World, Dec. 12, 2005), is a story about Martha and Waitstill Sharp, who fostered justice in war-torn Europe by rescuing refugees; http://www.uuworld.org/articles/unitarian-couple- honored-world-war-ii-heroism.
• Anne Frank used words in much the same way as Liesel and took comfort in them while hiding from the Nazis. A website about Anne Frank features information about her life, story, and diary; www.annefrank.org.
• The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum provides more information about Kristallnacht and the Hitler Youth; www.ushmm.org.

Leader Resource 1: Game Questions, “Easy” (5 points)

Leader Resource 2: Game Questions, Harder (10 points)

Leader Resource 4: Game Answers

“Easy” – 5 points

1. Heaven’s Street
2. Accordion
3. A gravedigger’s book or The Grave Digger’s Handbook
4. Into the river
5. A journal
6. Humans
7. Under a Nazi flag
8. Laundry service

Harder (bold outline) – 10 points

9. Werner
10. Your Majesty
11. Her brother
12. Two years
13. Ninety years
14. Borrowing
15. Three Xs or XXX
16. A snowman

Difficult (zigzag) – 15 points

17. The accordion
18. In the basement at her writing desk
19. Soccer (or football, or running)
20. Hitler’s birthday
21. Hitler Youth
22. Looks up to the sky, or looks at the night sky