Was helping Max stupidity or bravery?

Discuss the December 2013 book of the month, "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak
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Julie-p
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Re: Was helping Max stupidity or bravery?

Post by Julie-p »

Definitively bravery. She was helping someone find her freedom, instead of making the easier choice and doing the thing people saw as "right".
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Post by Barbie_sidhu »

It was definitely bravery. I loved that part of the book. The book theif is a master peice even the movie was so great.
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Post by angiedeeh1 »

I think Hans was incredibly brave and so was his family for supporting and caring for Max the way they did. Knowing the consequences of their actions didn't change the fact that Max was a human being, undeserving of the heinous atrocities that he could face as a Jew. What the Nazis were doing to millions of people around them wasn't ok, and they knew that. While they may have been powerless to stop it from happening to others, they had the ability and the means to help Max. Maybe if others who had the means could have stepped up as they did, more would have survived in the end. I can understand how so many people just watched it happen, feeling powerless to do anything, afraid for their own lives and the lives of their families. As much as I hope I would have acted as Hans and his family did, I'm not sure I could have been that courageous.
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Post by Edna016 »

You know how you get attatched to the characters in a book and feel connected to them. So when they feel sad you might feel sad and when they do something stupid or they are about to do something stupid you get annoyed. You might even shut your book in frustration haha. Well, I think it was bravery but it was in the eye of the public so.. it was also stupid.
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Post by Valkyrie9 »

This was definitely an act of bravery. By taking Max in, Liesel's foster father teaches Liesel valuable lessons about human kindness, the value of human life, and doing the right thing in the face of possible negative consequences. Liesel then carries this with her through the rest of her life, evidenced by her feeling the need to try and help Max when she sees him in the procession. Choosing the "safe" thing to do is not always choosing the "right" thing to do, and almost never demonstrates bravery.
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Post by Readinggrl18 »

I think it was extremely brave that they were willing to out the needs of another above their own safety. It shows how an act of kindness can change the lives of others. Acts of bravery like these are often what enacts change in others.
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Post by Maddie Atkinson »

It was 100% an act of bravery. To help someone during WW2 in Germany who was considered inferior in the eyes of the state is one of the bravest things from that time period I can think of. Maybe they could of hidden Max better, especially when the soldiers searched the basement, but it was brave hiding him behind that flag. Sooo yeah, I'd say it was an act of bravery
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Post by Goral »

I think helping Max was a bravery on the part of Leisel and her family because at that time great courage was needed to go against the dictator and hide a jew..it was more like invitation to one's own death. But still they went out of their way to help Max live his life in a better way, purely out of humanity and an act of kindness. This is nothing else but bravery and sacrifice
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Post by Jasy95 »

It goes without saying that the Holocaust was one of the most horrible things that has happened in recent history. I think we should celebrate anyone who was able to act counter to the Nazis and help the Jews who were so vulnerable at that time. I think it was super brave of their family to take in Max, just like I think it was brave for Lissel to help him. Lissel's help was public, so it had some negative ramifications on her family, but she was just a child who wanted to help her friend and was not considering all of those potential ramifications. If more people had bravely stepped up like this family did, the effects of the Holocaust may not have gone so far.
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Post by Rayah Raouf »

I also think it was bravery. I mean it could be seen as stupid, but if a person doesn't try, no one ever will.
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Post by Theana De lima Araujo »

I think it's an act of kindness more than anything. She saw Max as a friend first and secondly, a human in need of help. She was also young and unfamiliar with the dangers of life. In storybooks you often hear of the strong man saving the damsel in distress, I'd like to think that this is closer to reality because it is in our nature to look after those we care about.
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Post by Linda S 1 »

I think it was bravery. It was a morally right action in a world filled with darkness and violence. At the end of the day, Max is also a human. He deserves freedom and peace. Even if the freedom was short-lived, I think it was worth the struggles they had to endure.
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Post by AlphariusRE »

They didn't have an obligation to act, but still did because it was the right thing to do. I think, that's what bravery means.
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Post by Jenifer Payton »

I definitely think this was a true act of bravery on her part. She saw an injustice happening and, even as a child, decided that she wasn't going to just watch as this was happening. There was nothing about her actions that were "stupid." Maybe they could be described as "impulsive" actions, but I don't think they should be looked at as being "stupid."
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Post by fire_spice »

ArriettyClock wrote: 11 Jul 2018, 13:12 Liesel's grandfather risked his family's safety by allowing Max to stay with them. Not only for one night, but for month, before Max eventually left to attempt to find freedom.

Later in the story, Liesel find's Max in a procession and attempts to assist him publicly, putting herself, her family, and Rudy. The publicity of this act meant that everyone in her village saw her helping a Jewish person.

Were these acts ones of stupidity or bravery?
The first one was bravery and worthy of praise. Hiding Max was noble. The second was stupidity. I felt it was careless of liesel because it openly put her whole family at risk.
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