It’s the early 1940s and it’s wartime. And that can only mean one thing–death. Whether it’s your friends, your family, or your next door neighbors, Death is stalking.
Literally.
Death, as ironic as it seems, comes alive in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. A dormant observer to Liesel Meminger’s life, Death remarks on the morbid nature of war. Watching Liesel, a young German girl, Death sympathizes with the horrors she was forced to experience during the Holocaust.
Meanwhile, Night by Elie Wiesel is the cause for our silent tears. Written with heart wrenching honesty, Night is a memoir of Wiesel’s ordeals in concentration camps. Wiesel was just a young boy when he was forced to comply with Hitler’s orders, and this memoir explains that experience in excruciating detail.
Both stories share the common theme of injustice. Stuck in a world they didn’t wish for, both Liesel, Elie, and surprisingly, Death, suffer in misery. The blunt, grim messages both authors relay are dark and harrowing. It is a recipe for tears.
Reading isn’t always for entertainment–and that’s evident with these books. There is no “sugar-coating,” and no “twisting of the truth.”
Clearly, these books are uncomfortable to read in school, as the tears are uncontrollable. The sadness and harsh reality of the Holocaust sits heavily on our consciences. In some sense, these books are beautiful for their truth; however, they aren’t suitable for high school students. Yes, there may be a lot to analyze and appreciate style-wise, but this book is, in our opinion, too heavy for high schoolers–assigned reading or recreationally. Rather, these books depress students and only serve to ruin their day.
Reading isn’t always for entertainment–and that’s evident with these books. There is no “sugar-coating,” and no “twisting of the truth.” In Weisel’s memoir, he doesn’t hesitate to bluntly state the truth as it is. Even his inner thoughts are openly exposed: the need for hope in hopeless times, the need for survival in deadly conditions, and the need for others’ death if it meant he stayed alive.
Similarly, Death makes sarcastic comments about the Holocaust and belittles humans as a whole. His sophisticated word choice and nonchalant demeanor is, honestly, confusing to students. Upon many reads, it becomes clear what the meaning is, but the first read is always frustrating. In fact, the motivation to read further decreases because of the intricate language and deep symbolism. Most of the meaning is lost during the first read, and it’s simply too much work to read it multiple times just to understand.
Both Night and The Book Thief are full of cynicism. Wiesel, once a devout believer in God, later sarcastically comments on the irony of God doing nothing while innocents are being murdered. This destructive thought process adulterates the young minds of high schoolers.
In addition, the repetitive and descriptive mentions of the death and nightmarish conditions in both books make them heavy reads for those looking for an entertaining and recreational read. The burden of illness and torture lays heavily on teenagers’ shoulders, filling them with guilt for something they were not a part of.
So yes, these books are beautiful in terms of their writing style, but we’d opt to leave it out of high school hands.
