In "The Book Thief", Death is portrayed as inhuman. However, when Death is travelling on Earth, he gains an understanding of a universal truth. It enters his thoughts when Liesel (the protagonist of his story) is observing her foster father for the first time. He makes a significant reference to "[t]he human child - so much cannier at times than the stupefyingly ponderous adult."
When Death observed this, I recognized it instantly as a stereotypical universal truth. There are many works of literature that exploit the widespread belief that children are blessed with an uncanny ability to sense or observe things that adults can not. It is because people everywhere are convinced of this fact that it is referred to as a universal truth. The reason that this is a very popular philosophy is simply because children, in their innocence, retain the invaluable ability to believe.
Friday, November 14, 2008
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