Figurative Language Project

Quote #1 “Through the overcast sky, I looked up and saw the tin-can planes. I watched their stomachs open and the bombs drop casually out. They were off target, of course. The were often off target. -A SMALL, SAD HOPE- No one wanted to bomb Himmel Street. No would bomb a place named after heaven, would they? Would they?” (496).

Explanation This quote in Part 10 occurs when a bomb kills everyone on Himmel Street but Liesel. The author uses personification when writes “their [the planes] stomachs open and bombs drop casually out”(497). Zusak also employs irony by naming Himmel Street after heaven. Heaven should not have so much death and destruction.

Analysis The use of the word casually depicts the senselessness of war, and the detachment the enemy has for the victims. The casualties of war do not seem to matter in the context of human history. The author uses the term “Small sad hope” to foreshadow Liesel’s survival. He repeats the phrase “would they” to emphasize how senseless war is and how not one really questions why so much destruction exists.

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