Dialectical Journals

Dialect definition: means “the art or practice of arriving at the truth by using conversation involving question and answer.”

THE BOOK THIEF: DIALECTICAL JOURNAL (DJ*) “PASSAGE FROM THE TEXT” (ZUSAK, ___) COMMENTS/ANALYSIS

CHOOSING PASSAGES FROM THE TEXT: Look for quotes or passages that seem significant, powerful, thought provoking or puzzling. For example, you might record: Effective &/or creative use of literary devices (simile, metaphor, personification, etc) Passage that reminds you of your own life or something you’ve seen before Passage that focuses on a specific character description Passage that focuses on an event that surprised/affected you Shifts or turns in the plot A passage that makes you realize something you hadn’t seen before Examples of patterns: recurring images, ideas, colors, symbols or themes.

WRITING YOUR COMMENTS/ANALYSIS: You can respond to the text in a variety of ways. The most important thing to remember is that your observations should be specific and detailed. Use the comment code

EXAMPLE “PASSAGE FROM THE TEXT” (ZUSAK, ___) COMMENTS/ANALYSIS “Clearly, I see it. I was just about to leave when I found her kneeling there. A mountain range of rubble was written, designed, erected around her. She was clutching at a book.” (Zusak, 13) (E) This quote was significant to me because it is the title of the Prologue and because the main character, Liesel, is clearly devastated in the quote. Readers can assume she is devastated because of her actions: kneeling and clutching. These verbs show the reader that Liesel is not in a positive situation. The mention of “rubble” clearly reflects that. The narrator, Death, has foreshadowed that something major is going to happen the third time he sees her.