The Book Thief Discussion Guide

Parent/Teen Movie Night
This film can help trigger meaningful dialogue on death, war, friendship, and the innate human desire for beauty and goodness.

Questions:

1. The movie suggests that, although all humans die, not all humans are defeated by death or fear death. According to the Bible, how can this be true? 
2. Max tells Liesel, “Every living thing, every leaf, every bird, is only alive because it contains the secret word for life. That’s the only difference between us and a lump of clay. A word. Words are life, Liesel.” Read Genesis 1:26-31. Is Max’s statement consistent with the biblical worldview? Why or why not?
3. What does the Bible say about words? Read John 1:1-5, 14. Who truly holds the power of words?
4. At the end of the movie, the narrator, Death, says, “I am haunted by humans.” What does he mean by this? Why do humans trouble him so much?
5. According to the Bible, why do humans have the capacity to be both so good and so evil?

Answers:

1. Read 1 Corinthians 15:54-58 and Revelation 20:6. Christ defeated death by rising from the dead. Because of his victory, those who accept him as their savior can also look forward to rising again to life eternal after their bodily deaths.
2. Max’s statement is not consistent with the biblical worldview because he does not distinguish man from any plant or animal. Man stands apart from every other created thing because he is in God’s image. Max also says that living things contain the secret word for life, but he fails to mention that this word can’t just be any word—it has to be the word of God. 
3. In the passage from John, Jesus is called the Word. Jesus is the only Word that can truly bring life. Therefore, God alone holds the power of words. 
4. Humans trouble the narrator, Death, because they have the capacity to be both so evil and so good. Some humans, like Liesel, live such sad lives yet can still bring so much beauty to the world.
5. They have the capacity for beauty because they are creatures made in the image of God (Psalm 139:14). However, they are also fallen, which is why they can also be so evil (Psalm 14:3).