The Book Thief by Kate Heidingsfelder https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu en-us 2018-03-15 16:41:49 UTC 2026-01-07 01:17:21 UTC hello@padlet.com Color as Nazis Colors kateheid https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243078249 "the sun was blond, and the endless atmosphere was a giant blue eye."
Blue and yellow continue to represent Aryan Nazis because Hitler consistently stated that the ultimate human race was blonde hair, blue-eyed people, also known as Aryans. These reoccurring colors strengthen the point of the novel that everything in WWII era Europe revolved around the Nazis and their ever-presence. ]]> 2018-03-17 14:19:06 UTC https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243078249 Color as No Color kateheid https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243078673 “People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and ends, but to me it's quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spot blues. Murky darkness. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them.”
Here, death attempts to say there is a multitude of colors, but then only goes to say three colors, which include blue and yellow, having to do with Aryans. Then lists darkness, which is not really a color and so seeks the purpose of really saying there is a lack of color, except the ones involving Germans.]]> 2018-03-17 14:23:10 UTC https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243078673 Color as Darkness kateheid https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243079170 "In the darkness of my dark-beating heart, I know. He'd have loved it all right.”
Again, death uses "dark" as a color to represent the gloom looming over not only the dying people in the world, but also the people mourning over death.]]> 2018-03-17 14:27:20 UTC https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243079170 Color as Meaning kateheid https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243079339 “It's hard to not like a man who not only notices the colors, but speaks them.”
Death respects, utilizes, and twists the color motif to create an extra meaning to the book.  ]]> 2018-03-17 14:28:49 UTC https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243079339 Color in the Sky kateheid https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243082268 “The question is, what color will everything be at that moment when I come for you? What will the sky be saying?”
The most common use of the color motif applied in the book appears in describing the sky. The sky in the book most closely represents the narrator, death, who always watches from above, as if in the sky. The colors in the sky are almost always blue and yellow, the colors representing the germans, which therefore could say that death has collected multitudes of Germans.]]> 2018-03-17 14:52:18 UTC https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243082268 Color as Death kateheid https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243082344 “The survivors. They’re the ones I can’t stand to look at ... I deliberately seek out the colors to keep my mind off them, but now and then, I witness the ones who are left behind, crumbling among the jigsaw puzzle of realization, despair, and surprises.”
Death frequently talks about how collecting souls during WWII is a tiring job. Death tries to alleviate the misery of all the deaths by focusing on the color of the sky. The colors keep Death's "mind" off of death. This portrays another one of colors use as a motif for death. ]]> 2018-03-17 14:53:07 UTC https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243082344 Color as Unity kateheid https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243082695 “The day was gray, the color of Europe.”
Gray uncovers the mass depression covering the whole entire continent of Europe, not just ones involved in the war.  Gray reveals itself as an attitude and an atmosphere. Both of these being gloomy, unwelcoming, and despondent.]]> 2018-03-17 14:56:35 UTC https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243082695 Color as Diversity kateheid https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243082734 “So many humans.
So many colors.”
Skin and hair color come in all different shades.  In WWII Europe, your body's color could mean life or death. ]]> 2018-03-17 14:56:53 UTC https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243082734 Color as Safety kateheid https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243082874 "...you've got beautiful blond hair and big safe blue eyes. You should be happy with that; is that clear?”
Germans would capture, attack, or kill people simply if they looked Jewish.  The looks of a boy could simply save his life.  This meant the people had safety just because of the color of their skin.]]> 2018-03-17 14:58:32 UTC https://padlet.com/kateheid/ca1te3ranqeu/wish/243082874