Through the years, humans have been known to stand up for what they believe in. As many people know, history tends to repeat itself. In the novel The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, he uses characters to repeatedly display acts of courage in the face of government tyranny. The characters in the book choose to perform selfless acts of kindness for others. This twist puts the characters in danger. Not only do they face scrutiny from others, but they also risk being executed by the Fuhrer. People show courage because they care about humanity. People are human and are morally obligated to help others in times of need. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The clearest example of characters showing courage and compassion in A Time of Need can be found on pages 195-196: Han's willingness to stand up for what he believes in, despite the harm it does to him and the his family, he is brave. Throughout the story, Hans constantly finds himself in situations that allow him to show his courage. In every situation his desire to care for other human beings trumps the cruelty and hatred shown by those around him. «He must already hate me, huh? I do not believe. He gave me money, didn't he? He said, “A promise is a promise.”” (Zusak,204) In this quote, Max already assumes that he doesn't like Hans. Then he realizes that Hans is taking a huge risk by welcoming him. Hans is unaware of what could happen not only to himself, but to his entire family if he is captured. Rosa prepares food for him, Liesel collects newspapers for him and Hans prepares a house for him. Max then moves in with the Hubermans and, later, makes a new friend. This example supports the thesis because Hans risks losing everything, everything to allow a Jew to find comfort during the war. Courage is demonstrated time and again by Liesel. The most obvious example of his display of courage is when he fakes an injury while playing soccer so he can warn Mom and Dad about the Nazi officers who come to inspect the basements. “He picked her up and helped her home. Once inside, Liesel gave Hans the information about the NSDAP inspection.” This is an example of courage because Liesel was willing to put herself in danger to protect her family and her friend Max. This went against all the Nazi propaganda she was surrounded by on a daily basis. The second most important connection between Liesel and the thesis is when Liesel shows courage by reading the book The Whistler in the Basement during the first air raid. “For at least twenty minutes he told the story. The younger children were calmed by his voice, and everyone else had visions of the Whistler running away from the crime scene. This shows courage, because even though she was afraid of what might happen to her and the others who were hiding in the basement with her, she found the strength to pull herself together and put her fear aside in an effort to make everyone else feel comforted , and less fear. Another way courage is shown in the novel is when Max travels from Stuttgart to Himmelstrasse. “When he was cast out by the rest of the family, relief fought inside him like an obscenity. It was something he didn't want to feel, but nevertheless he felt it with such gusto that he wanted to vomit. How could he?”. This quote about Max and his family shows courage because he is willing to leave his family to their fate to hopefully survive World War II. Even though he trusts his friend Walter Kugler, hiding is full of danger and he could be caught at any.