The Book Thief: Similes 3 key examples

Max's shame comes out of him in his very breath, so palpable that it is "like a stain" (possibly a smoke stain) "molded [...] to the ceiling." This simile conveys not only a sense of Max's shame, but also a sense of dreariness and and confinement. He is going to be stuck under this ceiling for untold weeks, months, or even years. All that time, the dark evidence of his shame will remain overhead for him to stare at.

Max has nothing to be ashamed of—he is merely a Jewish man trying to survive the Holocaust. Of course, he has cashed in on an old debt from his father's friend. Even if Hans were not indebted to his family, it would not be shameful for Max to ask for help. However, now that Max is at 33 Himmel Street, the reality is hitting him that he must impose on this family if he wants to live. At the very least, it is awkward and humiliating for him to be sharing a child's room with a young girl. Max's bed was originally intended for Liesel's brother, Werner. Max no doubt feels out of place as the 24-year-old Jewish replacement for the little German boy who was supposed to sleep there. The child's bed emphasizes how dependent Max has become on the goodwill of others; unlike other men his age, such as his friend Walter, he has been unable to make an independent life for himself. None of this is Max's fault, and yet he still feels ashamed.

Liesel's language is imaginative. While it is odd to hear a cloud compared to a rope and the sun compared to a hole, Max finds that the strange specificity of her words help him envision the outside where he has not set foot in a year. The imagery inspires him to paint a scene on the wall of the basement. He even builds on Liesel's similes, turning the cloud into a tightrope the two of them balance on together as they walk toward the sun.

Death often uses imagery to describe what the sky looks like as he carries souls away. Liesel's playful description of the sky is similarly poetic, demonstrating that she, like Death, is an apt storyteller. However, instead of a mournful monument to someone's death, Liesel's poetic description is a gift for Max. It provides him with the hope that even though he is stuck in the dark, he and Liesel might be walking together toward some brighter future.

By comparing the roof tiles to perfectly combed toupees, Death begins to personify the houses. With their "polished" doors, "manicured" walls and windows, and chimneys "almost breath[ing] out smoke rings," the houses sound as though they look less like buildings and more like the rich people who own them. The houses represent everything the residents of Grande Strasse have that the residents of Himmel Street do not. Rudy's family goes hungry when they need money to buy a single essential clothing item for one of the children. It is difficult to imagine them dressing up in coiffed toupees. Basic cleanliness becomes a luxury for many Himmel Street residents, as they give up Rosa Hubermann's laundry service and begin rationing their resources more aggressively. They have neither the time nor the money to look "polished" or "manicured." Hans Hubermann enjoys smoking, and yet he must ration his cigarettes to afford things like gifts for Liesel and Rosa. On Grande Strasse, even the chimneys can sit around breathing smoke rings.

Rudy and Liesel have been stealing food when they are hungry, but breaking into the houses on Grande Strasse represents a more brazen rejection of the status quo. They are not there to steal an essential like food, but rather a book. A book, like a clean appearance, is commonplace on Grande Strasse and a nearly unheard-of luxury on Himmel Street. By visiting Grande Strasse and scoping out the houses they might break into, Liesel and Rudy imagine what it would be like to take these "luxuries" for themselves.