The Book Theif: Endless Moral Questions.

   In Markus Susak's The Book Thief. there are several different morality questions that are put t to the test. Do you help others, or try to keep yourself safe? Loyalty to your country or loyalty to your morals? Do you always do what you are told or act on your own emotions? Each of these questions has an example in the text.

   Hans Hubermann’s decision to hide a Jew in his house shows that he is willing to risk his own life to help out Max. He could have easily turned him over to the Nazi's, which would have probably been safer for his family but instead he chose to defy the social norm and do it anyways. Many people would like to think that they would make the same decision if they were in his situation, but it is impossible to say unless you actually are put in it. It certainly isn't any easy one to make, and it requires a certain level of bravery to be able to follow threw on such actions.

 A lot of people in this country would like to think themselves as Patriotic. Many would actually say they would die for their country, but is this always true? Can you put your countries needs and wants before your own morality? To Hans Hubermann, his country was Nazi Germany and his leader was Hitler. But instead of doing what he was expected and turning over Max, a Jew, he instead decided to take him in. He wasn't defying the 'enemy', he was defying his own country, his own heritage when he did this. But does that make him a bad person? Most would say not, but again it isn't an easy decision to make.


   And finally the moral question of whether or not to conform when society tells you to. In the Book Thief, the general consensus is to not do what you are told when the thing you are told is bad. When the Nazi Party wishes to send Rudy away to a special camp, his parents refuse to go along with the Party. Despite growing up in Nazi Germany, Lisel declares she hates Hitler.

  So in summery, The Book Thief offers us multiple morality questions. It allows up to think of what we would do if we were in the characters situations, to step into their shoes and their world. And some would say that it is indeed our situations ans experiences that form our morals in the first place.

My 'Moral Compass'

The four items on my moral compass are Independence, Honor, Respect, and Confidence.

Independence is on my moral compass because to me, because it helps define who we are. As children and adolescence, we grow up to strive towards independence, and to rely on ourselves. It is a natural human thing to want, and I embrace that. It is not that I believe relying on others is a sign of weakness, but I feel that being able to rely on yourself for your problems is a sign of maturity and ability.

To me, Honor is a concept that everyone should try to uphold. In a way, having honor is the dedication to follow your way, and try your best to succeed in carrying it out. To me, having honor is a way of respecting yourself, and recognizing that you are proud of how you are living your life. These are things that are good to think, and good for a healthy mind.

One of the most important things one can show another human being is Respect. It is a sign that you recognize their existence and contributions to society, in a sense. Having no respect for someone is to ignore, or to look down on everything that person stands for. To me having respect for someone, and being their friend are two totally different things. You can respect someone, but disagree with them.

Despite these other three things, the most important concept on my moral compass to me is Confidence. If you have confidence in what you are doing, that means you are dedicated to it and truly agree with it. And having confidence in yourself is one of the most respectable qualities a human being can have, and makes whatever you are trying to do much more legitimate and worth while.

Morality

   What is morality you ask? Morality is someone's loosely constructed list of morals or beliefs that they hold close to them. It is a code of conduct if you will, that allows someone to deem whether or not something is appropriate before the situation actually arises in which they would need to make said decision. Now, how morality came about can be answered in several different ways. One could be that people believed that there were things that were simply evil and should never be done, such as murder or theft. They passed these beliefs onto their children and them onto their children and so on and so forth until these concepts are well known in society today. 

   Moral codes, while they mean well, can be very limiting in the choices you can make in life, if you choose to follow them. Sure, killing someone is bad but it is not always inappropriate, as many a military or police personal can tell you. It is never something in embrace or celebrate, but if worst comes to worst the option is open. If one needs to follow a 'moral code', it implies they are not good enough at heart to follow these things on their own will. The world today is a flexible one, and you need everything you can give to make it threw this life. Limiting your options or way of thinking is simply foolish, even if it is well intended.

In place of a moral code, would it not be more beneficial to go into life with an open mind and simply attempt to do the right thing in that situation? And while a moral code could supposedly help you do that, a moral code will just get in the way of any decision making. At the end of the day isn't the moral decision the same things as the good decision? There is no need to hold yourself to some holy set of standards when there are so many possibilities in life, in a world that is continually changing.