Is it Worth the Risk?
Recently in my English 2 class, we read The Book Thief by Mark Zusack. The book took place in Germany during the holocaust. Throughout the book there were many themes and lessons I learned. There was one theme that stuck out to me; it was “people should always do the right thing no matter the circumstances or the consequences.” In The Book Thief Hans Hubermann also known as papa took a huge risk by taking in a Jew known as Max. If anyone finds out he would have to suffer some big consequences. Sometimes it is hard to do the right thing. Not many people think it’s the right thing to do if you have to suffer consequences.
Many people don’t always think doing the right thing is the right choice. Hans Hubermann took a big risk by taking in Max. The Hubermann family did the right thing in taking him in because they were protecting him. Hans took in Max because after Erik’s death on page 179 it said “He- if there’s anything you ever need. He slid a piece of paper with his name and address on it.” He promised her because Hans wouldn’t have survived if it wasn’t for Erik. When Max showed up at the Hubermanns front door, Hans felt guilty so he took in Max because he promised Erik’s wife that he would do anything for her family. I personally would do the right thing no matter the consequences. One day my friend told me that she liked this guy and that they were hanging out, well I found out that my cousin liked him too and was also hanging out with him. When I found out I had no clue what to do; I decided to tell my friend because it was the right choice because I was protecting them both. When, I told her she told the guy and things didn’t go good for me. I decided to do the right thing but I knew I was going to suffer the consequences of telling her but I knew it was right to tell her because I was protecting both her and my cousin.

There is always going to be consequences no matter what you decide to do. You might as well do the right thing because you are helping someone. During the Jew parade on page 392 “Whether they watched this parade with pride, temerity, or shame, nobody came forward to interrupt it. Not yet.” Many people stood around and laughed, as the Jews walked by. There was one person, who couldn’t stand seeing the Jews walk by, he had to do something. Meanwhile they were walking; Hans gave one of the Jews bread. Hans knew that he was going to suffer consequences but he did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. Once the soldiers saw Hans they started to whip him but he didn’t back down against them because he thought what they were doing was wrong. When I deiced to tell my friend about the guy, I suffered some consequences. She ended up telling the guy, and later on that night he called me yelling at me, telling me how he hates me. Him and I are no longer friends. I lost a friend because I was trying to protect my friend and my cousin but it was the right thing to do. Many people may disagree with me and believe that nothing is worth suffering the consequences.

Many people would disagree with me and say doing the right thing is not worth the consequences. In the Book Thief on page 105 it said “You never cared about this country, said Hans Junior. Not enough, anyways.” Hans Junior was a person who believed that if you’re not in the Nazi Party then you are against Hitler. Hans Junior thought the only thing you should do is follow all of Hitler’s commands, since Hans didn’t Hans Junior he believed that his father was a coward. I personally think that if Hans follow Hitler’s commands then that would make him a coward because he wouldn’t have enough courage to speak out against him. Many people believe it is not right to do the right thing if you’re going to suffer consequences. If they aren’t willing to do the right thing then they are cowards. If you do the right thing you would be helping out someone in need and isn’t strong enough to help themselves. You should always do the right thing no matter the circumstances or consequences.

Through out The Book Thief there were many themes and lessons that I learned but one stuck out to me and that was “People should always do the right thing no matter the circumstances of the consequences.” In The Book Thief Hans Hubermann did the right thing in taking in Max because he saved his life. Hans wasn’t afraid of what the Nazis would do to him if they found out he had a Jew in his basement. You should do the right thing no matter the consequences because you are helping someone out who can’t stand up for themselves.