Max

            Max is a very intriguing character. It is noted in the beginning that Liesel is more fortunate than him because at least she isn’t a Jew. The first time we see him, he is already broken beyond belief. He has been forced to sit alone in the dark, petrified to move or breathe too loudly for far of someone finding him. His own neighbors, because of the propaganda they’ve been fed, have probably treated him like filth. Being hated and punished for being who you are can take a toll on your self-image. It’s safe to say that by the time he reached the Hubermann’s his self-worth was pretty low and he was constantly scared−with good reason. His whole life after that he was forced to live in hiding if he wanted to stay alive. His days consisted of sitting alone in a cold basement. He literally never went upstairs because if he did he could be found. I cannot imagine that kind of existence. One thing I noticed is that he was always apologizing. He was sorry to the Hubermanns that he was causing them trouble, taking a portion of their rations, and making them break the law for him, despite that it was their choice to take all those things on so that they could protect him. It’s as though he can’t accept that these people would care enough about him that they’d risk their own safety to help him. He didn’t feel like he deserved to be fed and kept safe. He ultimately shows this when, instead of meeting Hans to arrange when it was safe to come back to the house, he left a note that said “You’ve done enough” (Zusak 398). They had insisted that they didn’t mind keeping him in their basement, but he always felt like he was asking too much of them. We’re left to contemplate what did this to him. Was it truly that he was so kind he didn’t want to burden them? Did the atmosphere of Anti-Semitism make him truly believe that he was worth less than them? Did the constant fear make him feel worthless? Did the poverty, shame and starvation play a part? We aren’t offered much insight on Max’s motives, so I guess we’ll never know. Perhaps it was a combination of all three that turned the audacious young fighter into the constantly apologizing man who showed up at the Hubermanns' door.