Sketches, The Whistler and Shoes, and Three Acts of Stupidity, Pages 279-299

SPOILER ALERTIf you have not started to read this book, and have stumbled across this blog, be warned, there are some spoilers in these passages. 

Very interesting section in my opinion. Liesel found some notes written down by Max in the basement. They looked a lot like political cartoons. 

"Not the Fuhrer, the conductor". I had never thought of it like that, that Hitler is conducting the people with his talent in public speaking. Max also seems very artistic, drawling the people very accurately, or at least in my opinion. It seemed like the "cartoons" scared Liesel as well. When Liesel gasped " You scared me, Max", it is kind of sudden, but what really catches my eye is that it repeats her sentence at the end of the chapter. Is that Liesel re-thinking that in her mind? If so, she must have been really scared, or maybe a little upset. In the whistler and shoes, it starts by showing how beat up Rudy is getting in Hitler Youth. 

"Their plan was perfect except for one thing: They didn't know were to start." 

I love this because it not only builds up the moment, and then trips it, but it shows that Liesel and Rudy are able to pre plan and execute a procedure from different starting points, and would be able to change the plan from there. I can't believe that Liesel is still mad at the Major's wife, even though she broke down about being mean to her bleed in sadness a couple of sections ago. That, overall, was what stuck with me, however, that one idea. I wonder why the Author decided to have Rudy go back for Liesel's shoes, let alone him forgetting them. Maybe someone saw Rudy, would that lead to Rudy's foretold death? I don't know, for something as small as stealing a book. Rudy is still treating Liesel's mama as a rude mother. I believe that Rosa has changed dramatically in the past sections, ever since Max arrived. I don't think Liesel took that much offence, but to Rudy, I guess it did. 

"Rudy Steiner: Pure genius." 

Well, you got THAT right. 

The beginning summarizes the three, most stupidest things that Rudy is going to do in this chapter: He is going to steal the largest potato from a market. He will take on Franz, and he will skip Hitler Youth altogether. For how well the Author described him traveling unseen to the potato, I would have thought he would have been able to at least take it with a couple instead of thirteen spotting him. Rudy: The dumbest yet the luckiest boy in the world, has his teacher come in and bail him out by lying about his family's size. Key word of why I am surprised : Teacher. 

Next Act of stupidity. 

"Rudy would end this with a black eye, cracked ribs, and a haircut."

Even though I know so little about what is going to happen, I already feel more than bad for Rudy. Why didn't Rudy answer Franz correctly when he was asked for Hitler's birth date? Is he trying to anger him on purpose? I cannot believe how stupid Rudy is being. I wish I could just walk into the book and ask him what the heck he is doing."
Rudy then makes another stupid decision after hitler youth, to throw a rock at Franz.
"You might have asked what the heck he was thinking. The answer is, probably nothing at all. "
Wow, exactly what I was thinking. Is this out of anger? Out of envy?
Rudy took many blows from , and finally stayed on the ground.
"What is Hitler's birthday?"
When Franz took out the pocket knife, I stopper reading for a moment, this could not be it, Rudy still has to be stupid one more time, and Franz wouldn't KILL him... right?
Apparently, he, as told previously, got a haircut, thank god.
The final act of stupidity didn't result in any injuries, it resulted in a new division. I think that Rudy would like it. To be honest, I think that he would like any class without Franz. Franz didn't even get involved in anything in this part.
Overall, this summarizes Max scaring Liesel, Rudy being stupid, and Rudy being stupid (But I guess thats still an improvement to Rudy :D )
I hope that you have enjoyed this blog entry, and if you have happened to stumble upon it, that you will be inspired to read along with me.

-Keaten


#keatenstealsthebook