Letter vs. Liesel

While walking home after being fired, Liesel thinks back to the letter she left in the grass, thinking about it future. I believe that there is a connection made between Liesel's life and the letter, but also between Liesel's knowledge of the whole situation with the Nazi's and Hitler.

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"On the way home this time, she imagined the fate of the paper the next time it rained, when the mended glass house of Molching was turned upside down. She could already see the words dissolving, letter by letter, till there was nothing left. Just paper. Just Earth." (page 264)

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First, this is a look into the fate of the letter, but i think it is also a look back at the turn of Liesel's life and also a look to future events. More precisely a indication that there will be a drastic change in the course of this novel and Liesel's life.

Second, this is an over all explanation of Liesel's growing knowledge of the urgency of the situation. Liesel didn't begin to fully understand the complexity of the situation until the night when she stole her second book and Papa had to explain to her that she had to keep up a certain facade in public that supported Hitler, no matter her true opinions. This understanding only grew when Max arrived and his life depended on her silence. Work became harder to find, leaving Liesel, Mama, Papa, and Max with a a lack of money and food, the situations direness only increased while became more apparent. ["Just paper. Just Earth"] Liesel naiveness has shielded her from truly comprehending the situation in the past, but as she ages she starts to see her world in a more strict and divided way. Liesel begins to see in what is considered to be a more mature fashion. Seeing just black and white, just Jews and Nazis.