Liesel's Brother

A number of times now, Liesel has encountered her dead and buried brother - once, on page 270, he tells her to knock on the Mayor's door, and he's there telling him to stop when Liesel unleashes her tirade at the Mayor's wife. Liesel also sees him a number of times before these. He seems to be a sort of specter in her mind - almost a "ghost" in her mind. There are two explanations for this - one is that the spirit of her brother has been allowed to return to Liesel by Death, and is guiding her. However, this is unlikely, for, to begin with, Death only briefly saw Liesel, and is in the process of personally carrying away each and every dead soul of WWII. It's highly doubtful that he personally remembers Liesel, and even more so that he would bring back a dead soul - it's not his job. The second explanation is that her brother is a figment of her imagination. Between losing her brother and her mother, the stress of the outside world, and her worrying about Max, it's not far-fetched that she imagines her dead brother appearing to her, and fully accepts it as normal - when she is yelling at the Mayor's wife, her brother tells her to stop, but she ignored him, as "he was dead too." However, her acceptance of visions of the dead may be due to the fact that he usually only appears when she is mentally conflicted, and not paying too much attention to her surroundings. Regardless, this second explanation has a problem as well - Why would Liesel's mind conjure up images of her dead brother giving her advice if she ignores him every time? I am inclined to believe that the things Liesel's brother tells her to do reflect Liesel's subconscious, and her sense of morality. These apparitions show that beneath her veneer, Liesel has a moral, caring person, hidden by circumstance, habit, and instinct.