The Book Thief Trigger Warning List

Hi everyone! As promised, here is the trigger warning list for The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It is fairly long; the book is very long. As with the other books that don't number the chapters, I assigned numbers to each of the chapter titles.

[Important: Please note that trigger warnings are not necessarily to make it so that you can just avoid the content. There is a fairly popular mistaken belief that trigger warnings are censorship. That is not true. Trigger warnings exist so that, if you are sensitive to the content, you are made aware of it before it occurs and surprises you. This gives you a chance to prepare yourself mentally before reading it so that it does not affect you as negatively as it might if you didn’t know that it was going to happen.Also, please note that if you rely on triggers for the shock-value or plot twists, (aka, “Well I can’t use trigger warnings because they’re spoilers!”), you aren’t a very good writer and you definitely aren’t taking into consideration the possible sensitivity of your audience.]

Triggers, listed in order of the number of occurrences: death, anti-Semitism, violence, ableist language, child abuse, alcohol, emetophobia, sexism, and slurs.

The paragraph numbers and a general summary of each are listed on the following pages. For reference, the italicized numbers in the parenthesis are the page numbers in my book, and the total number of paragraphs in each chapter are listed below (the chapter paragraphs are separated by parts):

Death and Chocolate (Chapter 1) - 35 Beside the Railway Line (Chapter 2) - 31 The Eclipse (Chapter 3) - 25 The Flag (Chapter 4) - 39 Arrival on Himmel Street (Chapter 5) - 131 Growing Up a Saumensch (Chapter 6) - 46 The Woman with the Iron Fist (Chapter 7) - 88 The Kiss (Chapter 8) - 94 The Jesse Owens Incident (Chapter 9) - 50 The Other Side of Sandpaper (Chapter 10) - 82 The Smell of Friendship (Chapter 11) - 49 The Heavyweight Champion of the Schoolyard (Chapter 12) - 94 A Girl Made of Darkness (Chapter 13) - 17 The Joy of Cigarettes (Chapter 14) - 57 The Town Walker (Chapter 15) - 66 Dead Letters (Chapter 16) - 39 Hitler’s Birthday, 1940 (Chapter 17) - 60 100 Percent Pure German Sweat (Chapter 18) - 54 The Gates of Thievery (Chapter 19) - 48 Book of Fire (Chapter 20) - 60 The Way Home (Chapter 21) - 53 The Mayor’s Library (Chapter 22) - 99 Enter the Struggler (Chapter 23) - 40 The Attributes of Summer (Chapter 24) - 133 The Aryan Shopkeeper (Chapter 25) - 28 The Struggler, Continued (Chapter 26) - 42 Tricksters (Chapter 27) - 82 The Struggler, Concluded (Chapter 28) - 27 The Accordionist (Chapter 29) - 125 A Good Girl (Chapter 30) - 16 A Short History of the Jewish Fist Fighter (Chapter 31) - 115 The Wrath of Rosa (Chapter 32) - 16 Liesel’s Lecture (Chapter 33) - 73 The Sleeper (Chapter 34) - 23 The Swapping of Nightmares (Chapter 35) - 193 Pages from the Basement (Chapter 36) - 33 The Floating Book (Chapter 37) - 16 The Gamblers (Chapter 38) - 233 Rudy’s Youth (Chapter 39) - 64 The Losers (Chapter 40) - 54 Sketches (Chapter 41) - 16 The Whistler and the Shoes (Chapter 42) - 136 Three Acts of Stupidity by Rudy Steiner (Chapter 43) - 77 The Floating Book (Chapter 44) - 46

Death’s Diary: 1942 (Chapter 45) - 30 The Snowman (Chapter 46) - 68 Thirteen Presents (Chapter 47) - 95 Fresh Air, an Old Nightmare, and What to do with a Jewish Corpse (Chapter 48) - 114 Death’s Diary: Cologne (Chapter 49) - 26 The Visitor (Chapter 50) - 103 The Schmunzeler (Chapter 51) - 27 Death’s Diary: The Parisians (Chapter 52) - 18 Champagne and Accordions (Chapter 53) - 42 The Trilogy (Chapter 54) - 155 The Sound of Sirens (Chapter 55) - 85 The Sky Stealer (Chapter 56) - 52 Frau Holtzapfel’s Offer (Chapter 57) - 53 The Long Walk to Dachau (Chapter 58) - 97 Peace (Chapter 59) - 23 The Idiot and the Coat Men (Chapter 60) - 61 Dominoes and Darkness (Chapter 61) - 63 The Thought of Rudy Naked (Chapter 62) - 44 Punishment (Chapter 63) - 45 The Promise Keeper’s Wife (Chapter 64) - 148 The Collector (Chapter 65) - 76 The Bread Eaters (Chapter 66) - 48 The Hidden Sketchbook (Chapter 67) - 96 The Anarchist’s Suit Collection (Chapter 68) - 42 The Next Temptation (Chapter 69) - 48 The Cardplayer (Chapter 70) - 10 The Snows of Stalingrad (Chapter 71) - 72 The Ageless Brother (Chapter 72) - 19 The Accident (Chapter 73) - 30 The Bitter Taste of Questions (Chapter 74) - 8 One Toolbox, One Bleeder, One Bear (Chapter 75) - 130 Homecoming (Chapter 76) - 12 The End of the World (Chapter 77) - 32 The Ninety-Eighth Day (Chapter 78) - 42 The War Maker (Chapter 79) - 10 Way of the Words (Chapter 80) - 99 Confessions (Chapter 81) - 34 Ilsa Hermann’s Little Black Book (Chapter 82) - 73 The Rib-Cage Planes (Chapter 83) - 22 The End of the World (Chapter 84) - 97 Death and Liesel (Chapter 85) - 10 Wood in the Afternoon (Chapter 86) - 26 Max (Chapter 87) - 5 The Handover Man (Chapter 88) - 18

Death

By far the most prevalent trigger in this book is death. I added short summaries if I thought it needed an extra warning, otherwise just the paragraphs are mentioned.

• Paragraph 6 (3) of chapter 1.
• Paragraphs 11 (6) of chapter 2.
• In paragraphs 15 (7), 16, and 27 (8) of chapter 2, there are mentions of the dead body of a minor.
• Paragraphs 14 (10), 15, 19, 22 (11), and 23 of chapter 3, there are mentions of a dead body.
• In paragraphs 6 (12) and 7 of chapter 4, people die from bombings.
• In paragraphs 9 (19), 15 (20), 22, 28 (21), 43 (22), 48, 51, 59 (23), 65, 87 (25), 91, 101 (26), and 104 (27) of chapter 5, a minor dies and his death, dead body, and funeral are spoken about.
• Paragraphs 127 (29), 129, and 130 of chapter 5.
• Paragraphs 21 (64), 46 (66), 51, and 52 of chapter 10.
• Paragraphs 23 (75), 55 (77), 72 (79), 73, 83 (80), and 87 of chapter 12.
• Paragraph 8 (83) of chapter 13.
• In paragraph 12 (84) of chapter 13, there is a mention of burning dead people.
• Paragraphs 6 (85), 11 (86), and 21 (87) of chapter 14.
• In paragraph 47 (106) of chapter 17, there is a mention of Stalingrad.
• Paragraph 34 (111) of chapter 18.
• In paragraph 25 (112) of chapter 18, there is a mention of the death toll of World War II (and presumably the Holocaust as well).
• Paragraphs 1 (114) and 11 (115) of chapter 19.
• Paragraph 41 (127) of chapter 21.
• Paragraph 29 (132) of chapter 22.
• Paragraphs 37 (145), 67 (148), and 107 (152) of chapter 24.
• In paragraph 43 (146) of chapter 24, there is a mention of someone freezing to death.
• In paragraph 46 (146) of chapter 24, there is a mention of suicide and self-harm.
• Paragraphs 20 (163) and 73 (167) of chapter 27.
• Paragraph 3 (168) of chapter 28.
• In paragraphs 11 (174) and 26 (175) of chapter 29, there are mentions of death from war, including being shot to pieces.
• Paragraphs 42 (177), 45, 50 (178), 66 (179) of chapter 29.
• In paragraph 14 (188) of chapter 31, there is a mention of someone being shot to pieces.
• In paragraphs 16 (188) through 26 (189), there is a description of someone dying from cancer.
• Paragraphs 34 (189) and 52 (191) of chapter 31.
• In paragraph 74 (213) of chapter 32, there is a mention of murder.
• In paragraphs 92 (214) and 97 (215) of chapter 32, there is a mention of freezing to death.
• Paragraphs 166 (220), 172, and 174 of chapter 32.
• Paragraphs 10 (241), 11 (242), and 12 of chapter 37.
• Paragraphs 163 (259), 166 (260), and 213 (264) of chapter 38.
• In paragraph 191 (262) of chapter 38, there is a description of death.
• Paragraph 115 (290) of chapter 42.
• In paragraphs 7 (308), 9, 10, and 11 of chapter 45, there is a description of deaths that occurred during World War II.
• Paragraphs 17 (309), 21, and 23 of chapter 45.
• Paragraphs 48 (315) and 66 (316) of chapter 46.
• Paragraph 53 (321) of chapter 47.
• In paragraphs 82 (323), 84 (324), and 85 of chapter 47, there are mentions of murder, torture, and a dead body.
• In the title of chapter 48, there is a mention of a dead body (325).
• Paragraph 31 (327), 61 (331), 65, 101 (334), and 104 of chapter 48.
• In paragraphs 46 (329), 48, 49, and 52 (330) of chapter 48, there are mentions of death and a dead body.
• Paragraphs 6 (336), and 13 (337) of chapter 49.
• Paragraphs 25 (341) and 26 of chapter 50.
• In paragraphs 4 (349), 5, 14 (350), and 15 of chapter 52, there is a vivid description of the deaths of Jewish people, from gassing chambers and their attempts to escape.
• Paragraphs 49 (376) and 51 of chapter 55.
• Paragraph 52 (384) of chapter 56.
• Paragraph 1 (385) of chapter 57.
• In paragraphs 4 (389) and 5 of chapter 58, a man dies from starvation and sickness.
• Paragraphs 35 (391), 42 (392), 59 (393), 60, 61, and 78 (395) of chapter 58.
• Paragraphs 37 (410) and 53 of chapter 61.
• Paragraph 16 (413) of chapter 62.
• Paragraph 1 (416) of chapter 63.
• Paragraphs 40 (422), 100 (426), 126 (428), and 144 (429) of chapter 64.
• Paragraphs 7 (432), 10, 50 (436), and 58 of chapter 65.
• Paragraphs 5 (463) and 10 (464) of chapter 70.
• Paragraphs 25 (467), 26, 39 (468) and 52 (469) of chapter 71.
• In paragraph 45 (469) of chapter 71, there is a description of someone dying from having their legs blown off.
• Paragraph 11 (473) of chapter 72.
• In paragraphs 11 (476), 17, 18, 19 (477), and 25 of chapter 73, there are mentions of a man who had his neck snapped.
• Paragraph 51 (485), 56, 62 (486), 65, 82 (487), 92 (488), 109 (489), 123 (490), 125, 129 (491), and 130 of chapter 75.
• Paragraphs 13 (498) and 25 (499) of chapter 77.
• In paragraphs 19 (502), 22, 28 (503), 30, 32, and 36 (505) of chapter 78, someone hangs themselves.
• Paragraphs 1 (506) and 4 of chapter 79.
• Paragraphs 6 (508), 15 (509), 51 (512), and 62 (513) of chapter 80.
• Paragraph 32 (518) of chapter 81.
• Paragraphs 21 (520) and 40 (522) of chapter 82.
• Paragraph 4 (526) of chapter 83.
• All of chapter 84 (529-539) needs a warning for death from bombings.
• In the title of chapter 85 (543), there is a mention of death.
• Paragraphs 4 (543) and 6 of chapter 85.
• Paragraphs 11 (546), 12, 17, and 22 (547) of chapter 86.

Anti-Semitism

As this book is set in Nazi Germany, there is obviously a lot of anti-Semitism (discrimination toward Jewish people). The main instances I noted are as follows:

• In paragraph 50 (61) of chapter 9, there is a description of an anti-Semitic hate crime,
• In paragraph 22 (110) of chapter 18, there is a speech that demonizes Jewish people, among others.
• In paragraph 9 (138) of chapter 23, a Jewish person is referred to as “scum.”
• In paragraph 83 (181) of chapter 29, there is a description of an anti-Semitic hate crime.
• In paragraph 9 (390) of chapter 58, Jewish people are called rats.
• In paragraphs 28 (391) through 76 (394) of chapter 58, there is a forced march of Jewish people that includes violence and insults.
• In paragraph 8 (507) of chapter 79, the Jewish people are called a plague and the death camps are alluded to.
• In paragraphs 9 (509) through 90 (515) of chapter 80, there is a forced march of Jewish people.

Violence

Violence in this book is mainly physical fighting and injuries caused by war.

• In paragraphs 66 (78) through 77 (79) of chapter 12, there is a fight.
• In paragraphs 43 (112) and 52 (113), there is an injury.
• In paragraph 56 (133) of chapter 22, there is a mention of torture.
• In paragraph 67 (148) of chapter 24, there is a mention of a fight that took place previously.
• In paragraphs 7 (187) through 12 of chapter 31, there is a fight.
• In paragraphs 35 (190) through 47 (191), there is a fight.
• In paragraphs 95 (252) through 116 (255) of chapter 38, there is is fight.
• In paragraph 202 (263) of chapter 38, there is a description of wounds inflicted by words.
• Paragraphs 43 (275) through 47 (276) of chapter 40.
• In paragraphs 50 (297) through 68 (298) of chapter 42, there is a fight.
• In paragraph 10 (466) of chapter 71, there is a mention of an injury caused by the war.
• In paragraphs 68 (513) through 77 (514) of chapter 80, a whip is used on people.
• In paragraph 96 (515) of chapter 80, there is a fight.

Ableist Language

Ableist language is common in this book, including the words stupid, idiot, and crazy.

• In paragraph 21 (7) of chapter 2, the word stupid is used.
• In paragraphs 11 (37) and 54 (42) of chapter 7, the word stupid is used.
• In paragraph 55 (42) of chapter 7, the word cripple is used.
• In paragraph 57 (42) of chapter 7, the word crazy is used.
• In paragraphs 17 (48) and 23 of chapter 8, the word crazy is used.
• In paragraph 25 (48) of chapter 8, the word insane is used.
• In paragraph 49 (51) of chapter 8, the word stupid is used.
• In paragraph 20 (58) of chapter 9, the word crazy is used.
• In paragraph 60 (78) of chapter 12, the word idiot is used.
• In paragraphs 63 (78) and 77 (79) of chapter 12, the word stupid is used.
• In paragraph 92 (80) of chapter 12, the word crazy is used.
• In paragraph 16 (110) of chapter 18, the word cripple is used.
• In paragraph 9 (115) of chapter 19, the word stupid is used.
• In paragraph 27 (131) of chapter 22, the word stupid is used.
• In paragraph 101 (151) of chapter 24, the word idiot is used.
• In paragraph 10 (154) of chapter 25, the word idiot is used.
• In paragraph 24 (163) of chapter 27, the word stupid is used.
• In paragraph 71 (212) of chapter 32, the word stupid is used.
• In paragraph 89 (214) of chapter 32, the word crazy is used.
• In paragraph 117 (216) of chapter 32, the word dumb is used.
• In paragraph 171 (260) of chapter 38, the word idiot is used.
• In paragraph 110 (290) of chapter 42, the word idiot is used.
• The word stupid is used in the title of chapter 43 (293).
• In paragraphs 39 (296), 46 (297), and 70 (299) of chapter 43, the word stupid is used.
• In paragraphs 76 (299) and 77 of chapter 43, the word idiot is used.
• In paragraph 67 (322) of chapter 47, the word insane is used.
• In paragraph 14 (326) of chapter 48, the word idiot is used.
• In paragraph 34 (328) of chapter 48, the word lunatic is used.
• In paragraph 36 (328) of chapter 48, the word crazy is used.
• In paragraphs 65 (331), 79 (332), 85 (333), and 88 of chapter 48, the word stupid is used.
• In paragraphs 29 (341), 70 (343), and 96 (345) of chapter 50, the word maniac is used.
• In paragraph 59 (343) of chapter 50, the word crazy is used.
• In paragraph 10 (360) of chapter 54, the word crazy is used.
• In paragraphs 10 (360), 74 (365), and 132 (369) of chapter 54, the word stupid is used.
• In paragraph 43 (383) of chapter 56, the word idiot is used.
• The word idiot is used in the title of chapter 60 (399).
• In paragraphs 1 (399), 36 (402), and 40 of chapter 60, the word idiot is used.
• In paragraphs 15 (400) and 40 (402) of chapter 60, the word stupid is used.
• In paragraph 10 (460) of chapter 69, the word stupid is used.
• In paragraph 7 (493) of chapter 76, the word stupid is used.

Child Abuse

Child abuse occurs or is mentioned in the following paragraphs:

• Paragraphs 16 (32), 17 (33), and 39 (35) of chapter 6.
• Paragraphs 93 (55) and 94 of chapter 8.
• Paragraphs 19 (75), 59 (78), 81 (79), and 82 (80) of chapter 12.
• Paragraphs 2 (85), 30 (88), and 33 of chapter 14.
• Paragraphs 13 (98), 20 (99), 22, 24, and 31 (100) of chapter 16.
• Paragraphs 24 (116) and 28 of chapter 19.
• Paragraph 16 (130) of chapter 22.
• Paragraph 98 (151) of chapter 24.
• Paragraph 215 (264) of chapter 38.
• Paragraph 113 (290) of chapter 42.
• Paragraph 26 (319) of chapter 47.
• Paragraph 89 (333) of chapter 48.
• Paragraph 5 (472) of chapter 72.

Alcohol

Alcohol or being drunk are mentioned in the following paragraphs:

• Paragraphs 49 (41) and 52 (42) of chapter 7.
• Paragraphs 21 (357), 23, 24, 27, and 30 (358) of chapter 53.
• Paragraphs 5 (420) through 7 (421), 22, 37 (422), 52 (423), 56, 59, and 64 (424) of chapter 64.
• Paragraphs 28 (434) and 30 of chapter 65.
• Paragraph 91 (539) of chapter 84.

Emetophobia

Instances of vomiting in the book are as follows:

• In paragraphs 127 (153), 130, and 133 of chapter 24, Liesel throws up from eating too many apples.
• Paragraph 72 (193) of chapter 31.
• In paragraph 9 (198) of chapter 32, Max throws up after eating for the first time in a while.
• Paragraph 29 (418) of chapter 63.
• Paragraph 74 (437) of chapter 65.

Sexism

The sexism in this book is mainly derogatory language. The instances I noted are as follows:

• In paragraph 64 (53) of chapter 8, the word slut is used.
• In paragraphs 13 (273) and 27 (274) of chapter 40, the word whore is used.
• In paragraph 48 (276) of chapter 40, the word slut is used.
• In paragraph 11 (301) of chapter 44, the word whore is used.
• In paragraph 80 (514) of chapter 80, the word whore is used.

Slurs

The only slur that I noticed in this book is one use of the word gypsy, which is a slur against the Romani people.

• In paragraph 49 (89) of chapter 14, the word gypsy is used.

Up next: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Love Always,

Sam

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