Stealing: A Sin or Saving a Life?

I am still reading The Book Thief by Mark Zusak. An issue that the author keeps repeating is stealing. Is stealing ever okay? Sometimes in desperate situations, stealing seems like the best choice. Main character Liesel Meminger is not so sure.

"Do you feel bad?" Liesel finally asked. They were already on the way home.
"About what?" 
"You know."
"Of course I do, but I'm not hungry anymore, and I bet he's not hungry either. Don't think for a second that the priests would get food if there wasn't enough to go around at home."
"He just hit the ground so hard."
"Don't remind me." (pg. 164)


It is one thing to steal. It's another when you try to justify it. I completely understand Liesel and Rudy's situation. Both of them are living in poverty and barely have enough to eat every day, not to mention the fact that they are living in Nazi Germany, which was a brutal, chaotic time period. I understand Rudy's motive. He thinks the priests are greedy and don't deserve to eat so much food while others are starving. But it still isn't right to steal.

I appreciate Liesel in this scene because she feels more remorse for what she has done than Rudy. She isn't self-fish and doesn't try to justify her acts. Liesel owns up to her mistakes, unlike Rudy who tried to prove that it was okay to steal. By feeling remorse for stealing, Liesel has shown, in some ways, that she is an honest person. She is slowly opening up to people.

This habit of "stealing" originated when Liesel found The Grave Digger's Handbook and found a book in the remnants of the fire (that had been used to burn books). But in my opinion, this is not stealing. These books were left behind and no one claimed them, so technically, Liesel found the books. I think the author is trying to show the differences between stealing and discovering things. (discoveries--> curiousity)