significance of setting to the meaning of the words

Certainly the setting is important to the context of words. The bulk of the novel takes place from 1939 to 1942. In January of 1939, Liesel comes to live with the Hubermanns on Himmel Street. The story traces her life over the next four years, up to the night Himmel Street is bombed and (almost) everyone she loves dies in their sleep. Life is tenuous and hence the words which describe life take on different meanings. "Love", for example, certainly transcends most of our modern day inferences. Words like "love", "loyalty" and "sacrifice" become entwined and can't be looked at as separate ideas.