The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
John Boyne
Historical Fiction
# of pages read this week: 66/216
Summary
Bruno's father's birthday was coming up. His mother was planning a birthday party for him along with the assistance of Lieutenant Kotler. Of course, Bruno had to make up a million reasons as to why he hated him. Bruno mentions that Lieutenant Kotler never smiles, Gretel flirts with him, when his father is not around he acts like he is in charge of everything. One shocking this that Bruno witnessed Kotler do was shoot a barking dog outside. Overall, he claims Kotler is not a very likable person. Bruno was reading his book and Kotler came and snatched his book away and refused to return it to Bruno. He was only able to get it back when Kotler heard Bruno's mother coming. She didn't realize that Bruno was there and started to talk to Kotler she said she had some free time. She then told Bruno to leave once she had noticed he was there because she said she needed a private word with Lieutenant Kotler. He went to the kitchen and he wasn't ready for what he was about to see. His best friend Shmuel was sitting at the table. It's been around a year since Bruno and his family have been at Out-With. His grandma dies and they return to Berlin for her funeral. Bruno's father was especially forlorn because the last time he had seen her before her death he had argued with her. Once Bruno goes back home from the funeral he really realizes that Out-With is his new home and that things have drastically improved in a good way. He says that the best thing about it is his new friend Shmuel. Bruno and Gretel's mother finds out that they have lice and is terribly unhappy about it. It has made her re-think whether she likes living in Out-With. Once thing that hasn't changed is that Bruno still looks forward to his afternoons with Shmuel. One afternoon Bruno goes to meet Shmuel at their usual place but Shmuel isn't there. He is worried and wonders why he is missing. 3 Days after that Shmuel turns up, Bruno asked where he had been and Shmuel explained that something very bad had happened and his father went missing.They change the subject and Bruno tells Shmuel he will be returning to Berlin and he thinks that it will be forever. Before Bruno is supposed to leave to go to Berlin it rains and he is worried he won't be able to see Shmuel before he departs. The weather gets better and he is happy and goes for what might be his last visit to see Shmuel. This time their meeting was different. Shmuel lifts up the fence just enough so that Bruno can squeeze underneath it and get to the other side. He manages to get muddy on the way though. The reason he has made his way underneath the fence was so that he could help Shmuel find his father, Bruno insists it's not a good idea and wants to leave to go back to Out-With. He stays though because Shmuel reminds him that after all he did promise to search for his father. They look around for around an hour and a half but there is no luck. As they are running back to the fence they hear a loud whistle and they found themselves surrounded by soldiers. After what had happened that day on the other side of the fence Bruno is never seen or heard from again by anyone. His mother and father are terrified and end up staying at Out-With for several more months to keep looking for Bruno and hope to here something. Bruno's father goes to the place at which Bruno always met Shmuel and finds his clothes in a pile. He then notices the tiny gap that Bruno went through to get to the other side of the fence. He then realizes the tragedy that took place that afternoon and falls to the ground. This news is horrible for the whole family. A few months later Bruno's father is removed from Out-With and no one cares what he has been through.
Response
These few last chapters were very hard to read because of what had happened to Bruno. It was very emotional and it truly shows the life that most families had back then. Bruno was only young when the incident had happened. I think that the friendship was so strong between Bruno and Shmuel and it shows how much they both cared for each other and what a true friendship really means. I feel so sorry for Bruno's family and him because of what they had to go through and what Bruno and Shmuel experienced. The soldiers must have been extremely cruel in order to do what they did. No one deserves to die or go through what both Shmuel and Bruno went through and all the other men and boys behind that fence.
Passage
"Nothing ever more was heard of Bruno after that" (Boyne 214).
I chose this passage this week because that is basically the defining point of when we realize that Bruno is most likely gone forever. We realize what probably happened that evening and it is a shock but also somewhat predictable. I did think that this was coming and that something devastating would happen to Bruno and it made me sad. I also felt bad for his best friend Shmuel because he too had to go through the same experience. I think that this book shows what a true friendship really is and also the things that people had to go through in that time even at such a young age.
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