Friday, March 21, 2014

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas


1) Boyne, John. The boy in the striped pajamas: a fable. Oxford: David Fickling Books, 2006. Print.
2) 1) Boyne, John. The boy in the striped pajamas: a fable. Oxford: David Fickling Books, 2006. Print.
2) 

Bruno is a 9-year-old boy living in Berlin, Germany during World War II. He resides with his sister, Gretel, along with his father and mother. One day, when Bruno returns home from school, he is startled to see his maid, Maria, packing his clothes. Bruno is outraged by this strange behavior, but he soon discovers the reason for her doings. His family will be moving from Berlin to another house far away. Bruno is furious with this news, as he loves his friends, his house, and Berlin. As soon as Bruno arrives at his new home, he immediately detests the place, as it is only 3 floors while his house in Berlin had five. Worst of all, he does not have any friends in this new area. Bruno sits around his new “ugly” house doing nothing. Moreover, Bruno makes an observation on the first day at the new house. Bruno sees a camp with many people wearing striped pajamas. He wonders who these strange people are, and why they are on the other side of the fence.

Soon, Bruno decides to start exploring again, like he would do when he lived in his old house in Berlin. He chooses to walk along the wired fence. After wandering for about an hour, and just before turning back, Bruno grasps something in his sight. As Bruno progresses curiously, he begins to realize that this speck is not an object, but a person. Bruno approaches the fence where the person is seated and questions him. The boy is named Schmuel. The two boys talk and they gradually learn about each other. Schmuel is boy from Poland, who has been captured along with his family by German troops. He was brought to Out-with (Auschwitz) with his family and separated from his mom. The two boys become friends, and each boy returns everyday to talk. In a half-year or so, bad news comes for Bruno, as he is to return to Berlin. His Mother hated Out-With, and she had complained to his father that she wanted to move back to Berlin. The father disagreed at first, although Gretel, Bruno’s sister, also desired to return to Berlin. Schmuel had started to like Out-With, as his secret friendship with Schmuel had strengthened. He would fetch him food everyday, and Schmuel would tell him how brutal the soldiers were on him. Bruno would never quite understand what Schmuel was actually going through.

 A few days before leaving for Berlin, Schmuel’s father goes missing. Schmuel tries “exploring” as Bruno does, in vain. Bruno comes up with an idea, he can come the day before his return to Berlin and help Schmuel search for his father. Schmuel is to bring a pair of striped of pajamas, Bruno will change into them, and slide under the fence to the other side. The day comes, and Bruno looks out the window. Rain is pouring down. Will the rain stop in time for him to meet Schmuel for the last time, explore the odd other side of the fence that he had been longing to see, and find Schmuel’s father? Read the book to find out!
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas takes place during World War Two in Nazi, Germany. The officially recognized date of the beginning of World War Two is September 1, 1939. This is when the Nazis had invaded Poland. The French and British immediately reacted to this, and declared war. The Germans believed that the Jewish were to blame for their loss in World War One, and their leader, Adolf Hitler had wanted to kill of all the Jewish people. He had also believed that the sanctions put against the Axis were severe. The United States had supplied the Allies with troops and ammunition. In 1941, Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor, a United States base in the Pacific. The response was the United States entrance into the war. During this time, Germany had taken over most of France. At the end of the war, in 1945, the United States had dropped two atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, each killing around 100,000 people. The book only takes place in Poland and Germany, although the war took place in many others, as said before. Many made up names were made to, as Hitler was given the title “The Fury,” and the camp of Auschwitz was called “Out-With” in the book.
Willmott, Hedley P. and Michael Barrett. "World War II (Overview)." World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

The historical setting of the book affects the book in a few ways. First, because of the war and “The Fury” not liking the Jewish, Bruno felt that he would get in trouble if he told anyone about his friend. On page 82, Bruno states that he has an “imaginary friend” covering up Schmuel. This means that he could tell that his family did not want Bruno having a Jewish friend. (Even though he didn’t know, he wanted to be on the safe side) The Jewish were also separated from the Family on the train ride to Out-With. The train Bruno was riding on was nearly empty, although the other train that the Jewish were riding on was completely full. Bruno wanted to signal that there was space on his train, but he felt that he would get into trouble. This was on page 79.
Willmott, Hedley P. and Michael Barrett. "World War II (Overview)." World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Bruno, and Schmuel are the major characters in the book. Bruno is a 9-year-old curious boy, who I have to admit is a little spoiled by his lifestyle in Berlin. Bruno is not amused easily as he could not find very much fun in his new house. Bruno is a little unwise, as he could not understand fully that the German soldiers have tormented the Jewish people, although this is all typical from a 9-year-old boy. Schmuel is also a 9-year-old boy, who was born in Poland. Schmuel is brave as he was brave enough to evade the sight of the soldiers everyday and escape to the “meeting place” between Bruno and Schmuel. Schmuel is also a little intelligent as he has a sense about everything going on during the war. Schmuel is also strong on the inside as he withstood all the torment by the soldiers.

The other expresses a lot of Bruno’s feelings through his words. He expresses everything he feels, whether it is sadness, happiness, or confusion. This is reflected many times in the story, with Schmuel, when Bruno stated out loud that he couldn’t understand why the Jewish didn’t ride with his family. (Page 79) Bruno also expressed his distress when his father announced that they will be moving to Out-With. (Page 28.)
The story is written in the 3rd person point of view limited. The author is sharing and focusing on the thoughts and feelings of Bruno. On page 30, the author explains to us that Bruno’s words came out without him knowing. Also, the author tells the reader about Bruno’s thoughts about Berlin and the paint that is recoated every year.
The theme of the story has to do with overcoming challenges and learning to understand more about a person as you get to know them.  Bruno hated Out-With at first, but he longed for a friend, and soon saw that he liked . Also, Bruno had to overcome the rain quite a handful of times to go visit his friend. He was badly cut, but he overcame the pain when Pavel had told him to. Bruno also overcame his challenge of creating a swing out of a tire.
This book matters because it teaches us how to overcome challenges and it also teaches us about the torture of the Jewish people during World War Two. The author is trying to portray all the suffering of the Jewish in the concentration camps, and to tell a story of two young boys, of different nationalities, who created a strong friendship. The book was a great book in the sense that it gave an idea of what it was like to live in Nazi Germany and portrayed how two little boys found something good out of such a political setting. However, I did not enjoy the ending because I feel it ruined the whole story. This book is important to talk about because the ending can be disputed, meaning people see it in different ways. In this book, I don’t see myself as anyone because I don’t resemble anyone in the story. Out of ten, I would rate this book an 8.
Vocabulary:
Courgette: Zucchini
Foreseeable:  predicting as far ahead as you can see
Conviction: A strong belief
Spade: Shovel
Frothy: Bubbly
Bruno is a 9-year-old boy living in Berlin, Germany during World War II. He resides with his sister, Gretel, along with his father and mother. One day, when Bruno returns home from school, he is startled to see his maid, Maria, packing his clothes. Bruno is outraged by this strange behavior, but he soon discovers the reason for her doings. His family will be moving from Berlin to another house far away. Bruno is furious with this news, as he loves his friends, his house, and Berlin. As soon as Bruno arrives at his new home, he immediately detests the place, as it is only 3 floors while his house in Berlin had five. Worst of all, he does not have any friends in this new area. Bruno sits around his new “ugly” house doing nothing. Moreover, Bruno makes an observation on the first day at the new house. Bruno sees a camp with many people wearing striped pajamas. He wonders who these strange people are, and why they are on the other side of the fence.

Soon, Bruno decides to start exploring again, like he would do when he lived in his old house in Berlin. He chooses to walk along the wired fence. After wandering for about an hour, and just before turning back, Bruno grasps something in his sight. As Bruno progresses curiously, he begins to realize that this speck is not an object, but a person. Bruno approaches the fence where the person is seated and questions him. The boy is named Schmuel. The two boys talk and they gradually learn about each other. Schmuel is boy from Poland, who has been captured along with his family by German troops. He was brought to Out-with (Auschwitz) with his family and separated from his mom. The two boys become friends, and each boy returns everyday to talk. In a half-year or so, bad news comes for Bruno, as he is to return to Berlin. His Mother hated Out-With, and she had complained to his father that she wanted to move back to Berlin. The father disagreed at first, although Gretel, Bruno’s sister, also desired to return to Berlin. Schmuel had started to like Out-With, as his secret friendship with Schmuel had strengthened. He would fetch him food everyday, and Schmuel would tell him how brutal the soldiers were on him. Bruno would never quite understand what Schmuel was actually going through.

 A few days before leaving for Berlin, Schmuel’s father goes missing. Schmuel tries “exploring” as Bruno does, in vain. Bruno comes up with an idea, he can come the day before his return to Berlin and help Schmuel search for his father. Schmuel is to bring a pair of striped of pajamas, Bruno will change into them, and slide under the fence to the other side. The day comes, and Bruno looks out the window. Rain is pouring down. Will the rain stop in time for him to meet Schmuel for the last time, explore the odd other side of the fence that he had been longing to see, and find Schmuel’s father? Read the book to find out!
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas takes place during World War Two in Nazi, Germany. The officially recognized date of the beginning of World War Two is September 1, 1939. This is when the Nazis had invaded Poland. The French and British immediately reacted to this, and declared war. The Germans believed that the Jewish were to blame for their loss in World War One, and their leader, Adolf Hitler had wanted to kill of all the Jewish people. He had also believed that the sanctions put against the Axis were severe. The United States had supplied the Allies with troops and ammunition. In 1941, Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor, a United States base in the Pacific. The response was the United States entrance into the war. During this time, Germany had taken over most of France. At the end of the war, in 1945, the United States had dropped two atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, each killing around 100,000 people. The book only takes place in Poland and Germany, although the war took place in many others, as said before. Many made up names were made to, as Hitler was given the title “The Fury,” and the camp of Auschwitz was called “Out-With” in the book.
Willmott, Hedley P. and Michael Barrett. "World War II (Overview)." World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

The historical setting of the book affects the book in a few ways. First, because of the war and “The Fury” not liking the Jewish, Bruno felt that he would get in trouble if he told anyone about his friend. On page 82, Bruno states that he has an “imaginary friend” covering up Schmuel. This means that he could tell that his family did not want Bruno having a Jewish friend. (Even though he didn’t know, he wanted to be on the safe side) The Jewish were also separated from the Family on the train ride to Out-With. The train Bruno was riding on was nearly empty, although the other train that the Jewish were riding on was completely full. Bruno wanted to signal that there was space on his train, but he felt that he would get into trouble. This was on page 79.
Willmott, Hedley P. and Michael Barrett. "World War II (Overview)." World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Bruno, and Schmuel are the major characters in the book. Bruno is a 9-year-old curious boy, who I have to admit is a little spoiled by his lifestyle in Berlin. Bruno is not amused easily as he could not find very much fun in his new house. Bruno is a little unwise, as he could not understand fully that the German soldiers have tormented the Jewish people, although this is all typical from a 9-year-old boy. Schmuel is also a 9-year-old boy, who was born in Poland. Schmuel is brave as he was brave enough to evade the sight of the soldiers everyday and escape to the “meeting place” between Bruno and Schmuel. Schmuel is also a little intelligent as he has a sense about everything going on during the war. Schmuel is also strong on the inside as he withstood all the torment by the soldiers.

The other expresses a lot of Bruno’s feelings through his words. He expresses everything he feels, whether it is sadness, happiness, or confusion. This is reflected many times in the story, with Schmuel, when Bruno stated out loud that he couldn’t understand why the Jewish didn’t ride with his family. (Page 79) Bruno also expressed his distress when his father announced that they will be moving to Out-With. (Page 28.)
The story is written in the 3rd person point of view limited. The author is sharing and focusing on the thoughts and feelings of Bruno. On page 30, the author explains to us that Bruno’s words came out without him knowing. Also, the author tells the reader about Bruno’s thoughts about Berlin and the paint that is recoated every year.
The theme of the story has to do with overcoming challenges and learning to understand more about a person as you get to know them.  Bruno hated Out-With at first, but he longed for a friend, and soon saw that he liked . Also, Bruno had to overcome the rain quite a handful of times to go visit his friend. He was badly cut, but he overcame the pain when Pavel had told him to. Bruno also overcame his challenge of creating a swing out of a tire.
This book matters because it teaches us how to overcome challenges and it also teaches us about the torture of the Jewish people during World War Two. The author is trying to portray all the suffering of the Jewish in the concentration camps, and to tell a story of two young boys, of different nationalities, who created a strong friendship. The book was a great book in the sense that it gave an idea of what it was like to live in Nazi Germany and portrayed how two little boys found something good out of such a political setting. However, I did not enjoy the ending because I feel it ruined the whole story. This book is important to talk about because the ending can be disputed, meaning people see it in different ways. In this book, I don’t see myself as anyone because I don’t resemble anyone in the story. Out of ten, I would rate this book an 8.
Vocabulary:
Courgette: Zucchini
Foreseeable:  predicting as far ahead as you can see
Conviction: A strong belief
Spade: Shovel
Frothy: Bubbly

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