Boy in Striped Pajamas
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Context: This story is set in Germany during World War II. The father in the story works for the Nazi Army. He receives a promotion and because of this his family needs to move from Berlin to Auschwitz . Auschwitz contains a concentration camp where Jewish people, who are disliked by Nazis are kept. Bruno, the son in this story, is 8 years old. He sees people he believes to be farmers who are dressed in “striped pajamas.” These “farmers” are actually the Jewish mothers, fathers, and children who live in the concentration camp.
Experience: Bruno is my favorite character because he recognizes the value of every person. He had conversations with the Jewish person who worked as a gardener at their house and also with the boy Shmuel who lives across the fence. He cares for them. He feels badly when the gardener is beaten for spilling wine. He feeds the boy across the fence who was hungry. He wanted to help Shmuel find his father. Despite all the ugliness around him, he remained as a child and retained his regard for humanity. This to some degree this differs from the experience of his sister Gretel who became brainwashed by their tutor who told them that the Jewish people were not people at all and were the cause of all of their prior problems.
It is very difficult to pick what would be a favorite part of a tragic story. If I had to pick it would be at the beginning when Bruno was playing with his friends. I say this because everyone was still happy children were playing as they should be at that age. They were innocent to the bad things happening around them. Their home looked like a real home with their whole family including their grandparents living close by. It is difficult to see when children have to grow up quickly where they cannot be children who simply play.
Reflection: What touched me the most was how they would beat up the Jews for making one mistake in front of other children. The soldiers beat up children and old people. It was as if they were heartless to be able to do such a thing. When Bruno died it showed that his father actually did care about him but it was too late.