I am choosing feelings as my topic this week. I am choosing feelings as my topic because I felt a lot of different ways while reading The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. Throughout the book, I felt happy, sad, angry, and confused. For example, in the beginning of the story, Bruno is moving from Berlin to Poland. He is very angry about it, and I understood why and felt upset too. I have had to move when I didn’t want to, and I was angry about it. Another example is when Bruno met Shmuel for the first time. I felt very happy that Bruno finally made a new friend. Bruno said that he would never get new friends because he had his three “bestest” friends in the world back in Berlin, but he finally opened up and got a new friend. I was also happy that he was having a good time with Shmuel, and liked speaking with him, even though he couldn’t play with him. Also, one more thing that made me mad and sad was when Bruno’s family was eating dinner with Lieutenant Kotler. During the dinner Pavel, the chef who made their food and their server, accidentally spills wine on Lieutenant Kotler, which causes Lieutenant Kotler to get extremely angry, and end up killing Pavel by beating him to death. Finally, one last part that made me really sad was at the very end of the book. Bruno is forced to go back to Berlin with his mother and sister, which makes him upset because he wants to stay with Shmuel. He tells Shmuel that he has to move back to Berlin, and Shmuel says that they could play before he goes. So Bruno and Shmuel will find a way to sneak Bruno into the camp, so they can find Shmuel’s father, who went missing a chapter before this. When the day comes, everything is ready. Shmuel has a spare set of “pajamas” and they have their plan ready. They will sneak in and try to find Shmuel’s father. Once Bruno has changed, and went under the fence, they’re off. Unfortunately, their plan gets foiled, and it starts to rain. Guards rounded them up and made them run, then took them to a warm room that was air tight. At first the boys think everything is alright, but then they realize something is wrong when the other prisoners start yelling at the guards. Bruno grabs Shmuel’s hand and tells him that they are Best Friends Forever. After that day Bruno is nowhere to be seen. The room that Bruno and Shmuel went into was a gas chamber, and they ended up dying. This made me very sad because after reading the book, I got to really like Bruno and Shmuel. In conclusion, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas made me have very mixed feelings throughout it.

I am choosing imagery and symbolism as my blog post topic for ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’ by John Boyne. I am choosing imagery and symbolism as my third topic because there are many symbols in this book that have a lot of meaning. For example, one time when Bruno and Shmuel are talking, Shmuel draws the Star of David. The Star of David is the symbol for the religion of Judaism. This is important because it shows that he is Jewish, and people that were Jewish were the main target for Nazi Soldiers in WWII. Another example takes place at the same time that the other example takes place. Instead of Shmuel drawing the Star of David, Bruno draws a Swastika in the dirt. A Swastika is the symbol for the German Nazi party in WWII. This is important because it shows the difference between Bruno and Shmuel. Bruno’s father is a Commandant for the German Nazis’ and Shmuel’s father was Jewish, and that is how he got stuck on the bad side of the fence. Finally, the last symbol is the fence. There is a fence that runs between Shmuel and Bruno’s homes that divides them. The fence that runs between them is important because it shows the different statuses in WWII. Bruno is rich, and his father is a Commandant for the Nazis, and he is Christian. Shmuel is poor, and his father is stuck in the concentration camp with him, and he is Jewish. Both of them are very different, but find a way to become best friends. In conclusion, all of these symbols are extremely important throughout the book. The drawings the two boys made showed the difference between them. And the fence shows how you can overcome obstacles to get what you want, and in their case, it was friendship.

I am choosing setting and mood for The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. I am choosing the scene where Bruno moves from Berlin to Poland as my focus point. There was a dramatic mood shift from Bruno when he lived in Berlin compared to when he moved to Poland. When Bruno lived in Berlin he was happy and was in a mostly positive mood. For example, in the book he used to live close to his three best friends and they would always cause trouble and play with each other. Another example is that he never used to complain a lot about stuff that was going on. My last example is that he really enjoyed his time in Berlin. Now that Bruno lives in Poland, his mood shifted very drastically from his actions. For example, he make a pact with his best friends to always be with each other and always play and cause trouble with each other, but now that he moved to Poland, he will not see his friends for a long time and he will not be able to play or cause trouble with them. Another example is that he always complains now. He complained to his mother about leaving, but she told him to stop. After that, he complained to Maria, the house maid, about moving but she told him to stop. And finally, he complained to his sister, who he never really talks to at all, about it, and finally someone agreed with him about moving from Berlin to Poland. My last example is that he hates it here. He thinks that the house is very gloomy and the place surrounding his house is very gloomy. In conclusion, the author was trying to show how negative the overall feeling a concentration camp can give the public around it.