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In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, why does the author capitalize "Hopeless Case"?
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The author capitalizes "Hopeless Case" to reflect the perspective of the young protagonist, Bruno, who views his older sister Gretel as a burdensome presence. This capitalization emphasizes the formal and institutionalized way Bruno perceives certain aspects of his life, like his father's rules. By naming Gretel "The Hopeless Case," Bruno replaces her name with a formalized, derogatory term, highlighting his youthful and innocent interpretation of familial dynamics.
John Boyne’s “young adult” novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is told in the third-person but from the perspective of its young protagonist , nine-year-old Bruno. The world through the eyes of a nine-year-old boy is a little different than the view through adult eyes. It is a more innocent, less-developed perspective, one in which strict prohibitions and individuals with whom one may have a difference of opinion are emphasized in the mind. Early in Boyne’s novel, in the opening chapter, Bruno discovers that the family’s maid, Maria, is going through his possessions, prompting him to inquire with his mother the reason for this invasion of his privacy. His mother explains that the family is moving, so Maria is packing Bruno’s belongings. This exchange leads to Bruno’s description of the family’s current home, which includes his father’s office. An early indication as to his father’s temperament is provided with...
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Bruno’s comment that the office is strictly off-limits to him and, presumably, to his sister. The office, Bruno notes, is “Out of Bounds at All Times and No Exceptions.” The use of capitalization by Boyne is intended to emphasize the institutionalized nature of the prohibition against playing in that particular room. Bruno interprets his father’s rule regarding the office in formal terms.
The use of capitalization to emphasize the young protagonist’s perspective is also applied to 12-year-old Gretel. Chapter Three is titled “The Hopeless Case,” and is dedicated to Bruno’s complaints about having to live with an older sister who is demeaning to her younger sibling and spends too much time in the bathroom at Bruno’s expense (or, more precisely, at the expense of Bruno’s bladder). That Gretel is a handful is further suggested by Bruno’s observation that his parents refer to her as “Trouble from Day One.” In Bruno’s mind, Gretel has been an autocratic presence in his life. As the narrator notes regarding the relationship of the two children, “. . .as far back as he [Bruno] could remember, that when it came to the ways of the world, particularly any events within that world that concerned the two of them, she was in charge.” Bruno, consequently, views Gretel as “The Hopeless Case,” capitalization, again, used to emphasize that this moniker emanates from the mind of a nine-year-old boy. “The Hopeless Case” is a substitute for “Gretel.” Bruno has substituted one name for another and, names needing to be capitalized, he has, in his mind, formalized this derogatory reference.