Why is Gretel surprised when she looks out the window in "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"?
In chapter 4 of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Gretel gets the opportunity to look out of Bruno's window, and the view is very confusing to her. The reason Gretel is so confused is because she has never seen a sight like the one she views out of the window. Gretel sees a community made up of only males, living in squalor in one-floor huts in an area with no greenery. She struggles with her lack of understanding, stating at one point, "I don't understand. . . . Who would build such a nasty-looking place?"
Gretel and Bruno have grown up in a fairly affluent lifestyle. They live in a large house, the family employs a cook and a maid, and the children attend a good school. They are not used to being around a community where people are struggling like the ones outside the window. But Gretel...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
is uncomfortable with this lack of understanding and feels a need to explain what she is seeing. The author states, "She was twelve years old and considered to be one of the brightest girls in her class, so she squeezed her lips together and narrowed her eyes and forced her brain to understand what she was looking at." While Gretel is confused by what she sees because it is so unknown to her, she still wants to understand it.
In chapter 3, Bruno laments about their new home at Out-With and mentions to Gretel that the children he saw do not look happy. Gretel is initially confused and ends up following her brother to his room, where there is a window that overlooks the concentration camp. At the beginning of chapter 4, Gretel follows Bruno into his room and is surprised to see numerous people of various ages behind the fence. Both Gretel and Bruno are confused at what they witness and Gretel asks where the females are located. Gretel then tells her brother that she thinks they have moved to the countryside because there are no buildings that resemble a town or the city of Berlin. However, Bruno challenges her assumption by asking Gretel why there are no animals in the countryside. Both Bruno and his sister have no clue that they have moved to the largest concentration camp under German control and the people they are looking at through the window are Jewish prisoners.
Why does Gretel hesitate before looking out of Bruno's window in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas?
At the end of chapter 5, page 28, Gretel hesitates before she looks out of Bruno's window because she thinks there is something in the way Bruno told her about the children and the way he watches them that makes her feel nervous. She even says a silent prayer and clutches her doll to her chest.
In the previous scene, Bruno had told her "I don't think the other children look at all friendly." Gretel does not know what he's talking about. They've just moved to the house and she hasn't seen any children at all. The reason is, however, as Bruno points out when she presses him, that her window faces in the wrong direction.
When she finally looks out of the window in his room, the author doesn't describe what she sees, but ends the chapter with the line "she saw exactly what Bruno had been talking about."