set of striped pajamas behind a barbed wire fence

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

by John Boyne

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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Bruno, the son of a Nazi commandant, befriends Shmuel, a Jewish boy in Auschwitz. Unaware of the camp's horrors, Bruno sneaks in to help Shmuel find his missing...

10 educator answers

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Shmuel would likely respond to Bruno's final question, "Oh, what were their names again?" by quietly stating, "Those friends are no longer important." This reflects Shmuel's characteristic wisdom and...

1 educator answer

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Gretel is portrayed as a "hopeless case" by her brother Bruno, who sees her as bossy, self-absorbed, and indoctrinated with Nazi ideology. At 12, she is naive,...

16 educator answers

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Shmuel's father in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a Jewish man imprisoned in a concentration camp during World War II. His disappearance prompts Shmuel and Bruno to search for him, leading to the...

4 educator answers

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Shmuel is a Jewish boy in Auschwitz, contrasted with Bruno, a German boy from a privileged background. Shmuel exhibits traits of timidity, melancholy, and...

5 educator answers

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas teaches several moral and principled lessons, including the innocence of childhood, the devastating effects of prejudice and hatred, and the importance of empathy and...

1 educator answer

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The two train journeys to Auschwitz couldn't be more different in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Bruno's journey was aboard a luxurious train with few people on board and with plenty of empty seats...

1 educator answer

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

In "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," Shmuel likely does not fully understand why he is in the concentration camp. Despite the horrific circumstances and the likelihood of hearing rumors about the...

2 educator answers

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Bruno and Shmuel's hands look different due to their contrasting lifestyles. Bruno, who lives a comfortable and well-fed life, has healthy, larger hands. In contrast, Shmuel, who suffers from...

1 educator answer

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

In chapters 15-17, Bruno apologizes to Shmuel for denying their friendship when confronted by Lt. Kotler. After seven days, Bruno sees Shmuel again, notices his bruises, and sincerely apologizes,...

1 educator answer

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Bruno discovers a boy named Shmuel sitting alone by the fence, wearing striped pajamas and a star armband, signifying he is a Jewish prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp. Despite the grim reality,...

1 educator answer

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Bruno telling Shmuel he's his best friend exemplifies dramatic irony because the audience knows the grim reality that Bruno, a German, and Shmuel, a Jewish prisoner, cannot be friends due to the...

2 educator answers

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

In "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," the boys' similes about each other's names reflect their contrasting lives. Bruno describes Shmuel's name as "like the wind blowing," symbolizing his carefree...

1 educator answer

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

In "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," Auschwitz is depicted through Bruno, the son of the camp's commandant, and his observations. He sees the camp's imposing fence, barbed wire, and smoke stacks from...

1 educator answer

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The author makes his characters sympathetic to young teenage readers.

6 educator answers

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

After arriving at Auschwitz, Shmuel's life drastically changes. Contrary to promises of a joyful life, he finds himself in a grim concentration camp. He is forced to wear "striped pajamas," lives in...

1 educator answer

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The watch is important to Shmuel because it symbolizes happier times before the war, when he lived with his family and enjoyed a normal life. It was a treasured gift from his father, representing...

1 educator answer

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Bruno does not give Shmuel a candy bar in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Although he wishes he had brought chocolates when he first meets Shmuel, he never actually does. Bruno talks about chocolate...

1 educator answer

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Examples of oppression in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas include the forced wearing of the Star of David, Jews being removed from their homes to live in cramped quarters, and being transported in...

1 educator answer

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Characters in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas offer varied perspectives on historical events. Bruno's grandmother opposes the Nazi regime, expressing shame over her son's Nazi uniform, reflecting the...

1 educator answer

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Shmuel's speech in "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" reflects his abused and desolate existence. He speaks without intensity, embodying a child beaten by the Holocaust's horrors. Unlike Bruno, who...

1 educator answer

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Shmuel initially lived in a one-room hut with his family and another family, totaling eleven people, which included six children. However, Shmuel does not specify the number of children he currently...

1 educator answer

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Bruno is an innocent, compassionate boy unaware of the horrors at Auschwitz, forming a friendship with Shmuel, a Jewish prisoner. Shmuel shares Bruno's birthday and is searching for his father,...

1 educator answer

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Boyne's "The Boy In The Striped Pajamas" challenges society's dominant values and beliefs by depicting Bruno's defiance of Nazi ideologies. Bruno, a young German boy during World War II, disobeys his...

1 educator answer