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Bruno is the son of a Nazi commandant; he remains innocent of the horrors of the Holocaust and befriends a prisoner at the death camp.
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Shmuel is a young Polish Jew who does not understand why he is in the concentration camp. He befriends Bruno and the two share many similarities in spite of their different circumstances.
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Gretel is Bruno’s sister and a staunch supporter of Nazi propaganda.
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Bruno’s mother is largely ignorant of what goes on in Auschwitz; after realizing that her husband is ordering Jews to be murdered in the gas chambers, she decides to move back to Berlin with her children.
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Bruno’s father is proud of his high-ranking position in the German military. Despite his reverence for the Nazi party, he does try to shield his family from the horrors of the death camp.
Bruno is the son of a Nazi commandant who is forced to leave his home in Berlin and move to Auschwitz where his father has been reassigned. He is reluctant to leave Berlin where he has two good friends, is close to his grandparents, and lives in a lovely home. Bruno is characterized by an endearing childhood innocence which becomes especially poignant when he meets a young prisoner on the other side of a fence near his house. Bruno remains strikingly unaffected by the war and unmoved by the Nazi beliefs and propaganda which he confronts daily. This may well be due to his young age or the result of his character. In any case, Bruno represents man's capacity for kindness and compassion.
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Bruno?s affectionate nature wins him the love of the Alsatian dogs and the children of the tenants. Brought up in the family with great care, he loves eating and enjoys every kind of food and drink. Because of eating a good quantity and variety of food, he grows at a very fast pace.
Bruno is playful and mischievous. Affectionately called ?Baba? by the author?s wife, he behaves like a young child in the family. He roams around the whole house and even sleeps in their bed.
Bruno?s selfless love is evident when he is sent to the zoo where he suffers the pain of separation. He frets and refuses to eat. He is overjoyed when he sees the narrator?s wife after three months. He recognizes her from a distance and keeps eating from her hands for hours. He is overjoyed when brought back home and spends happy moments in the lap of his caretaker ? the author?s wife.
Thus, Bruno?s character reveals that animals are very loving, affectionate, sincere and selfless creatures.
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Within Bruno's family, there are also divisions. Gretel, who is attracted to the cruel and inhumane Lt. Kotler, selects her own reality as many Germans did during World War II, laughing with him at his cruel jokes. Her mother, too, is attracted to Kotler, typifying the illicit and godless behavior that was concomitant with the acts of inhumanity of the time as she has Kotler staying overnight when her husband attends military meetings in Berlin. Of course, she is probably neglected by her husband whose career absorbs his time.
Bruno, like the Jewish prisoner from Poland, Shmuel, who shares his birthday, is ingenuous. While Shmuel keeps trying to find his father, Bruno has no comprehension of what goes on at "Out-With." Although the narratives about these two boys is unrealistic, the characters serve to illustrate the idea that they are two innocent children, victims of their environments, and could have been in each other's place given the circumstances with the other race having been stronger and equally cruel.
Unlike any other character outside the fences, Bruno has compassion for Shmuel and Pavel, who work in the kitchen. However, Bruno's charitableness toward Shmuel before one dinner party actually harms the small boy. Unfortunately, Bruno means well, but his giving of pieces of chicken to Shmuel effect his receiving a tremendous beating from Kotler because the frightened Bruno denies before Kotler offering the chicken to Shmuel.
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Bruno, like the Jewish prisoner from Poland, Shmuel, who shares his birthday, is ingenuous. While Shmuel keeps trying to find his father, Bruno has no comprehension of what goes on at "Out-With." Although the narratives about these two boys is unrealistic, the characters serve to illustrate the idea that they are two innocent children, victims of their environments, and could have been in each other's place given the circumstances with the other race having been stronger and equally cruel.
Unlike any other character outside the fences, Bruno has compassion for Shmuel and Pavel, who work in the kitchen. However, Bruno's charitableness toward Shmuel before one dinner party actually harms the small boy. Unfortunately, Bruno means well, but his giving of pieces of chicken to Shmuel effect his receiving a tremendous beating from Kotler because the frightened Bruno denies before Kotler offering the chicken to Shmuel.
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Bruno, like the Jewish prisoner from Poland, Shmuel, who shares his birthday, is ingenuous. While Shmuel keeps trying to find his father, Bruno has no comprehension of what goes on at "Out-With." Although the narratives about these two boys is unrealistic, the characters serve to illustrate the idea that they are two innocent children, victims of their environments, and could have been in each other's place given the circumstances with the other race having been stronger and equally cruel.
Unlike any other character outside the fences, Bruno has compassion for Shmuel and Pavel, who work in the kitchen. However, Bruno's charitableness toward Shmuel before one dinner party actually harms the small boy. Unfortunately, Bruno means well, but his giving of pieces of chicken to Shmuel effect his receiving a tremendous beating from Kotler because the frightened Bruno denies before Kotler offering the chicken to Shmuel.
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