Boy In The Striped Pajamas
Hello everybody, long time no see! Today I am going to show you what we have been doing in social studies and literacy class and the important questions and answers of the book we were reading.
In our social studies and literacy classes, we have been reading a book called ‘Boy In The Striped Pajamas’. This is a story that is based on World War II. It is about a nine year old boy who moved to somewhere near Auschwitz because of his father’s job. This book also shows Bruno’s adventures, explorations and friend he made in Auschwitz.
Questions and Answers
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At the end of the book, Bruno crawls under the perimeter fence to help Shmuel look for his father.
- Do you think it would have been possible for someone to enter Auschwitz this way? Explain your answer.
Answer: I think it is possible for someone to enter Auschwitz by crawling under the perimeter fence, but only small children or people who are rather shorter than others.
I think it is possible is because Auschwitz locked almost every Jewish in the world at that time, so it must have been quite big to fit that much people. But there was not a lot of German guards in Auschwitz, it would be impossible to surveillance every single corner or blind spots in the whole concentration camp. It would be easy to find a broken corner fence with less surveillance and sneak into Auschwitz without anyone noticing. The only problem is that you must be very small to go in because if it is fully taken off, they would definitely notice and call the alarm.
In the book, we read that a character called ‘the Fury’ visits Bruno’s house. We know that this character is Adolf Hitler. Bruno doesn’t know who he is.
- Do you think that Bruno wouldn’t have heard of Hitler or know what he looks like? Explain your answer.
Answer: I think Bruno might have heard or read about something about Hitler. But I think that Bruno would not have known what Hitler looked like because when Hitler went to his home at Auschwitz, he did not have any strong reactions. He only knew that this person is someone important to a lot of people he knows.
In the last chapter, we learn that both boys have been killed in the gas chamber. The author tells us how this news affects Bruno’s family.
3.Do you think the author was right to focus on Bruno’s family? Do you think the author should have focused on what was happening to Jewish people inside Auschwitz every day instead? Explain your answer.
Answer: I think the author was right to focus on Bruno’s family instead of what was happening inside Auschwitz because it would have been hard to find the Jews who was in Auschwitz, let alone willing to talk about it. Another reason why I think choosing to write about Bruno’s family is correct are because there would be less violence and torture, especially because it is a perspective of a 9 year old boy. In addition to the reason why choosing to write about Bruno’s family is it would not be a more popular book if the author did not choose a 9 year old boy’s perspective to make sure that not only adults, but also mature kids can read this story, making a larger group of target audience.
Bruno doesn’t seem to know that there is a war going on. He isn’t aware of concentration camps or even of Jewish people.
- How likely do you think it is that Bruno wouldn’t have known any of what was happening around him? Consider what Bruno’s father’s job is when you are thinking about this. Explain your answer.
Answer: I think Bruno might have been hiding some of the things he had already knew about the war, but I do not think that he completely understands what was going on because we know from the book that he likes to eavesdrop on what his parents are talking about, he knows his grandma was extremely disappointed with his father’s job and Shmuel also did not like his father’s accomplishments in Auschwitz. Bruno might have already had an idea of what his father was doing, but he did not want to admit it, because it will mean that he is also admitting that his father was a bad guy and disobeying his family rules, so he has kept those thoughts in his heart until the last day.
In the book, Shmuel is found sitting on the other side of the fence at the edge of the concentration camp. Shmuel and Bruno have many conversations with each other from either side of the fence.
- Do you think this sort of interaction could have happened between a prisoner of Auschwitz and someone on the other side of the fence? Explain your answer.
Answer: I think it would have been possible, but they would have to find a part of the camp that does not have much surveillance and the people who were talking to each other, must be someone who can accept and respect each other as normal human beings because if they get caught by the guards or soldiers, the person from both sides of the fence would be in big trouble and there is nobody who would be willing to talking to somebody from the other side of the fence, there will be no conversions happening.
- ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ is a fictional text set during the Second World War and the Holocaust. Discuss which parts of the plot, setting and characters you think could be real and which parts are fictional.
Answer: I think that Germans imprisoning the Jewish, Shmuel being very skinny and unhealthy, Berlin, Germany, Poland, the time setting at 1940’s, the Fury, Auschwitz, Hitler, the fence around Auschwitz, gas chamber, and the war are real. I think that Bruno, Bruno’s family, Shmuel, lieutenant Kotler, the maid Maria and Bruno accidentally walking into the gas chamber are fictional.
- How important is it for an author to be historically accurate when using a real setting or event from history? Explain your answer.
Answer: It is extremely important for an author to be historically accurate when using a real setting or event from history because if they don’t, they might be criticised as not respecting the people from the war, not applying enough reality in the story or even not accurate enough. These negative comments then can make the book less popular and they might not even have the chance to get published.
Conclusion and Reflection
In conclusion, this story has taught me more about World War II and about how life was like then and these questions has made me think deeper about the story, keep remind me how the story was moving on, understand some more about how and why and how I enjoyed this extraordinary fiction. Furthermore, it makes me cherish more of the peace I enjoyed now. I hope in the future we can have more classes about the whole class reading the same book in the same pace, answering questions about the book together and creating a blog posts after the learning.
Thank you for your time and patience,
Divya
