Boy in the striped PJ's Chapter 11/12

What are the main themes of the novel so far? I would say that the main theme so far is a historical theme. You can see this very clearly because its based off the holocaust. The characters in the book, Bruno, Maria, they aren't real and the story may not have been off a real story, but the things going on around them are real. Innocence, friendship, inequality, fear, ignorance are all other main themes of the story, inequality and innocence are probably also two of the main themes, since equality was one of the main reasons for the war in the first place

What are the main techniques? Allusion, juxtaposition, imagery, alliteration and similes.

Think of 5 important questions for each of these two chapters about how important motifs and themes play a role in each chapter. 

When the Fury came to dinner, how did Bruno's innocence cover up who the Fury was and what he was asking of his father?

How is the stereotypical German portrayed when the Fury and his wife come over for dinner?

If Bruno had understood what was going on around him, with the war and everything with the fury (who he is, what he does) do you think his view would be different.
Who is eve and what is ironic about her being with Hitler.

Chapter 12

In chapter 12 how does Bruno's innocence and his age and knowledge cover up the fact that Smuel is a Jew and why he's not allowed outside of the fence?

Does the fence dividing Bruno and Smeul resemble anything?

Does Bruno feel sorry for the position that Smuel is in, or does he see Smuel as lucky?

Does the theme of equality play a big role in this chapter. Why,why not?

Boy in the striped PJ's Chapter 10

(105) What does the progression of 'dot' to 'boy' tell us about the role of exploring and meeting the people in the camp? What does this represent about how other Germans view the Jews? The Germans saw the Jews as dots, not people or humans but a dot. When Bruno sees the dot he goes forward and realizes that its a boy, its like saying that if the Germans explored more into the Jews, they may find that there not that different.
(109) What effect does the boys both having the same birthday have? That even though Shmuel is a Jew, there not very different from the Germans, hence the same birthday.
(113-4) What do Bruno and Shmuel 'argue' about? What does Bruno decided to stop the argument? Which place is nicer, Berlin or Poland, and he says we have to agree to disagree
(115) What does Bruno's last question reveal to Shmuel? What do you think Shmuel thinks of Bruno because of asking this question? He doesn't really understand what's going on

Boy in the striped PJ's Chapter 9

(pg95-96) How is Lt Kotler portrayed? Why is he portrayed this way? (remember that 'how' is asking about literary techniques) He is portrayed that he is the most important person in the world because he wears his black polished boots. But when he isn't doing work for father he is outside talking to Gretel. So Bruno is thinking that there are two sides to Kotler in a way. He is portrayed in alliteration with the black boots. 
What is Herr Liszt going to 'change' for Bruno? (98) He is going to change what Bruno is reading, and pretty much by doing s, change the way Bruno looks at life. He is sort of going to take away his imagination and by giving him books on history, it may possibly change or take away some of his innocence.
(100) What connection does Bruno make between the people in the camp and the people that come and visit his house all the time? That they are not the same, they wear different things and they do different things, they have different expressions and he was wondering who was important and who wasn't, and who exactly put these people in charge. The connection he made is that one side is better than the other.
What some of the things that Bruno begins to take notice of regarding the relationship between the soldiers and the people in 'pyjamas'? That the ones in uniforms are a lot more sharper than the ones in pyjamas and that the ones in pyjamas do what the ones in uniforms say.

Boy in the striped PJ's Chapter 7

1. How is the mother's defence of Herr Roller entirely ironic? She is being defensive about a man on the street where there are Jews in concentration camps behind there house where she isn't doing anything about it.
2. What role does Kotler represent historically in the novel? (think beyond being a soldier) That before he became a Nazi, he had a childhood with friends and he had fun, it wasn't all just war or planning to capture the Jews
3. What character is Kotler juxtaposed with in this chapter? What effect does it have on understanding each of these characters? The Juxtaposition is in  this chapter is Bruno's childhood and Kotler's childhood. Bruno's childhood was happy, except there was a war going on and he didn't even realize whereas Kotler's was without war, a better childhood before the war where he didn't have to move because of his fathers work for the Germans
4. How would you compare the interaction Bruno has with Pavel to all the other interactions Bruno has had with adults? 
5. Why is juxtaposition a key technique employed in Holocaust texts? How has it been used in The Boy in the Striped PJ's?

Boy in the striped PJ's Chapter 6

• On pg 60 Bruno reveals a radical shift in his perspective and understanding of Maria. What is this radical shift? What does this show is developing in Bruno? Through out the book so far, Bruno has thought of Maria as just the house maid, he has never really thought of her as having feelings or really ever having a past life. In this chapter, the radical shift is that Bruno realizes Maria really does have a history and a past which causes Bruno feel sorry for her and stick up for her when Gretel comes in and orders her to set up the bath for her.

• Compare how Bruno and Gretel treat Maria. Bruno treats Maria as one of the family, you can see this when he asks for her opinion of moving in to Out-with. Gretel on the other hand treats her like a maid, talks down to her and orders her to do things
• (pg 65) What is Maria's advice to Bruno about 'keeping safe'? Why do you think that she gives this advice? Do you think that it is good or bad advice?  'Just keep quite about it, Bruno. Don't you know how much trouble you could cause' is the advice she gives Bruno. She is trying to keep Bruno advice but what is ironic is that she is the maid, and she is giving him advice instead of vice versa. She is practically telling Bruno that if he keeps quiet than he will be safe.
• (65-6) What is Bruno's reaction to his new thoughts/feelings? Why do you think that he reacts this way? He has a reality check on Maria, meaning that he see's her in a new way, a way of 

Boy in the striped PJ's chapter 5

1. What does it say that we only actually meet the father in the book in Chapter 5 even though he is the one causing much of the action in the book? It makes the father seem a bit mysterious, because he had done so much in the book so far, moving house, bringing the fury in, though we haven't really had a good description of him yet. As well as a mysterious feel, if it wasn't for him then Bruno wouldn't have had to move and none of the complications for Bruno wouldn't have happened
2. the mother says: ‘We should have never let the Fury come to dinner. Some people and their determination to get ahead.’ What theme does this introduce regarding the role of ambition and causing harm? That the fury, even though they really haven't done anything against there family, has still caused pain and disappointment.
3. How does Bruno's father speak to him? Give an example to support your answer.
4. How would you compare the way Bruno speaks about the world to his father's? Do they both comment about what is going on around them the same? Bruno sort of speaks the same way as his father, since he says that he wants something and the way he demands for it.But they both relate to one another's point of view.
5. How does the father rationalise every concern that Bruno has? Yes, an example of this is when Bruno says 'i want to go home' and his father replies with 'home is where the family is'. it makes Bruno seem that his father isn't really listing what he wants and is ignoring his main concern.
6. What is ironic about what the father says when he comes around the desk and talks to Bruno about his childhood? He says tho make the best out of a bad situation, like when his father said to him to do so. It is ironic because he is saying to do the right thing when he is working for the Nazi's and killing Jews
7. Do you think that the father really cares about Bruno? Why/why not? I think he does care for Bruno, but he doesn't really pay attention about his feelings or his thoughts because he is just a kid.
8. Do you think that Bruno understands what he is saying when he says 'Heil Hitler!'? No, because he doesn't really know what the situation is, why they moved to out-with and if he did, he may have paid more attention
9. How is juxtaposition used in Bruno's description of their boarding the train to Auschwitz? He was sitting in an opened space carriage, thinking that it was bad but when people don't have the luxury of that, all being cramped in one carriage, where there's no room, sort of like the juxtaposition of the house in Berlin and Out-with
10. What is Bruno's reason for not saying anything to the Jews on the crowded train? How is this a representation of the greater German population?

Boy in the stripped PJ's chapter 4

• (pg 31) How does the author continue to use juxtaposition in regards to the two housing situations? (the Jews and Bruno's family) Bruno's old house was big, and fun to be in, and had heaps of space. But when Bruno looks out the window to the Jew's houses/huts, they were only one story tall, and they weren't close together and they didn't look very friendly. In Berlin, Bruno had freedom, but here it feels like he was trapped behind the tall fence.
• What is it about the children that makes it difficult to understand exactly what they see through the window and just how bad it is? The narrator doesn't describe them very well, you don't know what they look like, what there wearing, why there there and if there actually Jew's or not. There's no description.
• Summarise how Gretel describes what she sees. She sort of focuses on the land more than the people. She see's a table where she can read in the sun and flowers and makes you feel like that its not so bad. But then, when she looks past the fence, there's no grass, no flowers, and makes the reader feel dark and cold. she see's huts in the distance, and buildings and that there is a 'sand like substance'.
• What does Gretel attempt to do when she sees the Concentration Camp? How does she attempt to understand what she sees? She squeezes her lips and squints her eyes to make her brain work better.
• Is her attempt successful? Does she convince Bruno that she understands? What does she eventually give in to? What does she say/or not say? (pg 32)  She almost convinces Bruno that it is the country side, that there are farms out here and this could be there holiday house. But then Bruno starts to ask questions about if this was a farm, where were the animals, where were the plants, the food and that the land isn't good enough to be growing crops. She gives into Bruno's statements that she is wrong and she agree's with him. 
• What can't the children do when they see the Concentration Camp that the adults seem to be able to do? Which group can understand what they see? Why do you think that this is the case? They can't shout at them or push them around, they don't have to wear those PJ's and they don't have to carry spades and shovels. It separates the groups like a hierarchy, the adults are at the top, Bruno and Gretel are in the middle, and at the bottom are the boys and men in the PJ's
• How does the author use understatement through the children's description of the Concentration Camp? He shows that the children don't really know what's going on, it sort of lets the reader know that this could be a concentration camp, but your not really sure until Bruno see's the PJ's

Hitler at the Nazi Rally

1. How are vectors used in this image? What effect does it have? The Nazi flags are the vectors, because there directing your view to the centre, because its where they meet, dragging your attention to hitler walking in between. The affect is that it makes you see that Hilter is the main point of view, letting you know that he is a powerful man.
2. Describe the composition of the image and what is tells us about the Nazis and Hitler. The composition of this picture is important because the placement of the soldiers shows us who is boss. The Nazi soldiers are on the side of the picture, half cut out and all in the same position. Whereas Hitler is in the middle, walking through, not even looking at the soldiers, making him the dominant male.
3. How is symmetry used? What effect does it have? The symmetry of the picture is that both sides are practically the same, if you cut down the middle of the picture, they both look the same. 
4. What effect does this picture being in black and white have? It sort of tells you that it is old and dusty, theres no emotion
5. Discuss the use of line in this image. What effect does it have? The lines of the soldiers on either side of Hitler, it sort of frames the image. The symmetry lines, the carpet lines in the back which also frames Hilter. The lines of the crowds show that  it is organised.

Poem

We played, we laughed
we were loved.
We were ripped from the arms of our
parents and thrown into the fire.
We were nothing more than children.
We had a future. We were going to be lawyers, rabbis, wives, teachers, mothers. We had dreams, then we had no hope. We were taken away in the dead of night like cattle in cars, no air to breathe smothering, crying, starving, dying. Separated from the world to be no more. From the ashes, hear our plea. This atrocity to mankind can not happen again. Remember us, 
for we were the children whose dreams and lives were stolen away.



We watched, We listenedWe felt your pain, and we took in your knowledge
You were taken, stolen, mugged from your life
your home, your family, like money from a bank
you were the cash, your life, your dreams 
Your hope the vault
you dreamt
you lived
you wished


you wished for hopes, successfulness
You wished for love
We will remember you
remember you for the hardship you suffered
for the things you lost
the freedom you desired
We will remember


We are thoughtful, we are thankful
we are grateful
We are sorry
Sorry for you your lose that will never been found or recovered
We are sorry
We will remember you

Chapter 3 boy in the stripped PJs

1. Describe how Bruno and Gretel's relationship is introduced in the chapter. Bruno and Gretel's relationship is introduced by the narrator describing how Bruno feels about his sister and how he is secretly scared of her. Gretel's feelings is that Bruno is annoying and whiny.
2. List quotes that show how the new house is described. It was very cold and lonesome and hollow and he decided that he better not go jumping around the house too often or it might collapse. What is the significance of this quote?
3. What is Bruno's reaction to the new house? Bruno's reaction to the old house is that he still doesn't like the house very much, and he would stay here for a few weeks and then leave without a fuss.
4. How does it compare to their old house? It is very small and not very interesting whereas the old house had places to hide and explore with a lot of people outside and there was always something to do.
5. How does Gretel relate to her father? Gretel relates to her father by controlling her brother and talking to Bruno in the same way that her father does.
6. Does Bruno understand where they are? What makes you believe this? He doesn't know where they is because he doesnt understand what his father does, why they had to move and what the children outside the house were wearing and why they were wearing it.
7. Does Gretel understand where they are? Explain. Gretel does understand where they are but doesn't know what the children are doing there. She knows who her father works for but I don't think she understands the seriousness of it.
8. How is Bruno's description of 'Out-with' represent a motif? What is darkly ironic about this? Bruno's description of 'Out-with' represents a motif as he described and says what he thinks about the house which is written about throughout the book and is darkly ironic because he does not like the house compared to his old one and everything about him makes him nervous which is exactly like what Auschwitz would feel like when the concentration camp was there.
9. Read pgs 27-29. How are Bruno's and Gretel's reaction to 'the children' Bruno sees through the window different? What does this tell us about these two characters and their perception/understanding of where they are? Bruno's reaction to the children is completely different to Gretel's reaction to 'the children' as Bruno is curious and does not know much about the children whereas Gretel is frightened and worried at the though of children being out in the landscape. This tells us that Bruno's perception and understanding is one of innocence and has no real idea why they would be there whereas Gretel appears to have knowledge about the children which takes away her innocence on the matter.

Response to Poem

Holocaust
by Barbara Sonek

We played, we laughed
we were loved.
We were ripped from the arms of our
parents and thrown into the fire.
We were nothing more than children.
We had a future. We were going to be lawyers, rabbis, wives, teachers, mothers. We had dreams, then we had no hope. We were taken away in the dead of night like cattle in cars, no air to breathe smothering, crying, starving, dying. Separated from the world to be no more. From the ashes, hear our plea. This atrocity to mankind can not happen again. Remember us, 
for we were the children whose dreams and lives were stolen away.

1. What is your initial reaction to this poem? i was a bit confused what it was about but when i figured out, it showed a lot of emotion and feelings.
2. How does the author use 'we' in this poem? Him and the other people that were taken away
3. What are the verbs used in the first sentence? We played, we laughed
4. What are the verbs used in the second sentence? How do they contrast with those used in the first sentence? It says we were loved, meaning that they aren't loved now, and they also say we laughed we played, also in past tense. Something happened which is explained later in the poem
5. What effect does the listing of 'lawyers, rabbis, wives, teachers, mothers'? What is it meant to signify? That there future would have been a bright one if they weren't taken away, that if they were left lone they would have grown up to be something important.
6. What simile is used in the poem and what effect does it have? It gives us an image of a group of people being taken away 'like' a group of cattle. it gives us an insight about how badly they were treated
7. How has the poet represented herself in the last sentence? She represented herself as a group of people, not just one single person. She says remember us, meaning that she could have died or been dying.
8. If you could communicate to this person, a victim of the Holocaust, what would you want to say? What do you feel that you must do in your life as a response to this poem? I would say sorry, say thank you, because they seem to have been a big part of the war and that they would have endured so much for just living normally but because they were different, they had to be treated differently.

Boy in the striped PJ's Chapter 2

• Using quotes, how is the new house described?

The house is described as a big, lonely house in the middle of nowhere where he wont have fun and there will be no one to play with. 'When he closed his eyes, everything around him seemed empty and cold

• How does it compare to the house in Berlin? How is this an example of juxtaposition?

He describes his old house as big and full of life, where people are all happy and there's always something to do where as this house is cold and lonely and quiet and he will be bored

• How is Bruno's reaction and discussion of the new house taken by the other characters? What is ironic about the way people treat Bruno's comments regarding the new house?

They all agree that they would have preferred to stay in Berlin but she knows that she she doesn't have a say in this. The irony is that the older people would try to convince the owner that they want to leave but Bruno is trying to instead

• Do you feel empathetic towards Bruno's new home? Why/why not?

Boy in the striped PJ's

• Describe Bruno's voice. Give examples to support.

He speaks like he's in early Brittan, saying 'mother' instead of mum

• What characters are introduced? Describe each and give examples to support.

Grete- Weird and different by the sounds of it, may have something wrong with her
Maria- the butler, seems not to speak back, could be because she didn't want to or because she can't

Lars-The butler, not much info on him
Father- has an important job with men in fancy uniforms
Bruno- Young, curiosity gets the better of him, behaves, is liked most in the famiy
Mum- kind, red hair, cries a lot, 

• Who are presented as victims in this chapter and what are the victims of? Do you think that it is fair to consider them victims?

The victims would probably have to be Bruno's family since they have to move but its not fair to call them victims since they didn't do something

• Irony is an important element of the story. How is it used here in the first chapter? Give examples to support your answer.

• How is the setting presented in this chapter?

in a house which sounds a bit small and cramped with a lot going on and it doesn't give you a clear outline of whats happening

Auschwitz 65 Years Later

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• Consider the use of vectors, line, contrast, composition, colour, and perspective (there are more techniques) The use of vector lines draws your eye to the distance, where you see how big this place really is, as well as drawing you to the tower in the back of the picture, meaning that there is no escape and that there always watching you. The colour of the sky contrasts with the darkness of the camp itself and all the white snow around it, bringing a sort of dark peacefulness to the picture. The composition of the house is important. The position where the house is placed, behind the fence, speaks to us that freedom is behind those fences, and even though there so close to it, they just cant get to it.
• How can the visual elements in the photo evoke empathy and reverence from a viewer? The picture makes the viewer feel sad, and brings out a dark mood since the history of this place is quiet a dark topic
• How is Auschwitz represented in this photo? Its represented as a sort of prison with all the fences nest to it and on the left of the fences is a sort of freedom, since the light is on the left
• Find another photo of Auschwitz that you feel has an important representation of this place that caused so much pain and destruction. Analyse the use of visual techniques which make it particularly engaging. How does it represent this location?