For World History we chose a book to read and write a report, the book I choose was The boy in the Striped Pajamas.

 

 

 

 

Abi Wohlgemuth

Mrs. B

World History

10/15/18

Quarter Book Report

General Information

Title of Book: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Genre of Literature: historical fiction

Author: John Boyne

Publisher: David Fickling Books

Copyright Date: 2006

Number of pages: 216 pages

Setting: It is set during World War 2 in Nazi Germany.

Main Characters: Burno is a 9 year old boy who is forced to leave his home and friends and family to go to an unknown place. He doesn’t know what is going on around him just that he had to leave what had known all his life to go to a different place.

Shmuel is a 9 year old Jewish boy in a concreation camp for people of his religion. He has had to grow up faster than most kids because of his religion and he has seen things that no one should have to see.

Gretel is the sister of Burno. She likes to think that she is in charge and is important, her and Burno don’t really see eye to eye. But when they get to their new home Gretel has moments when she is nice and understanding of her brother.

Book summary/point of view

In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Bruno’s father takes up a powerful position at Auschwitz. Bruno and his family move from their home in the city to a home outside the camp. When they get there Bruno doesn’t know what to do, he sees a fence and people behind the fence, but doesn’t know what is going on behind the fence. He walks along the fence and sees people in what he believes are pajamas. While he walks he mets a boy in the striped pajamas, who he becomes friends with. During his stay Adolf Hitler comes to his house for a dinner. Shmuel asked him for help to find his dad, so Bruno dresses up like a prisoner and goes into the camp. But while Bruno is in the camp he gets put into a line with Shmuel and they are taken to the gas chamber, where they are killed. His parents tried to find but they never found out what happened to him before the war was over.

This book took place during the time World War 2 happened.

The book was told in third person point of view. It is important it was told this way so it wouldn’t be bias to one side like it would be if it was told in first person point of view. It also allows the reader to get a complete picture of what is happening when detail is being told about different parts of Bruno’s life.

Application questions

1) What is the most important event in the book?  Why is it the most important? When does this event take place in the book (page numbers)?

There are many important events in this book, one of them is when Bruno and Shmuel first meet. This event is important because it shows Bruno that there is more in the world than what is happening to him. Since Bruno didn’t really have a sense what was going on at time it opened him to learn more about what is going on around him not just what is happening to him. And it is the first time that Bruno is introduced to what is going on in the world at that. This takes place on page 106 thru page 115

2) Choose one character – Give a more detailed description of their role in the book, and then compare them to someone you know personally today.  Use two quotes from the book to help illustrate your description – cite page numbers where the quotes are found.

Bruno is a boy who feels like everything around him is falling apart because he has to move and leave behind his friends. He is the one that we follow throughout the book, he shows us different parts of what it is like to be a kid at that time and try and understand some of things parents are doing. “Men in fantastic uniforms, women with typewriters that had to keep his mucky hands off – and they were always very polite to Father and told each other that he was a man to watch and that the Fury had big things in mind for him” (page 4). It shows Bruno not really knowing what is going on, just that his father has an important job that need to be done.  When he scraped his knee he to a helper in the kitchen, he was a little dramatic, “What’s going to happen then?” asked Bruno, beginning to panic slightly, an emotion that might encourage tears. “I might bleed to death” (page 79). This quote shows Bruno’s innocence to the world and not having the knowledge of everything he needs to know to deal with unknown situations.

3) Use two quotes from the book to show new things you have learned about this time period in history.  Explain what each quote helped you to better know or understand – cite page numbers.

Bruno’s mom says this after learning the servant cleaned him up,“If the Commandant asks, we’ll say that I cleaned Bruno up” (page 85). It shows that even then they didn’t want to interact with those that were blow them in social standings even if they do things that can help others. “They were all terribly skinny and their eyes were sunken and they all had shaved heads” (page 208). This shows me just a part of what it would have been like to live in concentration camp during that time period. Also prompted me to look further into the treatment of prisoners in World War 2.

4) How might our world be different today if the historical events in your book had turned out differently?  Use two different examples to explain your answer.

Our world today could look drastically different today if just one key event in our world’s history changed. If Hitler won World War 2 our governments would be one of the biggest changes, we wouldn’t be able to do some of the things that we do now. Also what we are able to learn would be different because of the results since we would have facts of history that are taught to us. Plus there would be religion groups that would not be here today if Hitler did win.

5) What are three life lessons that can be learned from this book – how does each apply to your Life?

There are many life lessons that can be learned when a person reads this book. A few are friendship, human nature, and innocence. I can apply friendship in my life to those that are not like everyone else and try and make an effort to try and be friends with them. Human nature in my life can also help to make me more understanding to different situations people are going through that I don’t know about. Innocence can help when it comes to different situations that I don’t ever need to know about and it can also help when situations are becoming to serious and need to lighten up a little.

6) If you were to give this book an alternate title, what would it be?  Explain why.

The title I would give it would be The People Behind the Fence. Because during the book Bruno sees that there are bigger things in life than just having to move from his house to a new home. Also it kind of foreshadows what Bruno is going to find when he meets Shmuel.  

7) Explain in about 50 words why you would or would not recommend this book to your classmates.

I would recommend this book to a classmate because it gives a new perspective on what different age groups went through during that time period. It also makes you take a moment to think how would life now would be like if the outcome of World War 2 would have been different.