Ch. 17-20 (striped pajamas)

It's sad that the story ends in the way it does. It makes me sad that Bruno died for such a notion as to spend some time with a friend. It is interesting; it almost seems to me that Bruno's death was the punishment for his dad's actions. And what's worse to think about is that even that may not be ample compensation for the atrocities wreaked upon those people in the concentration camp by Bruno's father.
The part where Bruno sees those people in the concentration camp so depressed and hopeless in probably the only part of the story where Bruno actually is exposed to their plight. Most of the story, it is avoided or Bruno just doesn't understand it.
The last part of the book says that nothing like the Holocaust could ever happen again in this day and age, which is ironic, probably the author's intention, because it is happening all over the world, and it is not given as much attention as it ought to be. It was a good way to end the book.
I read the interview, and it is very cool that he did not use the word Aushwitz so his book could be a type of all-encompassing thing.

Ch. 13-16 (striped pajamas)

This chapters really brought to light the Nazi's and the Jews. Most of the story, Bruno has no idea about the travesty called the Holocaust. But he starts thinking about how mean and condescending Lt. Kotler is to him. Gretel also learns about the Holocaust, and Bruno learns about it from her.
It is so ironic that Bruno's best friend in Auschwitz turns out to be the servant who presumably replaces Pavel after what Kotler did to him. Its such a weird thing to think about, having your best friend being your family's servant.
I don't condone how Bruno says that he never had met Shmuel before, but I sympathize with him. He's just nine, and he's intimidated by Kotler. I think many people in that situation might do what he did. He didn't think about what he said; it just sort of happened. I don't blame him. But it makes me wonder what Kotler did to Shmuel for punishment. He did come back bruised and battered later on.

Ch. 9-12 Blog (Striped Pajamas)

I thought that I would enjoy the point of view of a child. But interestingly enough, Bruno's point of view irks me a bit. Although it is understandable that Bruno does not know what is occurring in Auschwitz, it annoys me that he doesn't realize how bad things are for Shmuel. Bruno asks him naive questions like if he and the other boys play or not or if Bruno could come under the fence and play with him.
Sometimes the timeline of the story confuses me because it jumps around a lot, very much like Things Fall Apart and A Long Way Gone. I didn't realize that chapter 11 occured in the past until the end of the chapter where it said that this where the story began. It is interesting that Bruno finds Hitler to be a rude and mean person. When he comes for dinner, he is quite condescending towards everyone, which I guess, you could expect Hitler to be.
Bruno also does not have a good idea of the world outside of Berlin and what is happening. It is interesting when Bruno says that Germany is the most superior country in the world because that directly shows what was being taught to children in Germany. Children were being raised to become the so-called "Hitler Youth" to continue Hitler's beliefs.

Ch. 5-8 Blog (Striped Pajamas)

It is interesting to me that the author can phrase his thoughts and the way his main character asks and speaks to resemble the way a naive nine year old might. He has done this very skillfully.
We figure out in this section that Bruno's father is an officer for the Fury, or the Fuhrer, I presume. I never realized that there were some people that objected to what was happening to the Jews. Bruno's grandmother was very upset with what her son was doing. I mean, I kind of guessed that there were some people who were not happy with what was happening, but for the most part, I thought most of Germany supported Hitler. I never thought that the Grandmother would be so vocal about what she thought about her son's job.
This section also shows the extent of the hatred for the Jews that Nazi Germany had. When Bruno makes a tire swing and injures himself, Pavel, one of the waiters (who used to be a doctor), patches him up. When Bruno's mother finds out, she takes the credit for what Pavel did so he wouldn't be punished. So even though Pavel did a good thing by taking care of Bruno, he might have gotten punished for it. That doesn't make sense to me.

Ch. 1-4 The Boy in Striped Pajamas Blog

I have liked the story so far. I like the flow of the story, and the language of the story, I guess. It seems like the language is of children younger than me, but the content, I think, is for older kids. I like how it is told from the point of view of a younger kid. It is interesting that something like the Holocaust is told from the point of view of a little kid. This will probably be a lot different from what I usually read.
Bruno's parents seem to be a little strict, but I think they aren't overly strict. I still don't really understand why Greta is called a hopeless case, but I'll probably get it later.

Choice Book

Well, I'm a bit disappointed that the top four books came out to be what they were. I've read To Kill A Mockingbird two times. Go Ask Alice is not anything I'm interested in. Black Hawk Down seems ok to me, and so does the boy in striped pajamas. So the order is:
1. The Boy in Striped Pajamas
2. Black Hawk Down
3. To Kill a Mockingbird
4. Go ask Alice

I was wondering, does To Kill A Mockingbird have to be on the list? Most of the people I've talked to said they've read it already. Can we put the next book on the list from which we can choose from? Maybe it'll be something that more people haven't read yet.