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? You get the feeling that because he was only first introduced in chapter you get the feeling that he is actually extremely important and is always away for the military and is not disturbed very often. Also he must not come out of the office much as he has so much to do.  It also means that becuase of the work the father does whether he wants to do it or not he is very detached from his family and therefore is always away and is even though a major character is also at the same time a minor character
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? The theme that we can pick out from this quote is that some sort of army officers had come over to the house to have dinner with the family in order to get popularity with the father. Instead of going to dinner to get closer to the family they had gone just to try to get a promotion or to get favored over all the others.
3. How does Bruno's father speak to him? Give an example to support your answer. "Well, i don't think you can be very good at your job if it means we all have to move away from a very nice home and our friends and come to a horrible place like this." "You don't understand the significance of such a position" father said. This shows the importance of his job and that he is not a jokey type of man. He is fairly strict, and it is obvious that he talks to his son like an adult rather than a nine year old boy.
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? The father does not openly talk about the world whereas Bruno does. He is kind of a politician and knows what he is talking about tactfully, whereas Bruno talks about it the way it is and not tactfully. He speaks around the truth and tries very hard to convince himself of what he is doing, he makes himself believe that he is doing the right thing. He thinks, "It's for the good of the country" but we think that is a terrible inhumane thing and this is why he must convince himself. He is determined to get the top and he is very ambitious and this has clouded his mind, he doesn't care what he does to get to the top.
5. How does the father rationalise every concern that Bruno has? He says that it is for 'the good of the country.' But I think that he has to really convince himself as I mentioned above. His ambition clouds his humanity. He tells Bruno that everything is for the greater good and he is almost talking a bit like a 'zombie'. I think that all of Germany is kind of tuned into a zombie to believe what the Fuhrer is doing. No human can do these atrocities, except for people that have been brainwashed into doing it. It is not actually 'them' doing it they are clouded and like zombies. So now he is trying to convince his son and to stop asking questions.
6. What is ironic about what the father says when he comes around the desk and talks to Bruno about his childhood? He does not listen to his father just like Bruno does not listen to him which is ironic. But he says that after a while, 'I would just put my best foot forward and get on with it.' This is so that Bruno does not completely rebel against him and that he listened to his father. The other ironic thing is that it says he didn't want to go into the streets and play but this is the exact opposite for Bruno as all he wants to do is play in the streets this shows that the two children were actually different.
7. Do you think that the father really cares about Bruno? Why/why not? I think that he does. Although he is very strict this is only the nature of a Nazi officer and he is his son. He is trying to convince his son of 'giving the house a chance'. After the discussion of his childhood his father eventually says that he was being very courteous of Bruno's feelings and that the discussion is over. When Bruno does something extremely naughty and interrupts his father yelling at him his father just tells him to go to his room and play. This is not the worst punishment at all and I think that he is trying to keep Bruno happy as the move was very hard on him.
8. Do you think that Bruno understands what he is saying when he says 'Heil Hitler!'? No I do not think he understands at all. He says that they are 'the two words he must reply to someone who has previously said it'. He does not exactly know what the words are and seeing as he calls the Fuhrer 'fury' which is not correct at all he wouldn't know who Hitler was. He also says at the end of the chapter after saying "Heil Hitler!". "He presumed was another way of saying. Well, goodbye for now, have a pleasant afternoon."
9. 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? Microcosm is used at it is a small insignificant thing in the book but it kind of represents the whole story. He says, "Whatever made his mother angry, would make Gretel furious." This is what holds his tongue.