El Summary of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, talks about a novel that tells what happened in a Jewish extermination camp with a boy named Bruno and his friend Shmuel .
Summary of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
In the summary of The boy in the striped pajamas, we can appreciate the story of a boy named Bruno, who was only nine years old. Who suffers a transformation in his life, since he must put aside his life in Berlin and the friends with whom he shares there, to go to Out-With.
All this, because his father has to work in the area. Bruno is very sad in this situation, since he feels alone and wants with all his might to leave his new home.
This leads him to beg his parents to return to his former life. However, he was always denied, because his father had been promoted, so it was mandatory to be in Out-With.
Concentration camp
As time passes, Bruno begins to notice that from his window he has the opportunity to see how many people do jobs that require a lot of effort. What strikes him about this is that in addition to adults, children and the elderly also work within the territory, all wearing striped pajamas.
On the other hand, Bruno got used to his new home, but this did not prevent him from being sad, since he did not have the opportunity to share with anyone other than his parents and his sister Gretel, who was considered somewhat silly by him and the Lieutenant Kitler character that he did not like very much.
It is for this reason that one day he decides to place a tire on a tree, in order to take it as a swing. But for this he had to look for one, it is after this that Pavel, who is his cook of Jewish origin who also had striped pajamas, helped him in his work.
When Bruno achieves his goal, he begins to swing but in the meantime he falls and injures himself, hurting his knee and head. It is after this that Pavel proceeds to cure him.
Bruno before this realizes that previously the man was a doctor but after arriving here he became a cook, this made the boy understand less and less the place where he had to live.
Start of a new friendship
Looking for entertainment, Bruno decides to investigate the place a little more. It is for this reason that the child proceeds to follow the path that is displayed from his window.
The path takes him to a large garden where there was a bench that led to a fence, an element that divided the area where his home was located with some small houses.
After his great curiosity he decides to sit on the bench and as the minutes pass he manages to see a child on the other side of the fence. This little boy was named Shmuel, who had striped pajamas like the other people he saw from his window every day and his cook. Shmuel stood out for having a very sad expression.
It is after this that Bruno decides to approach the boy and begins to tell him about his life in Berlin, before this Shmuel decides to remain silent and simply listen to him. Over time the children become great friends. That is why they always had secret meetings in the same place where they met.
Shmuel and his labors
Bruno finds Shmuel in his home one day, he was cleaning the glasses that were in his house. He himself was impressed to see his friend in the place and in turn working there. So he decides to give her some of his food, Shmuel welcomes it and eats it quickly.
After the event, Lieutenant Kitler appears and asks Shmuel why he had eaten there. Given this, the boy tells him that Bruno had given it to him and that they were both friends, however, in fear, Bruno decides to deny everything Shmuel said.
This caused Shmuel to disappear for a while, when Bruno is seen again he realizes that his friend has a bruise on his eye and he is even sadder than before. The situation makes Bruno apologize, Shmuel forgives him and they share as friends again.
You can support yourself from the following video:
Back to Berlin?
While all this is happening, Bruno's mother's health is declining due to the place where they are, which is why she decides to return to Berlin with her family.
Bruno's help to Shmuel
Two days before returning to Berlin with his family, Bruno goes to Shmuel, in order to tell him that he is going. It is here that he finds out that his friend has not been able to find his father.
For this reason Bruno decides to help him look for him, which leads him to enter the other side of the fence through a hole that was in the area, after that, despite the rain, the next day Bruno proceeds to meet the promise he made to his friend.
On their way to their mission, Bruno realizes that the place was not as colorful and happy as he had dreamed it would be. Rather the place was dark and filled with an atmosphere of sadness.
After spending a long time a soldier asks the Jews who are in the area to line up, but Bruno had to leave the place. However, it is not possible for him to leave and he is taken to the line, Shmuel and Bruno enter a room with great fright and holding hands in the middle of the darkness their lives end.
Bruno's disappearance
Bruno's family proceeds to look for him after spending a long time without seeing him. In the middle of the search they manage to see his clothes in a hole that led to the other side of the fence.
This situation leads both Bruno's mother and sister to understand the situation that had arisen. It is for this reason that they begin to cry with great pain, on the other hand, the father in the midst of his guilt treats the soldiers around him with great rage.
After this they leave the place and a year after the event his father goes back to the place where they found his son's clothes and decides to leave behind any element that supported these concentration camps.
Characters from The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Bruno
Bruno is a boy of German origin who is nine years old. It is said in one of the chapters of the story that the boy was the smallest in his class, which brought him many difficult moments.
He is a true explorer and at the same time he is a very good boy. Among the demonstrations of his good heart is the effort so that his friend Shmuel eats well, taking him his food.
shmuel
This is a boy of Jewish origin, he is described as having a slim and super pale physique, he has big eyes that are the color of candy and he is Bruno's best friend. He has a rather sad aura due to the situations of pain that he has to go through due to his conditions.
Elsa
She is the mother of Bruno and Gretel, she is described as a tall woman with long red hair, she tends to worry a lot about her son Bruno, since the boy is very curious. She befriends Lieutenant Kotler and is very bitter at her new home.
Her discontent with the place is due to the fact that she totally disagrees with the actions carried out by her husband. She always seeks to stipulate the rules that allow her children to be people with a good heart and at the same time educated.
Gretel
She is Bruno's older sister, she tends to annoy him a lot, which is why Bruno calls her a silly girl. She has some love interest for Lieutenant Kotler. She stands out for being a good sister despite her constant actions, on the other hand, she was one of those who suffered the most after the physical disappearance of her brother Bruno from her.
Ralph
He is Bruno's father, he functions as a commander of the German army. He is always looking for elements that bring improvements to his family, he wished with all his heart that his son Bruno would function like him as a soldier.
He treated the military men under his charge with respect and in turn felt great resentment toward the Jews. The situation changes after the death of his son Bruno, which leads him to leave behind all his beliefs after the guilt that invaded him.
-
Side
You can also through the summary of The boy in the striped pajamas, learn a little more about the secondary characters. Who also play traits of importance to the story:
María
She functions as the family's housekeeper, which is why she moves with them to Auschwitz. It is important to mention that she describes herself as a very good person, who is always there to support the family.
Lieutenant Kurt Kotler
He is also called the ball lieutenant of the father of Bruno and Gretel. After spending a lot of time with Bruno's family, he becomes close friends with Gretel and her mother, which leads him to spend several hours in the little boy's home.
Despite this, he fails to win Bruno's sympathy, rather he feels a certain fear towards him. The man is destined to go to the battlefield, so he is not mentioned again in the story.
Paul
He works as a house cook in Auschwitz. He is of Jewish origin and before arriving there he worked in medicine. He is constantly mistreated by Kotler.
If you are interested in literature you can see Summary of Platero and I
You can also view the following video: