Important things to note for BSP:
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Impressions → character traits
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Feelings toward character
How far do you agree …?
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Example: Grandmother is a courageous (not afraid of consequences) woman. How far
do you agree with this statement? (Fully agree, agree to a large extent, agree to a small
extent, fully disagree)
I fully agree that Grandmother is courageous because
she spoke up AGAINST her son’s promotion as a Commandant of a concentration
camp.
-
-
-
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Example: Grandmother is a woman who frustrates (annoyance, anger, upset) people
(Father and Mother) around her. How far do you agree with this statement?
I agree to a large extent that Grandmother frustrates people around her.
PEEL 1: Father: (father quarrelled) ‘ tear my eyes out of my head ‘ this means that
grandmother would rather go blind than see father doing his job. ‘ the terrible terrible
things you do ‘ and ‘ ashamed’
PEEL 2: Mother: ‘ you foolish girl! Is that all you consider to be of importance? Being
handsome?’ this shows grandmother’s sarcasm towards Mother
SMALL PEEL 3: Bruno and Gretel love the costumes Grandmother made for them.
Bruno wanted to write a letter to Grandmother when he went back to Berlin.
Themes:
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Friendship between the two boys to give a personal perspective on the horrors of war.
Human capacity for inhumanity when put in a challenging situation.
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Racism ( Bruno and Shumel share the same birthday and this is a symbol of equality
between them. Yet their lives are so different due to their race → one is German, the
other is Jewish)
Important
Not so important
Pavel → pity, admiration, sympathy (6 character traits)
TRAIT
Gentle
QUOTE
Pavel gave a gentle laugh and shook his
head (page 82)
“...dipping a dry cloth into the bowl and
touching it gently to Bruno's knee." (page
82)
Kind
Pavel carried him across the lawn and
back towards the house.(page 81)
‘It’s not that bad,’ said Pavel, but in a
gentle and kindly voice. (page 83)
Cautious
seemed to consider it for quite a long time
before saying (page 84)
Pavel hesitated for a long time before
answering... (page 85)
Pavel “nodded, which made his head bow
even lower than it already was” (page 78)
Submissive
Pavel turned his body slightly in their
direction, but didn’t lift his head. (page 87)
Stoic (a person who can endure hardship
without showing their feelings or
complaining)
“His eyes appeared heavy with tears”
(page 147)
“...hanging his head low and not speaking
again.” (page 87)
Conscientious worker / Hardworking
“... the carrots were taking up so much of
his attention.” (page 84)
“Whenever anyone needed anything,
Pavel would bring it immediately (page
146)
Bruno → admiration (9 character traits)
TRAIT
Mischievous
QUOTE
“causing a lot of chaos,”
“get on board the banister at the top floor
and slide his way through the house”
Adventurous
“He was still able to find nooks and
crannies that he hadn’t fully finished
exploring yet”
“I want to be an explorer.” (page 86)
Childish → dislike
'Who would he miss the most?' asked
Bruno ...Especially since he knew that he
was her favourite really.
“Who didn’t want his accident to be
dismissed quite so easily.”
Naive → dislike
When Shmuel tells Bruno that he lived in
a room with ten other people, Bruno could
not believe it at all.
‘Why are there so many people on that
side of the fence?’ he asked. ‘And what
are you all doing there?’”
If you’re a doctor, then why are you
waiting on tables? (page 85)
Curious
Bruno was adamant about finding what
“Out-With” meant – ‘ “But what does it
mean?” he asked in exasperation.’
Bruno is curious about his own identity,
after finding out that the people over the
fence are called ‘Jews’. (page 188)
Polite
“He wasn’t sure why but he felt that the
polite thing to do was to wait until Pavel
was ready to speak.” (page 85)
“In his heart, he knew that there was no
reason to be impolite to someone,” (page
66)
Loyal
“has promised his friend that and he
wasn’t the sort to go back on a promise”
(page 215)
“Well, that would be telling, said Bruno,
who could not reveal the exact nature of
plans”
Unprejudiced/ unbiased/ non-judgemental “always liked Maria and felt as if she was
one of the family even though Father said
she was just a maid” (page 18)
The last thing he wanted to do was be
unkind to Shmuel (page 136)
Caring
He felt terrible that he hadn’t tried to say
anything to cheer Shmuel up (page 163)
Bruno found that he was starting to worry
about his friend because he seemed to be
getting even thinner by the day (page
166)
Kotler → distrubed, disgusted, outraged (6 character traits)
TRAIT
Rude
QUOTE
"make sure you wash your hands before
touching my food, you filthy-" ….and he
spat a little as he spoke. (page 78)
Without a word, Kotler whipped the book
out of Bruno’s hands and started to flick
through it (page 169)
Inconsiderate (lack of respect)
Kotler spoke to Pavel insolently, despite
the fact that he was young enough to be
his grandson.(page 78)
“...Kotler, reaching out and - quite
appallingly - ruffling his hand through
Bruno’s hair…” (page 74)
Heartless/ cold-hearted
What Kotler did to Pavel was both
unexpected and extremely unpleasant... it
made Bruno cry and Gretel grow pale.
(applies to every trait)
Kotler “marched right over to the dog and
shot it” (page 168) (applies to every trait)
“There was an atmosphere around him
that made Bruno feel very cold and want
to put a jumper on.” (page 73)
He’s a bully (page 145)
“There really was no other way to dress it
up: he was just plain nasty.” (page 79)
Cruel
“seen him shooting a dog and the evening
when Pavel had made him so angry that
he -”
“Lieutenant Kotler grew very angry with
Pavel and no one...stepped in to stop him
doing what he did next, even though none
of them could watch. Even though it made
Bruno cry and Gretel grow pale.”
“Lieutenant Kotler still strode around... no
one in the whole world of any more
importance than him.”(page 99)
Ambitious
“He thinks he’s in charge but he isn’t.”
“And what has you up and about so early
on a Saturday morning?” “It’s hardly early,
said Bruno. It’s almost ten o’clock.”
Sarcastic
“The only spare tyre I have seen around
here recently belongs to Sergeant
Hoffschneider, and he carried it around
his waist,” (page 75)
Shmuel → admiration, pity, sympathy (4 character traits)
TRAIT
Grateful / Appreciative
QUOTE
The boy stared at the food in his hand for
a moment and then looked up at Bruno
with wide and grateful but terrified eyes.
“Shmuel had an urge to give Bruno a hug
too, just to thank him for all his many
kindness” (page 213)
Forgiving
Shmuel smiled and nodded and Bruno
knew that he was forgiven.
“Shmuel, to his credit, seemed to have
forgotten all about it.” (page 185)
When Bruno crossed over the fence,
Shmuel wanted to give him a hug.
I don’t think you realise just how many
people live on this side of the fence.
Mature
Both boys stayed very quiet for a few
minutes, neither one wanting to say
anything he might regret. (page 144)
Wary/ cautious
Shmuel had a black eye...he didn't want
to talk about it (page 155)
Shmuel wanted to pretend it had never
happened (page 156)
Father (6 character traits)
TRAIT
Biased/prejudiced towards the Jews→
feel disgusted
QUOTE
“Those people...well, they’re not people at
all ... They're nothing to do with you. You
have nothing whatsoever in common with
them."(page 55)
Referring to those who disagreed with
government policy - “Disturbed some of
them. Traitors, others. Cowards too.”
(page 151)
Kind/ generous to his family and Maria
→respect, admiration
‘Friends,’ said Father.. ‘Yes, I’ve often
thought of that. It must have been lonely
for you at times.’
“Your father took me in and helped me
when I needed him.” (Page 62)
“Father was generally a very kind and
thoughtful man.” (page 153)
Inexpressive
… for Father was not usually the type of
man to give anyone a hug (page 47)
“...Father rarely became angry; he
became quiet and distant.” (page 54)
Authoritative/ powerful → dismay
When Bruno overheard his parents’
argument, his father had the last word.
“Father held a hand in the air, which
immediately caused the other men to fall
silent.” (page 45)
Ambitious →sicken, dismay
“Some people and their determination to
get ahead.” (page 42)
“And that it is very important for my career
that tonight goes well.” (page 122)
Strict
Father was a big believer in ground rules
(page 122)
Father tapped his knife on the table and
everyone was silent. (age 149)
Mother (3 character traits)
TRAIT
Strict → respect
QUOTE
Mother said, “ And don’t interrupt your
mother when she’s talking, please”
Mother said, “ ‘don’t argue with me-go to
your room!’
Discontented → sorry, sympathy, pity
“Some people make all the decisions for
us.”
“We don’t have the luxury of thinking,”
said Mother.
The evening would be a greater success
if some people helped out a little bit more
around the house (page 121)
Fair → admiration
She was a great believer in not playing
favourites (page 5)
Mother saying thank you to Pavel (page
87)
Maria → pity, sympathy (3 character traits)
TRAIT
Respectful → admiration
QUOTE
“You mustn’t say that,” she said. “You
must never say something like that about
your father.” (page 61)
‘That’s not for me to say, Master Bruno,’
said Maria (page 18)
Cautious/ discreet → pity, sorry
She seemed to be considering her
response carefully… thinking better of it
and discarding them altogether (Page 59)
“It’s not important... what I think.” (page
60)
Loyal → sympathy
“If it wasn’t for your father, where would I
be now after all?” (page 62)
“So don’t you ever call your father stupid,
Bruno. Not around me. I won't allow
it.”(page 64)
Grandmother →respect, admiration (4 character traits)
TRAIT
Opinionated
QUOTE
‘“That’s all you soldiers are interested in
anyway…”Looking handsome in your fine
uniforms. Dressing up and doing
the,terrible, terrible things you do.”’
“...when Grandmother had something to
say she always found a way to say it, no
matter how unpopular it might prove to
be.”(page 94)
Morally upright
to see you in that uniform makes me want
to tear the eyes from my head!’ (page 97)
‘Dressing up and doing the terrible,
terrible things you do.’ (page 96)
‘ you foolish girl! Is that all you consider to
be of importance? Being handsome?’
(All quotes can be used to say that
Grandmother frustrates people)
Attention seeker → amused
‘Grandmother would hover around the
piano until someone sat down at it and
asked her to sing.’ (page 90)
‘Parties at Bruno’s house were always
dominated by Grandmother’s singing,’
(page 91)
Creative → impressed
She wrote the plays herself (page 91)
No one ever knew what Grandmother
would come up with next.” (page 92)
Grandfather (2 character traits)
TRAIT
Sociable → unimpressed
QUOTE
sitting at the bar in the afternoon talking to
customers
laughing with his friends.
(page 90)
Supportive of Father → unimpressed
Grandfather said to Father, “It makes me
so proud to see you elevated to such a
responsible position. …” (page 95)
“Grandfather was very proud of his son
when he saw him in his new uniform”
(page 93)
Gretel (6 character traits)
TRAIT
Self-centered / Selfish → annoyed,
QUOTE
Gretel “spent far too long in the bathroom
irritated
in the mornings… didn't seem to mind if
Bruno was left outside, hopping from foot
to foot, desperate to go.” (page 23)
After she and Bruno saw the children
suffering outside their window, she chose
to play with her dolls, because they gave
her a “decidedly nicer view”.
She asked Maria to “run a bath” for her
very rudely.
She was annoying and self-centred and
mean to him most of the time (page 79)
Dismissive
“ ‘you’re nine,’ countered Gretel. ‘How
would you know? When you get to my
age you’ll understand these things a lot
better.” (page 35)
“Now get off my bedspread. You’re
messing it up.” (page 27)
She had been told time and time again
that she was not to call her brother stupid.
(page 39)
Lack of empathy → disgusted, frustrated
“What kind of people don’t have
baths?”(page 39)
When Gretel and Bruno looked out the
window and saw children crying and
being shouted at by soldiers, Gretel
suggested that it was “some sort of
rehearsal”. (page 38)
Unlike Bruno, she never stopped to think
about the fact that Maria was a person
with feelings just like hers (page 66)
Prejudiced → annoyed, irritated
“Not the type of children I want to play
with”
They look filthy”
“Those children look like they’ve never
had a bath in their lives”
(page 39)
Domineering
“‘What are you doing here?’ she shouted,
spinning round. ‘Don't you know you don't
enter a lady’s room without knocking?”
“She was in charge” (page 22)
“Step out of the way then,” she said,
elbowing him aside (page 30)
Disrespectful → annoyed and irritated
“Run me a bath, will you?”
“Because she’s the maid”
“That’s what she’s here for”
“ ‘Well, don’t be long,’ said Gretel rudely