Chapter 4 Boy in Striped PJ's

• (pg 31) How does the author continue to use juxtaposition in regards to the two housing situations? (the Jews and Bruno's family) The traditional juxtaposition of the Holocaust story was the Juxtaposition of the Jews and Nazi's. Once again the Author places another juxtaposition in when the family is placed in a house which is even though described as horrible by Bruno and Gretal it is still a house and the Jew's in a dirty concentration camp. Even though the Nazi's view the Jews as so different to themselves they are actually not even though they went through so much to separate by means of the huge fences both around the house and around the camp.
• What is it about the children that makes it difficult to understand exactly what they see through the window and just how bad it is? As the reader we cant really tell how bad the situation is with the Jews in the concentration camp becuase of the lack of knowledge of the kids. Bruno is the symbol of innocence and we get he sense that he doesn't fully understand whats happening at the camp becuase his perspective is 'why are all those people wearing striped pajamas'. Even though Gretal is a bit older and more knowledgeable we still get the sense that she is naive about the whole situation when she concludes that the Jews are dirty and disgusting becuase they haven't been taking regular baths.
• Summarise how Gretel describes what she sees. We get mixed signals about what Gretal sees and how she concludes about what she sees. From what I said in the previous question this is an example of a naive thought but when she tries to convince Bruno it is the countryside we can infer that she is trying to convince Bruno into a different conclusion to hide him from the truth.
• What does Gretel attempt to do when she sees the Concentration Camp? How does she attempt to understand what she sees? We get the sense that she is trying to understand what she is seeing directly from a educational point of view. As soon as she saw the empty land she thought of what she was being taught in Geography at school which can also be evidence of her trying to convince herself into believing something else to hide the horror of  what she's really seeing.
• Is her attempt successful? Does she convince Bruno that she understands? What does she eventually give in to? What does she say/or not say? (pg 32) 'Gretal looked at it again and nodded, because she was not so silly she insists on being in the right all the time when it was clear the argument stood against her' from this quote we get confirmation that she has unsuccessfully tried to convince Bruno that the land around their house and where they are living is a holiday house in the country.
• What can't the children do when they see the Concentration Camp that the adults seem to be able to do? Which group can understand what they see? Why do you think that this is the case? I think the Adults are able to understand what they see obviously becuase they either have some part in whats happening or they are going along with all the actions that are being taken against the Jew's. Part of the reason why the children cant understand what is happening becuase of the freedom of speech that was absent in Germany at this time. We can infer from this story so far that adults don't like being asked questions and we get evidence from this at the end of the chapter when Bruno asks his dad about the camp and all he says is 'they aren't really human and they don't have anything in common with you' from this quote we can understand why the children have no idea about whats going on because the Adults don't like it when people ask questions and have their say in whats going on.
• How does the author use understatement through the children's description of the Concentration Camp?

Chapter 3 Boy in Striped Pj's

1. Describe how Bruno and Gretel's relationship is introduced in the chapter. At the start of this chapter Bruno and Gretel's relationship is introduced as very weak as they are very different. Bruno describes Gretal as hopeless in the ways of the world and what makes Bruno not like Gretal as much is because she was older and he admitted to himself he was a little bit scared of her. And also she had a lot of nasty habits that he didn't like.
2. List quotes that show how the new house is described."I don't like it here" he said for the hundredth time. "As long as it's just for the foreseeable future and not for a month. I hate it here" "Gretel looked at her little brother and found herself agreeing with him for once" 
3. It was very hollow and he decided that he better not go jumping around this house too often or it might collapse around their ears. What is the significance of this quote?
4. What is Bruno's reaction to the new house? Bruno defiently doesn't like this house, during this chapter he is saying to his sister that he is glad that they are only staying in the house for a short amount of time becuase they both agree that it defiantly is not a very nice place. 
5. How does it compare to their old house? Both Gretal and Bruno agree that the new house is horrible compared to the old one and they want to spend as less time as possible.
6. How does Gretel relate to her father? Gretal relates to her father becuase we can infer she is very proper and very disciplined and she always see's parts of her life as a job to do. When the family moves into the new house Gretal evaluates that they are here for a job and once they have completed the job they will go back home. Gretal is lining up to her father and Bruno is lining up to her mother. Also Gretal is very similar becuase she likes to control Bruno and she likes the idea of power which is very similar to her father as he has power over the Nazi soldiers. A parallel being made by the end of page 21 with Gretal's Dolls it gives us a sense that Bruno is being portrayed as a Jew and the dolls are solders and Gretal is the commander.
7. Does Bruno understand where they are? What makes you believe this? I don't believe that Bruno understands where they are becuase of his age representing innocence he doesn't understand whats going on. During the chapter we can tell this when he says none of the other children look all that nice, when he says this we know he doesn't understand why the family moved houses.
8. Does Gretel understand where they are? Explain. I think at the end of the chapter how she is described before she looks out the window and the last sentence "but after a moment her eyes adjusted and the sun disappeared again and she saw exactly what Bruno had been talking about" We can infer from this last statement that Gretal understands exactly what is happening which is why we are given such a dramatic lead up before she looks out the window.
9. How is Bruno's description of 'Out-with' represent a motif? What is darkly ironic about this? The dark irony of this motif is that Bruno thinks that 'out-with' means that the old owners have left to live in another place but as the reader and our knowledge of history we can infer that either the old owners were not good enough for the job and were killed or they were Jewish owners and they had been taken away or killed by the Nazi's.
10. Read pgs 27-29. How are Bruno's and Gretel's reaction to 'the children' Bruno sees through the window different? What does this tell us about these two characters and their perception/understanding of where they are? Once again we are given evidence that Bruno is still the innocent character becuase he reacts the way a young kid would by using his mother's rules like 'don't judge a book by its cover' we can understand that Bruno doesn't understand why the kid's are there. In comparison to Gretal we as the reader get the feeling with the dramatic lead up to her looking out the window that she is shocked and horrified on whats happening and we get the sense that she understands exactly whats happening where as Bruno is still naive about the whole situation.

The Boy in the Striped PJ's - Chapter 2

• Using quotes, how is the new house described?

Bruno describes the new house as boring, nasty and the complete opposite of his old house. "He put his face to the glass and saw what was out there, and this time when his eyes opened wide and his mouth made the shape of an O, his hands stayed by his sides becuase something made him feel very cold and unsafe"

• How does it compare to the house in Berlin? How is this an example of juxtaposition?

The comparison of Both Buno's houses is an example of a juxtaposition becuase Bruno's whenever he describes the features of his house he always contrasts it to his old house. Similarly in this chapter the old house and the new house become a symbol of two very different lives. Bruno describes his new house as the exact opposite being cold, isolated, boring and by comparing it so drastically to his old house the reader gets a sense that there is something drastically wrong with the house.

• How is Bruno's reaction and discussion of the new house taken by the other characters? What is ironic about the way people treat Bruno's comments regarding the new house?

The irony of Bruno's reactions and discussions is that he is very emotional about all the changes that are taking place and when he tells any of the adults they are very angry about his opinion and they ignore him but the Irony is that they all feel the same way about the house but Bruno is the only character expressing his feeling this is typical for a boy his age. This idea also relates to the situation at that time in Germany where freedom of speech wasn't really taken in account and people always had to follow the leaders of people in charges instructions.

• Do you feel empathetic towards Bruno's new home? Why/why not?

Yes I feel empathetic becuase I feel that the matter of moving houses for an adult of an adolescence person is a small matter but to Bruno who is at a very young age it is a very big deal and the fact that as soon as Bruno sees the house all of these strong emotions starting pouring out the reader starts to understand that there is something very wrong about what is taking place.   

Responding to a Poem

We watched, we weeped
we witnessed love torn apart
  Our hearts sank in our chest when you were ripped from the arms of your
parents and thrown into the fire.
  You were nothing more than children. We will remember

You were helpless, defenseless against the monstrous uniformed hoard who stole your identity and gave you nothing but a pair of pyjamas and a golden star. We will remember 

You had a future. You were going to be lawyers, rabbis, wives, teachers, mothers. 
You had dreams, aspirations, all which were taken away in the blink of an eye.

You were taken away in the dead of night like cattle in cars, no air to breathe smothering, crying, starving, dying. We will remember

Separated from the world to be no more. From the ashes, we will hear our plea. This atrocity to mankind will not happen again. For you were the children who's lives were stolen and dreams destroyed. We will remember

Chapter 1 Boy in Striped PJ's

Boy in Striped PJ's - Chapter 1

Bruno's Voice, introduction of characters, and victims

• Describe Bruno's voice. Give examples to support.

At the start of this chapter Bruno's voice was evident that he was frustrated but in a polite tone, when he discovers that he is moving houses Bruno wants to figure out."What are you doing" he asked in a polite tone. "Mother" he insisted "Whats going on? 'Are we moving?

• What characters are introduced? Describe each and give examples to support.

In this Chapter we are introduced to Bruno, Maria, his Mother. From this chapter we can conclude that Bruno is a polite boy but is constantly left in the dark without knowing whats going on. He character is always intrigued and he always wants to explore and discover new things. This is very typical for a young boy of his age. We can tell Also from this Chapter that Maria is a servant in the House since we are told that she is always looking down and always is doing what she is told we can infer that she is probably a Jewish lady who works for the family. Bruno's Mother is a lady who seems to always be bossed around by people we can assume that she is a wife of a Nazi who is very high up in the army and has to constantly move for his work. We also know that she is constantly trying to hide Bruno from what is really going.

• Who are presented as victims in this chapter and what are the victims of? Do you think that it is fair to consider them victims?

In this chapter Bruno is described and presented as the victim of dramatic change and isolation. From this part of history we know what is happening at he time with the Jew's living in Germany being taken to concentration camps and being forced to work and also killed. I believe that depicting Bruno as a victim would be most defiantly unfair considering what the Jew's are going through.

• Irony is an important element of the story. How is it used here in the first chapter? Give examples to support your answer.

The Irony of this first chapter is that Bruno is the only character who seems to express his feeling about all the things that are happening and changing dramatically in his life but when we look at the reactions of the adults we see them to be very stubborn towards Bruno's emotions towards these changes we we later discover that the Adults also dislike all the changes in the house and feel the exact same way as Bruno but Bruno is the only character who expresses this.

• How is the setting presented in this chapter?

The setting in this chapter is juxtaposed to his old house Bruno contrasts in his head both his houses and realizes that his new house is the exact opposite to his old one and he feels unsafe, alone and isolated. 

Auschwitz 65 Years Later

 

• Consider the use of vectors, line, contrast, composition, colour, and perspective (there are more techniques)
• How can the visual elements in the photo evoke empathy and reverence from a viewer?
• How is Auschwitz represented in this photo?
• Find another photo of Auschwitz that you feel has an important representation of this place that caused so much pain and destruction. Analyse the use of visual techniques which make it particularly engaging. How does it represent this location?

1) The vectors created by the barbed wire fence leading to the distance (the tower) which leads to the focal point which represents great oppression and lack of freedom
The contrast of the building on the right and the area on the left separated by the fence represents the idea of freedom and slavery. This picture also represents how little can quickly destroy all freedom.
Also the use of lines in this picture represents the discipline and formality of this center. These lines give the idea to the viewer that this center was made exactly for the reason for a prison and for death.  

2) the visual techniques used in this picture provoke empathy becuase we see how horrible it looks at this camp so we feel sympathy and compassion for the people who were forced to live, work and die in these places

3) In this Photo Auschwitz is represented as a kind of hell, due to the dull colors and the perspective we are give of the barbed wire fence and the watch tower in the distance it becomes clear to us that this place is only used for one reason being a prison. 



This second photo of Auschwitz we are given a similar feel of the first picture in the sense that this is not a very nice place. The vectors created by the railroad tracks that lead straight through the entrance gives us the sense that there is no escaping this place. When I look at this I get the feeling that the people who would of been taken here would of been terrified but in the end their fate would've been inevitable.   
The use of perspective gives us another sense of the formality and militarization of this place. We are given a low angle shot of this place and we get the feeling that the camp is looming above us which destroys all hope and gives us a sense of intimidation.  
The use of black and white photography also add to the effect on familiarization to the audience. We get a sense of difference in time which separates us from this period in history which makes us that we have nothing in common with the picture.

Holocaust Poerty

Holocaust
by Barbara Sonek
We played, we laughed
we were loved.
We were ripped from the arms of our
parents and thrown into the fire.
We were nothing more than children.
We had a future. We were going to be lawyers, rabbis, wives, teachers, mothers. We had dreams, then we had no hope. We were taken away in the dead of night like cattle in cars, no air to breathe smothering, crying, starving, dying. Separated from the world to be no more. From the ashes, hear our plea. This atrocity to mankind can not happen again. Remember us, for we were the children whose dreams and lives were stolen away.

1. What is your initial reaction to this poem? My initial reaction to this poem is I immediately feel great compassion for these children. When the Author says "Remember us, for we were the children whose dreams and lives were stolen away." From this quote we get more of an understanding what is was like and how horrible it must of been to be harshly taken away at such a young age and it makes me think how lucky I am to expect the great privileges I have.
2. How does the author use 'we' in this poem? The Author uses 'we' to signify all the other children that went through the exact same pain. The author stresses that all these children suffered died all together rather than just a single perspective.
3. What are the verbs used in the first sentence? The verbs used in the first sentence were all of happiness played, laughed and loved.
4. What are the verbs used in the second sentence? How do they contrast with those used in the first sentence? The verbs used in the first sentence we're all and positive verbs which trigger happiness to the reader but in the second sentence they were all harsh and negative which quickly express who quickly life changed for this children.
5. What effect does the listing of 'lawyers, rabbis, wives, teachers, mothers'? What is it meant to signify? The listing of professions signifies how these children that lives were destroyed were future. They were the next generation the effect this has on the reader is how these children never got the opportunity to live life and it makes  us angry and sad to understand this.
6. What simile is used in the poem and what effect does it have? The simile used "We were taken away in the dead of night like cattle in cars" It expresses the harshness of the treatment given to these women men and children by the Nazi's
7. How has the poet represented herself in the last sentence? When the poet says "we were the children who's lives who's dreams and lives were stolen away" we get a sense of physically the poet saying to this to us as this last sentence is very powerful. I feel that this last sentence sums up the pain and she infers that she was a victim of this and we must understand how horrible it really was.
8. If you could communicate to this person, a victim of the Holocaust, what would you want to say? What do you feel that you must do in your life as a response to this poem? I would want to try as much as I could to help this person in any way possible I wouldn't want to discuss this person's past as it would be too painful for the victim to talk about the experiences he or she had at the Nazi concentration camp. Reacting to this poem it gives us a realization on how lucky we really are and how we must cherish all life.