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Acts of Humanity
The author of the book and the creators of the movie crafted the story as a fable. A fable is story with a moral, one that teaches a lesson about humanity. The section explores the depths of humanity that are possible in the most trying of circumstances.
• Think about fables you know and the lessons associated with those fables. What are the lessons to be learned from this fable, and the moral of this story?
The lessons to be learned from this fable are to never lie and to listen to your parents. Bruno started to lie to his parents when he wanted to visit and help out Shmuel. If he wouldn’t have told these lies, he wouldn’t have been allowed to visit Shmuel, and he would not have died at the end of the story. His parents had already told him that he couldn’t visit the concentration camp, but Bruno didn’t listen and went there anyway.
• Contrast Pavel’s treatment of Bruno when the boy fell from the tire swing with the way Pavel is treated by Bruno’s family. Essential Paragraph:
Pavel isn’t treated very nicely by Bruno’s family because he is Jewish. However, Pavel doesn’t treat Bruno’s family in that same manner. Pavel is kind and courteous towards each member of the family. An example of this would be the point in the story when Bruno fell of the tire swing. When he saw this, Pavel quickly came to the need to Bruno, cleaning up his cut and bandaging his wound. “Bruno frowned and bit his lip nervously as Pavel cleaned the wound.” (Boyne 80) Bruno’s family wouldn’t have carried out this act of kindness for Pavel, but Pavel helped did this for Bruno anyway.
• Mother saying “thank you” to Pavel for treating Bruno is an important turning point for her. What has changed for the mother at this point?
Now that Bruno’s mother has noticed the generosity a Jew (Pavel), she can come to understand that the Jews aren’t the evil people that the Nazi’s had made them out to be. She starts to pity the Jews, and she is very disappointed when she learns of what her husband is doing to them in the concentration camps.
• At times, Father is shown as a loving parent and husband. How is that possible given his role as a Nazi officer giving orders to treat people inhumanely?
It is possible because Father has been given orders by the higher ranked officers to do these things. If he refused, he could be killed or thrown into the first line of soldiers fighting the war. He has no choice but to carry out his orders. Also, he turns out agreeing with the treatment of the Jews because of his naivety. He listened to what Hitler and the other high ranking officers had to say, and he started to agree with them out of respect.
• Bruno tried to help Shmuel find his father despite being frightened and wanting to go home. Why?
Bruno did this partly out of his sorrow regarding how he had betrayed Shmuel in the past. He wanted to make it up to Shmuel, and he wanted to prove to him that he was a good friend. Also, Bruno saw the video about the concentration camp that showed it being a lovely place. Bruno didn’t only help Shmuel out because he wanted to be a good friend, he also helped him out because he wanted to experience all these fun games showed in the video himself.
• What does Bruno say and do to show his growing understanding of the inhumanity going on around him, including to his friend Shmuel?
To show his growing understanding of the inhumanity going on around him, Bruno confronts his mother and his father and asks them why the Nazis treat Jews this way. He is scolded by his father, and, in turn, his father is scolded by his mother. Bruno ends up with no answer for his question. Because of this, Bruno asks his sister. His sister tells him that the Jews are not as good of people as the Germans, and that it was their fault that the Germans lost the First World War.
• Have you ever been in a situation where a person was mistreated? What actions did you take? How did you feel after acting or not acting?
Yes, I have been in a situation where a person was mistreated. In this situation, I defended that person and questioned the ridiculer. After I did this, the ridiculer started to ridicule me instead. However, I fought fire with fire and mistreated the ridiculer. When it was finished with, I felt a little bit angry at the ridiculer, but I had a proud feeling inside because of how I defended a person in need.
• Bruno secretly took food from his house to give to Shmuel because it was one concrete way he could help his friend. Have you ever done something to help people who didn’t have enough food? What can people do today to help people who are starving around the world?
Yes, I have done things to help out people who don’t have enough food. I have participated in many canned food drives, which donate food to needy people. Also, I have donated money to charities that help out those who are hungry. People today can perform these same acts that I have performed.
• Do you know anyone, or have you read about Jews or other persecuted people, who survived the Holocaust or other grave circumstances due to the courageous actions of others? Share those stories.
I once read about a priest who sacrificed his own life so that another man with a family could continue to live his. This priest was in a concentration camp along with hundreds of other Jews. The Nazis started to gather people in order to move them. The man knew that they would kill him if they took him away. He begged and pleaded but the Nazis started to take him away. Suddenly the priest bargained with the Nazis and told them to take his life instead of the man’s. The Nazis obliged, and the priest was locked in a room along with a dozen other people and he was forced to starve to death. This is considered by many to be the worst way of dying. This priest is now a saint in the Catholic Church.
• What do you think causes people to treat others in such horrific ways as was done during the Holocaust? Are there people being treated like this anywhere in the world today? What is or can be done to stop it?
The number one single cause for the mistreatment of others is anger. Every day, people around the world are mistreated because someone else is angered by them because of many possible reasons. Some of these reasons include racism and prejudices. The main organizations that help to put an end to these racist and prejudice views resulting in hatred are the Peace Corps. These organizations speak to the citizens of many different countries about peace and why there is fighting. The best method that they use in order to try to stop the racism and prejudices is attempting to change the views of children. These children are between the ages of seven and twelve and they are very naïve. Whatever is taught to them at this age will usually stick with them for the rest of their lives. This is how the Peace Corps try to establish peace.