Matching Themes to Characters

THEMES	CHARACTERS AND SPECIFIC EXAMPLES
Prejudice and Discrimination	Prejudice and Discrimination:Lieutenant Kotler and Pavel,Lieutenant Kotler rudely bossed Pavel who was much older than him to help Bruno. He said”Hey you,come over here you-“ "make sure you wash your hands you filthy-“He was acting as though he was high and mighty,ruling over Pavel.We should not boss around our domestic helpers at home,we should treat them with respect,like we would want others to treat us.
Childhood and Innocence	Bruno did not understand the difference between Jews and Nazis.He said”Are we Jews?” This means that he did not understand who the Jews were as he thought that they were Jews too,his innocent mind could not grasp the fact that they were different,he thought they were the same.Even though we are different,we can learn from Bruno that we are all human beings,and no one should say that they are better than another.
Obedience and Conformity	Shmuel. He obeyed Lieutenant Kotler when he was told to clean the wine glasses in Bruno’s house. “ What are you doing?” “Didn’t I tell you to polish those glasses?” Shmuel nodded his head quickly and started to tremble a little as he picked up another napkin and dipped it in water. This showed that Shmuel was afraid of Lieutenant Kotler and therefore obeyed him. Children obey their elderly and do what they were told.
Humanity	Pavel. He treated Bruno when he found out that he was badly injured due to the fall while playing on the swing. Bruno displayed kindness by bringing food (bread and butter, sometimes chocolate) to Shmuel whenever they were to meet at the fence, as he thought that Shmuel was always hungry. This act is similar to “donating food to the poor” as people do so nowadays and they are acts of humanity. -Faith in humanity restored-
Friendship and Loyalty	Bruno and Shmuel. They were extremely good friends and Bruno was even willing to help Shmuel find his father. Even though Bruno was scared, he continued to search for Shmuel’s father with Shmuel. In the midst of exploring for Shmuel’s father, Bruno sacrificed his life. “...Despite the mayhem that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel's hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let go.”