Chapter 10

In this chapter a new character is introduced. While Bruno was exploring the surroundings of Out-With he comes across with a fence and there he sees a small kid, Shmuel. He starts a dialogue with the boy and finds out Shmuel birthday is the same day as his and both have nine years old. Bruno was amazed of the coincidence and of realizing how lonely he has been feeling since leaving his house and friends in Berlin. While making conversation Bruno starts narrating his new friend about his old house in Berlin and how this last months have not been as nice as other days, for example the fact that they had to turn off the lights at certain hour. He then asks Shmuel where he used to live, to what he answers by saying Poland. Bruno starts questioning where Poland was and whether or not where he is standing right now was in Poland or Germany. This dialogue demonstrates us how naïve this little kid is and how little knowledge he has of geography and what’s going on with the war and the discrimination against the Jews. We as a readers understand the reasons behind everything the character said, like when Bruno was telling how he didn’t like living in Berlin lately because they made him turn of the lights early or how he didn’t know that Hitler had conquered Poland. The character of Bruno is a perfect portrait of every kid in the world. Since when you are a little kid you are so innocent, naïve and know nothing about the real world; where in this case people have to deal with wars, exterminations, discriminations and more. A connection to Bruno and kids now days, can be the “existence” of Santa Claus. Throughout your childhood you’ve been told that on the 25^th of December, Christmas Day, a big, fat and white hair guy named Santa Claus comes down your chimney and leaves many presents under your well decorated Christmas tree. Another example, could be the Tooth Fairy that supposedly if you leave your fallen teeth under your pillow it gives you money, or the Easter Rabbit.