The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas
By John Boyne
,Chapter 1 – Bruno Makes A Discovery: Pg 1 – 10 Characters
- When Bruno comes home from school, he sees Maria packing his clothing into 4 large wooden crates,
even the things he’d hidden at the back that belonged to him and were nobody else’s business
- Maria = family’s maid. Always kept her head bowed and never looked up from the carpet
- Although Bruno was not happy to come home and find someone going through his possessions, he
asked Maria what she was doing in as polite a tone as he could muster
- Mother taught him to treat Maria respectfully and not to imitate the way that Father spoke to her
- When Bruno told Maria to take her hands off his things, she shook her head and pointed towards the
staircase where Mother had just appeared
- Mother = a tall woman with long red hair that she bundled into a sort of net behind her heard
- Mother stood there twisting her hands together nervously as if there was something she didn’t want to
have to say or something she didn’t want to have to believe
- When Mother told Bruno that Maria was packing his things, he tried to think of the events of the
previous few days to think if he had been naughty or had used words out loud that he wasn’t allowed
to and was being sent away because of it
- But he couldn’t think of anything; in fact, he had behaved in a perfectly decent manner to everyone
and couldn’t remember causing any chaos at all
- By the time Bruno asked, “Why? What have I done?”, Mother had walked into her own bedroom, but
Lars was packing her things too
- Lars = the butler
- Mother sighed and threw her hands in the air in frustration before marching back to the staircase,
followed by Bruno who wasn’t going to let the matter drop without an explanation (*NB*)
- Mother told Bruno to go downstairs with him and says they will talk down there
- She led the way to the large dining room table where the Fury had been to dinner the week before
- Bruno ran downstairs and passed her out on the staircase so he was waiting in the dining room when
she arrived
- He thought to himself that she couldn’t have applied her make-up correctly that morning because the
rims of her eyes were more red than usual, like his own after he had been crying
- Mother sat in the chair where the beautiful blonde woman who came to dinner with the Fury sat and
who waved at him when Father closed the doors
- Mother said “Now, you don’t have to worry, Bruno. In fact if anything it’s going to be a great adventure”
- Bruno asked if he was being sent away but Mother said no
- She said that all 4 of them are going (Bruno’s father, Bruno’s mother, Gretel and Bruno)
- Bruno thought about it and frowned, but wasn’t bothered if Gretel was being sent away because she
was a “Hopeless Case” and caused nothing but trouble for him
- But it seemed a little unfair that they all had to go with her
- When Bruno asked why they can’t just stay there, Mother said, “Your father’s job. You know how
important it is, don’t you?”
- Bruno said yes and nodded his head because there were always so many visitors to the house – men
in fantastic uniforms, women with typewriters – and they were always polite to Father and told each
other that he was a man to watch and that the Fury had big things in mind for him
- Mother then said, “sometimes, when someone is very important, the man who employs him asks him
to go somewhere else because there’s a very special job that needs doing there” (*NB*)
- Bruno asked what kind of job because he wasn’t entirely sure what job Father did
- In school, they talked about their fathers and Karl said his father was a greengrocer which Bruno knew
was true because he ran the greengrocer’s shop in the center of town
- Danial said his father was a teacher, which Bruno knew was true because he taught the big boys who
it was always wise to steer clear of
- Martin said his father was a chef, which Bruno knew was true because he sometimes collected Martin
from school and always wore a white smock and a tartan apron, as if he’d just stepped out his kitchen
,- But when they asked Bruno what his father did, he opened his mouth, but then realised he didn’t know
- All he could say was that his father was a man to watch and that the Fury had big things in mind for
him, and that he had a fantastic uniform
- Mother continued to say, “It’s a very important job. A job that needs a very special man to do it. You
can understand that, can’t you?”
- When Bruno asked if they all have to go, Mother said “Of course” and “You wouldn’t want Father to go
to his new job on his own and be lonely there, would you?”
- Bruno said “I suppose not” and Mother said “Father would miss us all terribly if we weren’t with him”
- Bruno asked Mother who Father would miss the most out of him and Gretel
- Mother said that Father would miss them both equally
- Mother was a great believer in not playing favourites, which Bruno respected, especially since he
knew that he was her favourite really
- Bruno asked about the house and who would take care of it while the family was gone
- Mother sighed and looked around the room as if she might never see it again
- It was a beautiful house and had 5 floors in total, if you included the basement, where Cook made all
the food and Maria and Lars sat at the table arguing with each other and calling each other names
that you weren’t supposed to use
- And if you added the little room at the top of the house with slanted windows where Bruno could see
right across Berlin if he stood up on his tiptoes and held onto the frame tightly
- Mother said they have to close up the house for now, but they will come back to it someday
- Bruno then asked, “And what about Cook? And Lars? And Maria? Are they not going to live in it?”
- Mother said they are going with the family
- Mother told Bruno that that was enough questions and suggested he go upstairs to help Maria pack
- Bruno stood up but didn’t go anywhere because there were a few more questions he needed to ask
before he could allow the matter to be settled
- He asked how far away the new job is and asked if it was further than a mile away
- Mother said “Oh my” with a laugh but it was a strange kind of laugh because she didn’t look happy
and she turned away from Bruno as if she didn’t want him to see her face
- She said, “Yes, Bruno. It’s more than a mile away. Quite a lot more than that, in fact”
- Bruno’s eyes opened wide and his mouth made the shape of an O
- He felt his arms stretching out at his sides like they did whenever something surprised him
- He said, “You don’t mean we’re leaving Berlin?” and gasped for air, but Mother said “I’m afraid so”
- Bruno interrupted Mother and asked about school
- He knew he was not supposed to interrupt her but he felt that he would be forgiven on this occasion
- He asked about Karl and Daniel and Martin and asked “How will they know where I am when we want
to do things together?”
- Mother said he will have to say goodbye to his friends for the time being and added that she is not
sure when he will see them again
- She added, “And don’t interrupt your mother when she’s talking please” because although this was
strange and unpleasant news, there was no need for Bruno to break the rules of politeness which he
had been taught (*NB*)
- Bruno repeatedly asked “Say goodbye to them?” and his voice came close to shouting which was not
allowed indoors, and he said, “But they’re must three best friends for life!”
- Mother said he will make other friends and waved her hands in the air dismissively
- Bruno said “But we had plans”
- Mother asked what sort of plans they had
- Bruno said, “Well, that would be telling”
- He couldn’t reveal the exact nature of the plans which included causing chaos, especially in a few
weeks’ time when school finished for the summer holidays and they didn’t have to spend all their time
just making plans but could actually put them into effect instead
- Mother said, “I’m sorry, Bruno, but your plans are just to have to wait. We don’t have a choice in this.”
- Bruno said, “But, Mother!”
- Mother told him that was enough. She snapped at him and stood up to show him that she was serious
when she said that was enough (*NB*)
, - Mother went on to say, “Honestly, only last week you were complaining about how much things have
changed here recently”
- Bruno said, “Well, I don’t like the way we have to turn all the lights off at night now”
- Mother said that everyone has to do it and it keeps them safe because “who knows, maybe we’ll be in
less danger if we move away”
- She told Bruno to go upstairs to help Maria with packing
- Mother also said they don’t have as much time prepare as she would have liked, thanks to “some
people” (*NB*)
- Bruno nodded and walked away sadly, knowing that “some people” was a grown-up’s word for
‘Father’ and was a word that he was not supposed to use himself (*NB*)
- Walking up the stairs, Bruno wondered if the new house would have as fine a banister to slide down
as this one did
- The banister in this house stretched from the very top floor to the ground floor
- And Bruno liked nothing better than to get on board the banister at the top floor and slide his way
through the house making whooshing sounds as he went
- He would slide down to the ground floor where you fell off the end and had to land flat on 2 feet or it
was 5 points against you and you had to start all over again
- The banister was the best thing about this house – that and the fact that Grandfather and
Grandmother lived so nearby – and when Bruno thought about that, it made him wonder whether they
were coming to the new job too and he presumed that they were because they could hardly be left
behind
- No one needed Gretel because she was a Hopeless Case – it would be a lot easier if she stayed to
look after the house – but Grandfather and Grandmother? That was a different matter
- Bruno went up the stairs slowly towards his room, but before going inside, he looked back down to the
ground floor and saw Mother entering Father’s office, which faced the dining room – and was Out Of
Bounds At All Times And No Exceptions (*NB*)
- Bruno heard Mother speaking loudly to him until Father spoke louder than Mother could and that put a
stop to their conversation
- The door of the office closed and Bruno couldn’t hear any more so he thought it would be a good idea
if he went back to his room and took over the packing from Maria
- Because otherwise she might pull at his belongings out the wardrobe without any care/consideration,
even the things he’d hidden at the back that belonged to him and were nobody else’s business
By John Boyne
,Chapter 1 – Bruno Makes A Discovery: Pg 1 – 10 Characters
- When Bruno comes home from school, he sees Maria packing his clothing into 4 large wooden crates,
even the things he’d hidden at the back that belonged to him and were nobody else’s business
- Maria = family’s maid. Always kept her head bowed and never looked up from the carpet
- Although Bruno was not happy to come home and find someone going through his possessions, he
asked Maria what she was doing in as polite a tone as he could muster
- Mother taught him to treat Maria respectfully and not to imitate the way that Father spoke to her
- When Bruno told Maria to take her hands off his things, she shook her head and pointed towards the
staircase where Mother had just appeared
- Mother = a tall woman with long red hair that she bundled into a sort of net behind her heard
- Mother stood there twisting her hands together nervously as if there was something she didn’t want to
have to say or something she didn’t want to have to believe
- When Mother told Bruno that Maria was packing his things, he tried to think of the events of the
previous few days to think if he had been naughty or had used words out loud that he wasn’t allowed
to and was being sent away because of it
- But he couldn’t think of anything; in fact, he had behaved in a perfectly decent manner to everyone
and couldn’t remember causing any chaos at all
- By the time Bruno asked, “Why? What have I done?”, Mother had walked into her own bedroom, but
Lars was packing her things too
- Lars = the butler
- Mother sighed and threw her hands in the air in frustration before marching back to the staircase,
followed by Bruno who wasn’t going to let the matter drop without an explanation (*NB*)
- Mother told Bruno to go downstairs with him and says they will talk down there
- She led the way to the large dining room table where the Fury had been to dinner the week before
- Bruno ran downstairs and passed her out on the staircase so he was waiting in the dining room when
she arrived
- He thought to himself that she couldn’t have applied her make-up correctly that morning because the
rims of her eyes were more red than usual, like his own after he had been crying
- Mother sat in the chair where the beautiful blonde woman who came to dinner with the Fury sat and
who waved at him when Father closed the doors
- Mother said “Now, you don’t have to worry, Bruno. In fact if anything it’s going to be a great adventure”
- Bruno asked if he was being sent away but Mother said no
- She said that all 4 of them are going (Bruno’s father, Bruno’s mother, Gretel and Bruno)
- Bruno thought about it and frowned, but wasn’t bothered if Gretel was being sent away because she
was a “Hopeless Case” and caused nothing but trouble for him
- But it seemed a little unfair that they all had to go with her
- When Bruno asked why they can’t just stay there, Mother said, “Your father’s job. You know how
important it is, don’t you?”
- Bruno said yes and nodded his head because there were always so many visitors to the house – men
in fantastic uniforms, women with typewriters – and they were always polite to Father and told each
other that he was a man to watch and that the Fury had big things in mind for him
- Mother then said, “sometimes, when someone is very important, the man who employs him asks him
to go somewhere else because there’s a very special job that needs doing there” (*NB*)
- Bruno asked what kind of job because he wasn’t entirely sure what job Father did
- In school, they talked about their fathers and Karl said his father was a greengrocer which Bruno knew
was true because he ran the greengrocer’s shop in the center of town
- Danial said his father was a teacher, which Bruno knew was true because he taught the big boys who
it was always wise to steer clear of
- Martin said his father was a chef, which Bruno knew was true because he sometimes collected Martin
from school and always wore a white smock and a tartan apron, as if he’d just stepped out his kitchen
,- But when they asked Bruno what his father did, he opened his mouth, but then realised he didn’t know
- All he could say was that his father was a man to watch and that the Fury had big things in mind for
him, and that he had a fantastic uniform
- Mother continued to say, “It’s a very important job. A job that needs a very special man to do it. You
can understand that, can’t you?”
- When Bruno asked if they all have to go, Mother said “Of course” and “You wouldn’t want Father to go
to his new job on his own and be lonely there, would you?”
- Bruno said “I suppose not” and Mother said “Father would miss us all terribly if we weren’t with him”
- Bruno asked Mother who Father would miss the most out of him and Gretel
- Mother said that Father would miss them both equally
- Mother was a great believer in not playing favourites, which Bruno respected, especially since he
knew that he was her favourite really
- Bruno asked about the house and who would take care of it while the family was gone
- Mother sighed and looked around the room as if she might never see it again
- It was a beautiful house and had 5 floors in total, if you included the basement, where Cook made all
the food and Maria and Lars sat at the table arguing with each other and calling each other names
that you weren’t supposed to use
- And if you added the little room at the top of the house with slanted windows where Bruno could see
right across Berlin if he stood up on his tiptoes and held onto the frame tightly
- Mother said they have to close up the house for now, but they will come back to it someday
- Bruno then asked, “And what about Cook? And Lars? And Maria? Are they not going to live in it?”
- Mother said they are going with the family
- Mother told Bruno that that was enough questions and suggested he go upstairs to help Maria pack
- Bruno stood up but didn’t go anywhere because there were a few more questions he needed to ask
before he could allow the matter to be settled
- He asked how far away the new job is and asked if it was further than a mile away
- Mother said “Oh my” with a laugh but it was a strange kind of laugh because she didn’t look happy
and she turned away from Bruno as if she didn’t want him to see her face
- She said, “Yes, Bruno. It’s more than a mile away. Quite a lot more than that, in fact”
- Bruno’s eyes opened wide and his mouth made the shape of an O
- He felt his arms stretching out at his sides like they did whenever something surprised him
- He said, “You don’t mean we’re leaving Berlin?” and gasped for air, but Mother said “I’m afraid so”
- Bruno interrupted Mother and asked about school
- He knew he was not supposed to interrupt her but he felt that he would be forgiven on this occasion
- He asked about Karl and Daniel and Martin and asked “How will they know where I am when we want
to do things together?”
- Mother said he will have to say goodbye to his friends for the time being and added that she is not
sure when he will see them again
- She added, “And don’t interrupt your mother when she’s talking please” because although this was
strange and unpleasant news, there was no need for Bruno to break the rules of politeness which he
had been taught (*NB*)
- Bruno repeatedly asked “Say goodbye to them?” and his voice came close to shouting which was not
allowed indoors, and he said, “But they’re must three best friends for life!”
- Mother said he will make other friends and waved her hands in the air dismissively
- Bruno said “But we had plans”
- Mother asked what sort of plans they had
- Bruno said, “Well, that would be telling”
- He couldn’t reveal the exact nature of the plans which included causing chaos, especially in a few
weeks’ time when school finished for the summer holidays and they didn’t have to spend all their time
just making plans but could actually put them into effect instead
- Mother said, “I’m sorry, Bruno, but your plans are just to have to wait. We don’t have a choice in this.”
- Bruno said, “But, Mother!”
- Mother told him that was enough. She snapped at him and stood up to show him that she was serious
when she said that was enough (*NB*)
, - Mother went on to say, “Honestly, only last week you were complaining about how much things have
changed here recently”
- Bruno said, “Well, I don’t like the way we have to turn all the lights off at night now”
- Mother said that everyone has to do it and it keeps them safe because “who knows, maybe we’ll be in
less danger if we move away”
- She told Bruno to go upstairs to help Maria with packing
- Mother also said they don’t have as much time prepare as she would have liked, thanks to “some
people” (*NB*)
- Bruno nodded and walked away sadly, knowing that “some people” was a grown-up’s word for
‘Father’ and was a word that he was not supposed to use himself (*NB*)
- Walking up the stairs, Bruno wondered if the new house would have as fine a banister to slide down
as this one did
- The banister in this house stretched from the very top floor to the ground floor
- And Bruno liked nothing better than to get on board the banister at the top floor and slide his way
through the house making whooshing sounds as he went
- He would slide down to the ground floor where you fell off the end and had to land flat on 2 feet or it
was 5 points against you and you had to start all over again
- The banister was the best thing about this house – that and the fact that Grandfather and
Grandmother lived so nearby – and when Bruno thought about that, it made him wonder whether they
were coming to the new job too and he presumed that they were because they could hardly be left
behind
- No one needed Gretel because she was a Hopeless Case – it would be a lot easier if she stayed to
look after the house – but Grandfather and Grandmother? That was a different matter
- Bruno went up the stairs slowly towards his room, but before going inside, he looked back down to the
ground floor and saw Mother entering Father’s office, which faced the dining room – and was Out Of
Bounds At All Times And No Exceptions (*NB*)
- Bruno heard Mother speaking loudly to him until Father spoke louder than Mother could and that put a
stop to their conversation
- The door of the office closed and Bruno couldn’t hear any more so he thought it would be a good idea
if he went back to his room and took over the packing from Maria
- Because otherwise she might pull at his belongings out the wardrobe without any care/consideration,
even the things he’d hidden at the back that belonged to him and were nobody else’s business
