The Boy with the Striped Pyjamas Chapter 7: How Mother Took Credit for Something That She Hadn't Done

Instructions: Answer ONE of the following questions completely. You must COMMENT on TWO of your classmates answers, regardless of if your classmate answered the same question or not.

Question 1: In this Chapter, Bruno decides that he has to find something to do or else he will go mad. Bruno's bordeom leads him to remember a discussion with Mother of Herr Roller and the concept of war. However, Mother ends the conversation with the following: " War is not a fit subject for conversation. I'm afraid we'll be spending too much time talking about it soon." What do you think that Mother means by this comment? Do you think war is not a fit subject for conversation in this book? Why/Why not?


Question 2: When discussing LT Kotler, Bruno feels the following: "Bruno wasn't entirely sure why, but he knew that he didn't like LT Kotler. There was an atmosphere around him that made Bruno feel very cold and want to put a jumper on." Why do you think Bruno feels this way? Do his feelings foreshadow anything in the book

Question 3: At the end of Chapter 7, in Pavel's conversation with Bruno, they have the following exchange:

'Back in our house in Berlin, there was a lot of exploring to be done,'recalled Bruno, 'But then it was a very big house, bigger than you could possibly imagine, so there were a lot of places to explore. It's not the same here.'

'Nothing is the same here,' agreed Pavel.
'When did you arrive at Out-With?' asked Bruno
'I think I've always been here,' he said finally in a quiet voice.
'You grew up here?'
'No,' said Pavel, shaking his head. 'No I didn't.'

What do you think Pavel means when he says 'nothing is the same here?' Do you think Bruno understands what he means? Why/Why not?
When Pavel responds to Bruno that "I think I've always been here." What do you think he means? Why doesn't Bruno understand him?

Welcome to Ms. Mathews' 7th Grade English Blog!

Hello Class!

Welcome to the world of blogging! For those of you who are new to this game, its simple! As we are reading various books, I will post discussion questions and instructions as to how you should comment. For the question that I post, you should answer the question and then respond to AT LEAST TWO other students' comments posted. You may not post anonmyously, as you will not recieve credit for the discussions you are having on the blog if I do not know who posted.

Good luck My Condors! Enjoy your blog!

Ms. Mathews
7th Grade English Teacher
The American School of Kinshasa