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About Me
- Mrs. Rigsby
- I grew up in a suburb of Chicago and attended the University of Missouri at Columbia for my undergrad. I have a Masters in Elementary Education from Regis. I come from a family with four kids. My sister is a teacher in Chicago. One of my brothers lives here and the other one lives in Chicago. I moved here because my husband loved Colorado and I loved him. As it turns out,I love Colorado as well.
Bruno and Gretel’s relationship is much the same as the relationship of any siblings. They tease each other, and then get along perfectly fine. They fight, and then they agree. The only difference in their relationship is that they live during the Holocaust. That changes their life. Gretel seems ruder than Bruno, which is saying something. She orders the servants around and doesn’t care about their feelings at all whatsoever. For example on page 63 it says, ‘”Run me a bath Maria, will you? “Why can’t you run your own bath?” snapped Bruno. “Because she’s the maid,” said Gretel. “That’s what she’s here for.” “That’s not what she’s here for!!” shouted Bruno, standing up and marching over to her.”She’s not here to do things for us all the time, you know, especially things that we can do ourselves.” Gretel stared at him as if he’d gone mad and then looked at Maria who shook her head quickly. “Of course Miss Gretel,” said Maria. “I’ll just finish tidying your brother’s clothes away and I’ll be right down.”Well don’t be long.” Said Gretel rudely.” Bruno seems not as selfish as Gretel, but still rude and cares only about himself. Obviously, Gretel is older than Bruno and uses her age for an advantage. Gretel and her friends tease Bruno about his size. They say that he looks SO much younger than nine because he is so small and only comes up to his friend’s shoulders. I wonder if later on in the book his size affects his future. Why would the author include his size in the book otherwise? Foreshadowing maybe? The author says that he looks like he is six. Could this change the ending of the book, maybe?
ReplyDeleteNell
Bruno and Gretel are different in some ways and the same in some. Their relationship is a perfect one in the sense that they are siblings. It is perfect because it has the perfect balance of ignorance and love. On page 23 it says, "'What are you doing here?' she shouted, spinning round.'Don't you know you don't enter the lady's room without knocking?'" Also, Gretel's voice is seemingly calmer in later conversations in Bruno's room.
ReplyDeleteBruno seems a lot younger than nine because he doesn't know a lot of vocabulary words and is very short for his age. On page 22, one of Gretel's friends says, 'Bruno's not nine, he's only six,' and, 'Then why are you so small? All the other nine-year olds are bigger than you.'
Sula
I think that the relationship between Bruno and Gretel is fairly strong. If it were a cable, it would be not a foot thick but nine and a half inches. They stick together when they are scared and pull away from each other when feeling confident. They are also very different from each other. Bruno, age nine, makes a tire swing of death. Gretel, age twelve, organizes her dolls of beauty. Although they are very different, they have a good bond.
ReplyDeleteBruno seems younger than nine for a few reasons. On page 22 Gretel’s friend teases Bruno for being small. “Bruno’s not nine. he’s only six.” “I’m not six, I’m nine!” 'Then why are you so small? All the other nine-year olds are bigger than you.” And also, he wonders about everything. He doesn’t understand his father’s position with Hitler or that the maid has feeling. And, lastly, he can’t see that he lives next to a concentration camp.
CJ
Bruno and Gretel have a weird relationship.They have many fights and they get a long well too. This is also how my relationship with Izzy works. According to page 22"all of the other nine year olds are bigger than you." The reason Bruno seems younger than his current age is because he's a bit small for his age. Even all his friends are bigger than him. I don't know why Bruno has to make such a big fuss about it and why Gretel has to make fun of him.
ReplyDeleteConnor
The connection between Bruno and Gretel was a very bad connection at their house in Berlin because of a couple reasons. 1) Bruno and Gretel had their friends and didn't notice each other and 2) Gretel and Bruno are different in age and gender, so they don't understand eachother. They understand eachother more at Out-With because they hate it there. Bruno seems younger because he is very immature and he thinks he is young because Gretel is older than him and Gretel says "You're nine" on page 34 in a way that makes Bruno feel young
ReplyDeleteJack
Bruno and Gretel are in the normal sibling relationship, teasing each other, fighting about little things, yet all the while acting like two normal kids. Bruno likes to call Gretel “The Hopeless Case” because Gretel is a nuisance and “has been described on any number of occasions Trouble From Day One” pg.21. Gretel’s friends are always teasing Bruno like he is a little brother to them too. Bruno doesn’t like this but it is the way any sibling’s relationship goes. Bruno and Gretel don’t have the same opinions on the way Maria should be treated either, Gretel is always telling her what to do (because she feels that is what Maria is meant to do), however Bruno always saw her as part of the family.
ReplyDeleteBruno does not seem like a nine-year-old because of his small size and his little vocabulary. He is only at the shoulders of his friends and is often mistaken for their little brother.
Mia
Bruno and Gretel usually dislike each other. Very rarely might they get along or agree with each other. For example, on page 24 the book says "Gretel looked at her little brother and found herself agreeing with him for once." It is normal though, for a brother and sister to dislike each other. But when the two of them are looking out the window at all the people, they both seem very scared and close to each other. Bruno hates the fact that Gretel is older then him, and he is scared of her dolls. Bruno seems younger then nine, because he isn't very mature. Plus, John Boyne makes Gretel sound so much older then Bruno, but she's only twelve. And Bruno always complains about how much he hates the new house. He complains a lot more then Gretel.
ReplyDelete