Tuesday, June 16, 2015

What is Father's attitude towards Pavel in Chapter 7 of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne?

We learn about Bruno's father's probable reaction to the truth about Pavel (and his medical profession) in Chapter 13.  Bruno's father is simply mentioned in Chapter 7 because he is not at home.  Chapter 7 is the chapter when Bruno is endeavoring to build a tire swing.  In regards to the character of Pavel, the two male characters that have an opinion in this chapter are Bruno and Lieutenant Kotler.


Bruno always felt that Pavel was a kind man who served them dinner, but in this case Bruno learns something new about Pavel: he used to be a doctor "in another life."  Pavel now can be seen in the striped pajamas on the other side of the fence "peeling potatoes" with the rest of "the farmers."  When Bruno attempts to swing too far on the tire swing he has made, he gets injured.  Pavel immediately helps Bruno.  Bruno is thankful and amazed at Pavel's skills.


Lieutenant Kotler has the exact opposite attitude of Bruno.  Lieutenant Kotler is simply used as a method to get the tire for the tire swing and the focus of flirtation for Gretel in this chapter.  Later, however, Lieutenant Kotler shows his true colors when Pavel makes a mistake and spills wine on Lieutenant Kotler.  Pavel is beaten senseless, showing that Lieutenant Kotler's attitude towards Pavel is similar to his attitude towards other Jews.  Lieutenant Kotler believes they are inferior to Germans and only a step above animals.


In regards to Bruno's Nazi commandant father, his attitudes towards Pavel are revealed mostly through Bruno's thoughts.  Bruno now knows that Pavel is a doctor and admits that there will be "trouble" if Bruno's dad hears about Pavel helping Bruno with his leg.  Shmuel agrees, saying that soldiers, including the commandant, "don't normally like people getting better."  In this way, we learn that Father's opinion of Pavel does not differ much from that of Lieutenant Kotler.

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