The boy in the striped pajamas - Journal Entry for Chracter Bruno

Monday, September 4, 1939.

Today at school, Mrs.Von Richthofen, my grade 3 teacher, yelled at me for being late to class again. I hate that teacher. She never listens to me when I try to explain to her that my dad is a very busy man. She's so old, boring, and wrinkly, and always tells us about how her dead husband was a national hero in the Great War. Borr-ring! During lunch recess, I played a really fun game of soccer with my best friend Timmy. We won 5-3! In the afternoon, we had a spelling bee! Unfortunately, I got the really hard word "Fuhrer", which I messed up. Manfred won the spelling bee, and won a big trophy, along with a box of chocolate, which he refused to share. What a mean person! I always gave him my candy.

When I got home, Raphael, our cook, made me a delicious dinner of sausages and bacon. After dinner, I saw my dad talking with a uniformed person with a lot of pretty badges. The were talking about something called a Pole-Land, which I thought was a place with different kinds of poles. Then they were discussing how Pole-Land would be a great asset to the motherland. I didn't really understand what this meant, as we already had enough poles in our garden outside. Anyways, after dinner, my mom gave me ten Deutschemarks to go spend at the corner store with Timmy. She hadn't given me that much money in months! She said I was finally a responsible man that knew how to conserve money. I had no idea what this meant, so I spent it all on candy. When I came back, she was mad. Sigh. Parents can be so confusing at times. Before bedtime, my dad read me a story about two kids who found their way home using bread crumbs. But I wonder, how did they have enough bread? Silly stories. Then I went to sleep, thinking about the day to come.


Reflection: 

    I chose Bruno because I thought it would be fun and interesting to do a journal entry from the perspective of a young and naive boy who doesn't have the slightest of what was going on. He thought nothing of his mother telling him to save money, thought nothing of the invasion of Poland, and thought nothing of the widow of the Red Baron. Bruno has a simple, childish outlook on life, and I enjoyed writing in his perspective. 


    Bruno is a very interesting, unique boy. He has absolutely no idea what is going on, even when so much evidence is present, that a 5-year old could glean what was going on, given the situation. In my opinion, a 9-year old boy with a perfectly normal intelligence level should not be so oblivious to matters concerning him and his family.