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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Bruno question about the striped-pajama people on the other side of the fence in Chapter Nine: "Bruno Remembers that He Used to Enjoy Exploration"?

2. The narrator notes in Chapter Four: "What they Saw through the Window" that “Hilda had been told time and time again that she was not to call her brother” what?

3. Bruno tells Maria in Chapter Six: "The Overpaid Maid,” “Well, you’ve been brought here against your will, just like I have. If you ask me, we’re all in the same boat. And it’s” what?

4. When Bruno takes his sister Gretel to look out of his bedroom window, Maria comes charging out carrying what in Chapter Three: "The Hopeless Case"?

5. What color hair is Bruno’s mother described as having in Chapter One: "Bruno Makes a Discovery"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What conversation takes place between Bruno and his father regarding their move in Chapter One: "Bruno Makes a Discovery"?

2. How does Bruno come to discover his family is moving in Chapter One: "Bruno Makes a Discovery"? How does Bruno respond?

3. What is Gretel’s response to the mystery of the fence and what is beyond it in Chapter Four: "What they Saw through the Window"?

4. How is the character of Shmuel described in Chapter Ten: "The Dot that Became a Speck that Became a Blob that Became a Figure that Became a Boy"?

5. Would you describe Bruno’s character as “innocent” in the novel? How “innocent” are Bruno’s parents?

6. What led up to Bruno’s grandmother storming out of his house in Chapter Eight: "Why Grandmother Stormed Out"?

7. What does Bruno show Gretel in his room in Chapter Three: "The Hopeless Case"? How does Gretel respond?

8. What is revealed on the plaque that Bruno reads in Chapter Nine: "Bruno Remembers that He Used to Enjoy Exploration"?

9. How does Bruno’s mother feel about her family’s relocation to Out-With? What are her main concerns about this setting?

10. How does Bruno respond when his father asks him what he thinks of their new home in Chapter Five: "Out of Bounds at All Times and No Exceptions"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and discuss the narrative style established in the beginning of the novel. Is the story told from a first, second, or third-person perspective? Why do you think the author chooses this narrative style? Is the narrator’s perspective omniscient or limited?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the setting of Berlin in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Against whom were the Germans fighting in World War II? When did the Third Reich begin? How is the setting described in Chapter One: "Bruno Makes a Discovery"?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of innocence seen in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. In what ways does Bruno exhibit innocence in the story? How would you associate Bruno’s naiveté with the theme of innocence? Who else relates to this theme in the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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