1.

How is Lieutenant Kotler presented in the novel and to what

purpose?
Comment on
• -what Kotler's words and action reveal about him as a character and
about 'Outwith'
• -how you, as a reader, respond to Kotler’s attitude
Include: Physical descriptions, words and actions, Kotler’s opinions, and
say why Kotler is important in this book.

The character of the Lieutenant Kotler is presented in this novel as a

young soldier who we met when Bruno was about to move to Out-With.

From my point of view, Kotler is the character that make us be aware of

the Nazi cruelty .

Kotler´s physical descriptions are a strong and blondy young man who

wears an spotless uniform and a black boots always sparkled with polish.

Also that he always takes with him lot of perfume.

It was like he was one of the soldiers that Bruno´s father really liked.

But Bruno doesn.t like Kotler at all because he has an attitude and he calls

him “little man” beacause Bruno is small. He makes Bruno feel cold. Like at

one part of the book Bruno asked Kotler a favour for a spare tyre to make

a swing. Bruno´s sister, Gretel, liked kotler so she flirterd with him a lot.

So Gretel was with Kotler in the garden and when Bruno asked the favour

from Kotler was very sarcastic and said and he carries it on him.

Kotler is also a mean man. He likes to hurt the people like Pavel. He

accidentally spilled wine over his lap and he got very mad and he hurt him.

He also shot a dog for barking and bite Shmuel up when he was in the
kitchen cleaning the glasses because he thought that the boy had been

stealing food.

He is only 19 years old an he is flirting with Brunos´s mother, I think

she´s got an affair with him, and for this reason the Lieutenant is

transferred away from Out-With.

Kotler represents in his own the ideology of the Nazism and the

madness in wich Nazi Germany is involved even not being a pure german

because his father was Swiss. The Nazism, that builds more on criticism

than suggestions for improvement; it is an ideology, where the Jews (in an

absurd combination with communism) are used as an explanation for all

kinds of problems; it is a racist ideology that builds on a fundamental idea

of the superiority of the Aryan (German) race; and it is, finally, an

aggressively nationalistic ideology that puts the nation over the individual,

and demands that the nation be extended to its “natural” territorial

borders.

As a matter of fact, I think Kotler and the Holocaust simbolize the

irrational and therefore incomprenhesible period of human history. The

Holocaust defeats all comprenhesion, it was madnes devoted to the level of

a political system which nobody even today can makes sense of.
2. Bruno tells many stories about his Grandmother and even sends her
a letter. Imagine you are Bruno’s grandmother and received his letter.
Write a letter back to Bruno

Dear Bruno,

I have been missing you very much, I wish you could have stayed in

Berlin with me and Grandad instead of going there, to Out-with. As you

know, I do not agree with your father´s job, he should have gone by

himself to the middle of no where and leave you, Gretel and your mother

here.

I think you can feel so lonely because there aren´t other boys to play

with, but your sister is there, with you. I´m sure that she feels as lonely as

you, so you two can play together and see her as your new friend. You two

could invented a new small play for us and the next time that we are

together, we will perform for Mother, Father and Grandad. So I hope in

your next letter have news about your production because I have to make

the lovely costumes for you and Gretel.

Here in Berlin the things are the same, Grandad is still spending his

days in the restaurant, sitting at the bar in the afternoon talking to the

customers, eating his meals there in the evening and staying until closing

time, laughing with his friends so also I feel so lonely. But the other nigth I

went to a musical with my friend Irene. I thuoght the main stars sang and

danced brilliantly and the costumes were superb. The story was very

moving and there were some wonderful songs. I would love to be one of

them. This musical took me to the days when I was a young singer and I
travelled around Germany showing my lovely voice and my brilliant dresses,

that made me feel like the most lucky girl in the whole world.

I´m missing you a lot and I wish you could come back to Berlin as soon

as possible.

Hope to see you again soon,

Your loving grandma.

3. This story is told through Bruno’s view of the world. Pick a part of the
story to tell from the point of view of Shmuel. Consider how he would feel
and make specific references to his meetings with Bruno.

This evening, as every evening since he arrived to the camp, Shmuel

has nothing to do. He fell so tired that he thought walking and walking all

over the camp would not be a good idea. However, as every evening since he

arrived to the horrible camp, he decides to go and seat next to the fence,

in an attempt of being closer to the other side, next to the freedom,

outside that awful camp. Some evenings he could hear the birds singing

outside or a plane flying up through the sky. Suddenly, he turns very

surprised because it is the first time he see someone walking on the other

side, coming around the fence, really closed to him. Shmuel realise he is a

boy a bit older than him who is dressed as a current person.

- Hi! My named is Bruno.

- Hello, my name is Shmuel. How strange is your name, it sounds

great.

- Thank, I have ever heard about your name.

 He thought it was very strange to be talking in German with a boy

called Bruno.

He thought also about asking Bruno for food, because it seemed he was well

fed and he was not hungry like he did. But, anyway, he decided to wait and

to be sure he could trust Bruno. A crowd of questions came into his little

mind but he thought it would be better to be patient and not making a false

moving.

NOEMI CAMPILLO MARTINEZ

74005901C

GRUPO A.