Bruno

Sensitive and smart

The main character of the novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne is Bruno, who is about nine years old. He is not "as tall" (Chapter 3, 25%) as other boys his age, which bothers him somewhat. His father is a Commandant. His mother does not work. He has an older sister, Gretel. Bruno's family is wealthy and lives in a large house in lively Berlin. Bruno feels comfortable there, partly because he has three best friends named Karl, Martin, and Daniel. The friends often play together and love adventures.

When he grows up, he wants to become an "explorer" (Chapter 7, 90%). For this reason, Bruno also reads adventure novels like Treasure Island to learn more about exploring from these books.

One day, however, his mother informs him that the whole family is moving. Once Bruno arrives in his new home, he quickly gets bored because there are no other children his age living there. He doesn't feel at home in the new house and wants to go back to Berlin. 

Bruno tries to convince his parents to go back to Berlin, but he doesn't succeed. Eventually, he comes to terms with the new environment. Bruno is very creative and starts to find ways to fight his boredom, so he builds himself a swing. Bruno is smart and sensitive. He observes his surroundings and the people around him very closely, which is why he notices the smallest changes in their behavior. For example, he notices that his mother gets along better with Lieutenant Kotler than with her husband and that she is unhappy when ...